The Relationships among Autonomy, Job Satisfaction and Motivation

The present study sought to determine the relationship between job satisfaction, autonomy and motivation. Sections pertaining to selected facets of the Job Satisfaction Survey (Spector, 1985), Work Autonomy Scale (Breaugh, 1985), and Work Tasks Motivation Scales (Fernet, et al., 2008) were used to measure the correlates. Each correlate was separated into different facets that were measured: Job Satisfaction (Supervisors, Coworkers, Pay, & Operating Procedures), Autonomy (Work, Scheduling, and Method), and Motivation (Complementary Tasks, Administrative Tasks, and Teaching Tasks). The survey was administered to public school teachers in a large suburban area. There was no significant correlation between the correlates and most of the facets. A significant relationship was found between Autonomy and Job Satisfaction of Pay as well as between Criteria Autonomy and Job Satisfaction of Pay. Additionally, Motivation for Administrative Tasks and Method Autonomy also had a significant positive correlation. AUTONOMY, MOTIVATION AND JOB SATISFACTION 3 The Relationship between Autonomy, Motivation and Job Satisfaction The National Center for Education Statistics reported that only twenty-one percent of teachers are highly satisfied with their jobs and would choose the profession again (NCED, 1997). High rates of teacher attrition (loss of teachers to another profession) and migration (moving to teaching jobs in other schools) have become a chronic problem facing public school systems with 40 to 50 percent of new teachers leaving within the first five years of teaching (Ingersoll, 2003). Of those who have left, according to exit surveys, nearly one third listed issues related to administration as their primary reason for leaving (Ingersoll, 2003). Furthermore, of the teachers who left the profession in 2012-2013, 53 percent reported that their work conditions were better in their current position outside of teaching than it was when they did teach (Goldring, 2014). Participants also reported feeling that the workload was more manageable in their new profession than it was in teaching (Goldring, 2014). Researchers have previously investigated job satisfaction in public school teachers and several other correlates such as overall well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000), autonomy (Baard & Deci, 2004), personal growth (Ryan & Deci, 2000), learning climate (Shoshani & Eldor, 2016), motivation (Roth et al., 2001), and more. The present study seeks to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction, motivation, and autonomy in public school teachers. As research has previously asserted, job satisfaction is closely tied to motivation and autonomy (Baard, Deci & Ryan, 2004; Levesque, Blais, & Hess, 2004; Roth et al., 2001). Within the context of the Self-Determination Theory, autonomy is a determinant of differing motivation levels (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Autonomy, which in a general sense, is a perception of volition accompanying an action (Deci & Ryan, 2000), can be understood within the context of the AUTONOMY, MOTIVATION AND JOB SATISFACTION 4 present study as the amount of freedom allowed for teachers by administration and policy makers in the public system. Previous studies have shown that the amount of permitted autonomy in curriculum may have a positive correlation with teacher motivation (Pelletier, Levesque, & Legault, 2002). Other pressures that may have a similar effect include policies that hold teachers accountable for student outcomes, pressures or rewards for good student performance, and if teachers believe their students are more extrinsically motivated towards their school work (Pelletier, Levesque, & Legault, 2002). Additionally, when teachers perceive pressures from administrators or supervisors such as these, they are known to exhibit more controlling behaviors towards students (Pelletier, Levesque & Legault, 2002). Similarly, lower motivation levels in students has been found to be a product of lower teacher motivation (Fernet et al., 2008; Pelletier, Levesque, & Legault, 2002; Roth et al., 2007; Shoshani & Eldor, 2016), making it a popular topic for study.