Teacher Job Satisfaction in Rural Schools: A View from the Texas Panhandle.

Job satisfaction and its components were investigated among 156 teachers in 15 of the smallest school districts in the Texas panhandle. The districts were randomly selected from all panhandle districts having an average daily attendance of 200 students cr less. Respondents completed a 28-item modified version of the Community Attitudes Toward Education Survey. Over 90 percent of respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with teaching. Factors that contributed to these teachers' satisfaction included respect for and relationships with other teachers in the school, positive attitudes toward students, and teacher involvement in school governance. Responses to open-ended queries included positive comments about small class size, student attitudes, fellow teachers, collegiality, and relaxed environment. Positive and negative comments were received about parent involvement, student dircipline and responsibility, and home-school relations. Negative comments referred to the school board-teacher relationship, school closings, rural isolation, and financial problems. Recommendations for administrative action are outlined. Contains 59 references and the survey questions. (SV) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. * ***************************************************************u******* Pe) Teacher Job Satisfaction in Rural Schools: A View from the Texas Panhandle Connie Ruhl-Smith, Ph.D. Assistant Professor West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas 79016 James M. Smith, Ph.D. Associate Professor West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas 79016 "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE ThIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC). " U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educahonal Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization ongmating C Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quahty Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent ofIrclaI OERI postlion or pohcy A Paper Presented at the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration Annual Conference, Indian Wells, California August 1993 Teacher Job Satisfaction in Rural Schools: A View from the Texas Panhandle The purpose of this study was to investigate levels of teacher job satisfaction in rural schools of the Texas Panhandle. Using a modified version of the Community Attitudes Toward Education Survey, developed by the Center for Research and Evaluation at the University of Maine (McIntire, Marion, Skehan, & Watts, 1990), 156 teachers from 15 of the smallest school districts in the Texas Panhandle participated in this study. The modified instrument, consisting of 28 critical items concerning teacher job satisfaction (as reported by Quaglia, Marion, & McIntire, 1991), was distributed to each of the aforementioned teachers working in the 15 rural school districts. These 15 districts were randomly selected from all area districts with an average daily attendance of 200 students or less, as demarked by the Texas Education Agency Textbook Report for 1991-1992. Because one of the communities investigated lies within a two-state region, both school districts were included in this study. Therefore, 14 of these rural school districts were located in the state of Texas, while one was located in the state of Oklahoma (for the purposes of this study, all participating districts will be considered as a part of the Texas Panhandle Region). Of the originally selected districts, only one chose not to participate in this study. Due to a recent community vote in regard to consolidation, the future of this district is in question. Consequently, the teachers were reluctant to be involved in any study of this