PSYCHO-DEMOGRAPHIC PREDICTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION AMONG NIGERIAN TEACHERS

Teachers are regarded as the bedrock of quality education, however secondary school teachers in Nigeria are becoming less enthusiatic about teaching, because of poor conditions of service and inadequate encouragement from other stakeholders. Hence, the need to identify factors that can enhance their job satisfaction is paramount. Studies on job satisfaction have concentrated on employees in the industries with less concern for teacher job satisfaction and its possible predictors. This study, therefore, examined the relationship among resiliency, Big-five personality traits (openness to experience, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism), demographic variables (educational qualification, gender, age, grade level and subject taught) and job satisfaction, among secondary school teachers in a metropolis in Nigeria.

The study is a survey research that used correlational design. Simple random sampling was used to select 600 teachers (males 48.0%, females 52.0%; with mean age 36±8) from 100 secondary schools in five local government areas in the metropolis, comprising two teachers each from three subject areas (Sciences, Social sciences and Arts). Standardised instruments were used for data collection. Data were analysed using Pearson product moment correlation and standard multiple regression.

This study found resiliency, agreeableness, neuroticism and age as significant predictors of teacher job satisfaction. It was revealed that employing teachers with adequate psychological and demographic characteristics would predispose them readily into experiencing job satisfaction in the teaching job. The findings from this study show that increased resiliency, agreeableness, age, and emotional stability could be precursors of teacher job satisfaction, hence the necessity for inclusion of these variables in the employment procedure for applicants into the teaching job in Nigeria.