Correlates of Job Satisfaction of Public School Teachers: Moonlighting, Locus of Control, and Stress
A study by Lester and Genz (1978) showed that job satisfaction of police officers is related to subjectively perceived stress and to belief in an external locus of control. The present study explored such effects among public school teachers. In all, 46 teachers ( a return rate of 39%) completed questionnaires anonymously. There were 21 men and 24 women (and one subject who did not check sex) : their mean age was 36.0 yr. (SD = 8.9 yr.). They had taught for an average of 10.4 yr. (SD = 6.9 yr.). 17 moonlighted an average of 13.7 hr. per week (SD = 6.4 hr.). The questionnaire included Rotter's (1966) measure of belief in an external locus of control, a measure of subjective perceived stress (in physical or psychological symptoms) (Wilcher, 1980), and a job dissatisfaction scale (Brayfield & Rothe, 1951). Job dissatisfaction and subjective stress scores were unrelated to age, whether the respondents' spouses worked, years spent as teachers, whether the respondents had second jobs, and, if so, for how many hours per week. Job dissatisfaction was related to a belief in an external locus of control (product-moment T = 0.38, one-tailed p = 0.005) and to subjective stress scores ( 7 = 0.28, p = 0.03). Stress scores were nor related to belief in an external locus of control ( 7 = 0.11, p = 0.23). Looking at the sexes separately, job dissatisfaction was related to belief in external locus of control for the men ( r = 0.63, p = 0.001) but not for women ( 7 = 0.13, p = 0.27). In contrast, job dissatisfaction was related to subjectively ~erceived stress for women ( T = 0.44, p = 0.02) but not for men ( T = 0.25, p = 0.14). In this srudy, psychological variables were stronger correlates of job dissatisfaction than demographic and moonlighting variables. Confirmation by replication is appropriate.