Sources of Job Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction Among Public School Music Educators

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to identify the elements of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction as a means of better understanding causes of eustress and distress in public school music educators. More specifically, job satisfaction and dissatisfaction were investigated through the lens of eustress and distress to find what factors existed for general music, band, choir, and orchestra directors in various school settings and for different experience levels. Participants (N = 4, men = 2, women = 2) were selected from two Midwestern states and included one elementary general music teacher, one middle-school choral director, one middle and high-school band director, and one elementary and middle-school orchestra conductor. Two of the participants taught in rural districts and two taught in urban districts. Their years of teaching experiences also varied, with two in their first three years of teaching and two with more than three years of teaching experience. Each participant was interviewed twice for approximately one hour per instance, and a time span of one month existed between the two interviews. They were asked questions about how the personnel in the school setting, the school environment, their teacher preparation and other factors influenced their experiences of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction. The researcher transcribed the interviews and coded the data, and through this process themes emerged that were later related to eustress and distress. Results indicated that the participants were generally satisfied in their current teaching positions, indicating student achievement, rapport, and respect from colleagues and administrators as their main sources of job satisfaction. Participants also identified factors of job dissatisfaction, noting feelings of being undervalued and treated unequally by colleagues and administrators, and lack of control over time and resources as their primary contributors to their dissatisfaction. The results of this study identified other issues, such as sense of control, professional development, and job effectiveness, which further aided the understanding of teachers' experiences of job satisfaction. Participants identified various ways they strove to increase their job satisfaction and create a balance in their professional lives. Recommendations and implications for teachers were discussed with respect to these results.