The Occupational Motivation, Satisfaction and Health of English School Teachers

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study of a sample of 609 English teachers and school executive (headteachers, deputies, etc.). The study sought to examine and benchmark teachers’ occupational motivation, satisfaction and health and to test a model of teacher satisfaction developed in Australia in a previous research phase. English teachers were found, in common with their Australian counterparts, to be motivated most strongly by altruism, affiliation and personal growth. They were also found, again like Australian teachers, to be most satisfied with ‘core business’ aspects of teaching‐‐facilitating student learning and achievement, developing as a professional and working with other staff; and the least satisfied with matters from systemic and societal levels‐‐the nature and pace of educational change, and the status and image of teaching. Between these two domains lay factors specific to particular schools: school leadership and communication, school resources and relationships with community. Teachers from different types of schools and those holding different promotion positions were found to differ on some measures of satisfaction; however, unlike Australian principals, headteachers were found to be, on the whole, no more satisfied than their classroom teacher colleagues and to be similarly ‘stressed’. These findings are interpreted in the light of the specific context of the English education system.

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