Brandy Cobb

Publication Date

2004

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Dr. William Pfohl (Director); Dr. Steven Wininger; Dr. Reagan Brown

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Specialist in Education

Abstract

ASSESSING JOB SATISFACTION AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHERS Brandy Cobb May 2004 63 Pages Directed by: Dr. William Pfohl, Dr. Steven Wininger, and Dr. Reagan Brown Department of Psychology Western Kentucky University The professional field of education has been particularly vulnerable to the retention of public school teachers. Teachers in today’s educational system face excessive expectations and demands such as increased accountability, lack of available resources, lack of parental support and involvement, negative student attitudes, low status of the profession, and low paying salaries (Meek, 1998; Tye & O’Brien, 2002). As a result of these demands, many teachers experience job dissatisfaction. According to Colbert and Wolff (1992), 50% of new teachers drop out of the profession during the first five years. The recent works of Daniel Goleman (1995, 1998) proclaim that individuals’ emotional intelligence is a predictor of on the job success and job satisfaction. There appears to be no studies conducted on emotional intelligence and teacher job satisfaction to date. To look at this phenomenon in the realm of teachers, this study asked teachers to complete a demographic survey, the BarOn EQ-i Self Report Scale, and the Job Descriptive Index. One hundred and one teachers were asked to complete these forms and 101 surveys were completed and returned. Data analyses revealed that emotional intelligence does play a role in how teachers perceive their overall job satisfaction based on self-report measures. The present study did support the hypotheses that emotional intelligence was correlated with years of teaching experience and job satisfaction. Suggestions for further research are discussed.

Disciplines

Psychology

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