The relationship between self-esteem and job satisfaction of primary school teachers in Fuding city, China

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the level of teachers' self-esteem, job satisfaction, and the relationship between self-esteem and job satisfaction. The study also examined the differences in primary school teachers' job satisfaction based on their personal factors such as gender, work experience and school area of primary school teachers in FuDing City, China. The study employed quantitative design for an entire sample of 440 teachers who responded to two sets of questionnaires based on Rosenberg's (1965) and Spector's (1985). concepts. Descriptive statistical analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient, t-test and F-test were employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that the overall teachers' self-esteem was at high level with an overall average mean score of 2.92, and teachers' job satisfaction was at moderate level with overall average mean score of 2.63. The study findings indicated that there was a positive relationship between teachers' self-esteem and job satisfaction at 0.01 level (r=.158). Based on the study results, the research recommends that the Education Service Office (ESO) establish a job engagement policy that would enable teachers participate more in decision-making, recognize staff performance, conduct regular research in order to further enhance teachers' self-esteem. Furthermore, the study also recommended to strengthen the ESO's investment in education, create more opportunities for career development, make compensation programs more attractive, and conduct regularly research to improve teachers' job satisfaction.