Job satisfaction : a synthesis of research in the Educational Administration Quarterly

Abstract

This inquiry synthesized empirical findings on job satisfaction published in the first 26 volumes of the Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ). A 14- stage model was designed and validated to classify, record, and analyze study characteristics found in 22 EAQ articles addressing job satisfaction and providing sufficient information for quantitative synthesis. The 22 articles yielded: 1. 330 distinct and 613 total research hypotheses. 2. 12 distinct and 613 total job satisfaction constructs. 3. 162 distinct and 613 total predictor constructs. Using the statistical test as the unit of analysis yielded these findings: 1. 613 statistical tests were investigated. 2. 17 statistical tests were accompanied by a predetermined alpha level. 3. No statistical test was accompanied by a predetermined beta level, an alternative statistical hypothesis, or an explicit effect size. 4. 613 correlational effect sizes were reported in or derived from the 22 articles. 5. 198 effect sizes ranged in magnitude from .00 to .09. 6. 252 effect sizes ranged in magnitude from .10 to .29. 7. 112 effect sizes ranged in magnitude from .30 to .49. 8. 51 effect sizes were in magnitude equal to or greater than .50. Meta-analyses revealed that the mean correlation corrected for sampling error between: 1. Overall job satisfaction and role ambiguity was -.4337. 2. Overall job satisfaction and role conflict was -.4931. 3. Overall job satisfaction and school level was -.2730. 4. Satisfaction with pay and age was .1361. 5. Satisfaction with pay and gender (1=female, 2=male) was -.1323. 6. Satisfaction with work and gender was -.0832. These recommendations were advanced for EAQ editorial policies: 1. Constructs should become more rigorously operationalized. 2. Statistical power should be a central consideration in research design. 3. Data reporting standards should become more rigorous to encourage quantitative synthesis. 4. An individual unit of analysis should be considered in research design. 5. Greater emphasis should be placed on practical significance of findings. 6. More research should focus on administrators...