Factors Influencing Teachers' Job Satisfaction

Data was analyzed using both thematic descriptive and content analysis. The study established that teachers at UIC were highly satisfied with work environment, salary and promotional activities. However, it was found that lack of welfare activities, research and extension as well as social security make workers dissatisfied. The study recommends that UIC should adopt a participatory management processes of decision making to address and adopt the suggestions present while addressing the issues that this research has raised to ensure productivity Introduction Job satisfaction is a multidimensional concept that involves a wide range of factors relating to the job. Apparently, job satisfaction is a sentimental response to a professional’s work. In 2017, UIC students reached 5000, teaching staff more than 700 people whom come from more than 30 countries and regions around the world.

The curriculum implementation of teaching materials, handouts, education, counseling, examinations for four years in English teaching, the curriculum set up using international standards. At present, using English teaching and running a multiple culture college in China is not uncommon. Cooperative university is a new mode of tertiary education at present. Of the two stages of “bringing in” and “going global”, China is bringing in foreign high-quality resources. Rationale for research Job satisfaction is a pleasant and positive state of emotion that results from an individual appreciating his/her experience or job. In schools, job satisfaction for various stakeholders leads to provision of quality education. Teachers are among the main stakeholders in schools and how they are treated not only affect the quality of education but also the reputation of the school.

Teachers’ job satisfaction in schools is affected by various factors that every school needs to consider to ensure they are comfortable. This research shows the current job satisfaction level among teachers at Sino-foreign College and shows the relation between satisfaction and education quality. Arnold, Feldman and Hunt (1992) pointed out that there are a few factors that influence employees’ job satisfaction, including work itself, payment, promotion, value, working environment and organizational climate. Many studies focus on the components and influence factors of job satisfaction. Among them, the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) investigate employees’ internal job satisfaction, external job satisfaction and general job satisfaction which is composed of 20 elements (Weiss, Dawis, England and Lofquist, 1967). Smith, Kendall and Hullin（1969）published the factors with work itself, payment, promotion, superiors and colleagues in Job Descriptive Index (JDI).

XIE Yongzhen and ZHAO Jingling (2001) generated a teachers’ job satisfaction questionnaire for Chinese. Feng’s 1996 model is a five-dimension model that comprises of self-fulfillment (zi wo shi xian), income (gong zi shou ru), job stress (gong zuo qiang du), relationship with colleagues (tong shi guan xi) as well as the relationship with administrators (ling dao guan xi) (42). On the other hand, He and Xuan (2002, 115) categorized teacher’s job satisfaction based on various ecological factors such as stress (occupational), recognition, working conditions, remuneration and promotional opportunities. According to studies, teachers in Chinese colleges are relatively satisfied with self-fulfillment, interpersonal relations, professional input and social acknowledgment while fairly dissatisfied with other factors including promotions, quality of students, salary, physical conditions, occupational stress and lack of opportunities to advance their studies and secure promotions (Chen, 2010, 265; He & Xuan, 2002, 116).

Generally, over 83% of teachers in China have considered teaching as one of the best professions. This is according to the study that was conducted by Bao (2002, 9). This together with other research findings therefore suggest that a person’s wellbeing is basically an individual matter and very significant to research. Previous research on international college shows that satisfaction in job has cognitive, behavioral and emotional components (Judge, Timothy, Daniel, 2016, 530). A similar research by Sirin (2016, 85) identifies two type of satisfaction; global job satisfaction which depends on how employees feel about their jobs, and job facet satisfaction which depends how employees feel regarding some aspects of their job such as benefits, salary, and available resources quality. Sirin (2016, 89) posits that it is significant to study the job satisfaction facets that have an impact on teacher’s level of satisfaction, influencing a sense of lower or higher satisfaction or total satisfaction.

Previous studies have associated effectiveness in schools to teachers’ job satisfaction as it an integral indicator to effective work and product quality (Sirin, 2016, 91). Judge, Timothy, Daniel et,al. (2016, 535) posits money is the main factor that not only help them meet the worker’s material needs but also gives them psychological satisfaction. Promotions and money are the most attractive factors to job satisfaction; other factors in the education sector have been identified as social status, ability utilization, advancement, relations, good working conditions, security and creativity (Scott & Dinham, 2015, 83). Previous studies show that income increase is greater than that predicted in the sector of education also enhances stakeholders’ job satisfaction. Also, profit-sharing plans and pensions are directly and positively associated with job satisfaction among employees.

The researcher opted for the qualitative study because the study’s main aim was to gain insights into the feelings and thoughts of teachers as far as job satisfaction is concerned. The approach taken (phenomenological) allows researchers to describe ‘the meaning for participants of their lived experiences of a phenomenon’ and to explore ‘what all participants have in common as they experience a phenomenon’ (Creswell, 2007, 57–58). A phenomenological study tries to eliminate biases and predetermined assumptions that concern feelings, reactions to certain situations and human experiences in general. Through this method, the researcher is able to delve deeper into perspectives, understandings, perceptions and feelings of the people experiencing the situation of interest (Sutton & Austin, 2015, 228). Participant The study is aimed to explore comprehensive and objective factors which affect the teacher’ job satisfaction.

The researcher requested participants to give a description of their experience working in the learning institution as well as any factors of importance incidents they would consider critical and those that affect their work experience. The researcher encouraged participating teachers to narrate their ‘‘stories" in their own way. The interviews took between 20 to 50 minutes, averaging around 35. These interviews were recorded in speedwriting while others were audio-taped. Finally, the researcher offered the opportunity to all interviewees to review their own transcripts before the analysis was conducted. In order to avoid having the study influenced by prior knowledge and experience, the researcher maintained objectivity throughout the study, only making analysis based on the data collected from the participants. Besides, 18 teachers represent a small number of participants for an interview.

Nonetheless, the sample structure of the department to some extent, offsets this limitation as it allowed the participants from 3 different department in UIC to take part in the study. The researcher took advantage of this, allowing the study to expressively expand the representative major scale of feedback in UIC. Ethical considerations The study received an ethical ratification from the ethics committee of the University of Hong Kong. Also, the work here is more formal and inflexible.  Foreign teachers think that they have a lot of respect here, and that there is no racial problem with the ease of getting along with other foreign teachers. They can communicate with most of the Chinese teachers, which is very conducive to their will to understand the local culture.

 Everyone is very friendly here in the workplace. Workers give a lot of respect to one another. I have taught in many schools, and UIC students do very well in this area.  My honor is to have the opportunity for the community and education industry to do some contributions. I could see the development of the college which is from a common college become a famous college, and also see the progress of students, I had been taught a student who was from undergraduates directly recruit to doctoral students. These can not only be said to be a sense of achievement, it more likely a satisfaction, in the other word it is an honor of belonging.   Therefore, UIC teachers feel motivated and satisfied with their jobs by having the sense that their efforts contribute to the betterment not just of the institution but of the entire society at large.

Compared with local teachers, UIC does not have a series of institutional mechanisms for retirement. This is institutionalized discrimination that leads to inequality and finally job dissatisfaction among foreign teachers. UIC is likely to lose these dissatisfied teachers to other local colleges which are said to be providing social security for their foreign workers. In China, the college only help us to pay the health insurance fee, but we do not have the same retirement social insurance as our mainland colleagues, and if we teach abroad, we will get "Guarantee？. "This leads if the foreign teachers would like to have a perfect retirement mechanism that is not available in UIC," he said. When compared to other public universities, UIC received less government support in research projects, funds and policies.

A college should have weekly or semester Seminar, but UIC does not. Also, it makes very little effort to encourage professional exchanges which make the department have a little research achievement and the teacher's research motivation is relatively weak.   Second, some teachers also reported that the college does not pay attention to the cultivation of young teachers, which makes UIC teachers’ Young teachers of high mobility, indirectly affect the stability of the work of teachers. The future of any institution depends on what it does today with its younger generation employees. UIC provides a conducive work environment to its teachers, a condition that highly satisfies them. the institution also allows its teachers to have a sense of freedom of identity, which is another satisfying factor.

UIC should ensure that it keeps the current working conditions, particularly the freedom of identity among workers. Other than salary which teachers report to be satisfied with, the institution’s teacher welfare system is wanting. Therefore, the administration ought to pay attention to this aspect as it affects teachers’ satisfaction. , & Hunt, G.  Organizational behaviour: A Canadian perspective. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson. Bao, D. Dangjin woguo zhongxiaoxue jiaoshi xintai daxing diaocha baodao (A survey of primary and secondary school teachers in China). Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(3), 263-272. doi:10. 1007/s12564-010-9085-1 Feng, B. Jiaoshi gongzuo manyi jiqi yingxiang yinsu de yanjiu (Factors affecting teacher job satisfaction). Educational Research, 2, 42–49 He, W. Klassen, Robert M. , and Ming Ming Chiu. "Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress.