ERIC Number: ED547316
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 338
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-2674-3951-2
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Special Educators and Attrition: The Relationship between Workplace Decision-Making and Job Satisfaction
Tyler, Teresa Ann
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Minnesota
This exploratory, quantitative study investigated the relationship between special educators' perceptions of workplace decision-making and two types of satisfaction, overall job satisfaction and satisfaction with school/organization decision-making. To address this purpose, literature-based contributors to job satisfaction were identified and included in a survey about decision-making and job satisfaction. The survey was sent to a proportional random sample of 1,600 special educators in eight states. Participant responses were analyzed in several general linear regression models to explore the relationship between workplace decision-making and the two satisfaction types, with several other literature-identified variables entered in the models as controls. Study findings suggested that a moderately strong positive relationship between special educators' decision-making level and both satisfaction types existed when other variables were controlled. This finding implies that when special educators' workplace decision-making autonomy increases, job satisfaction also increases, on average. Because job satisfaction is a strong research-based contributor to special educator retention, the implication is that the persistent education problem of attrition can be addressed, in part, through changes in school/teacher decision-making practices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Special Education Teachers, Faculty Mobility, Decision Making, Job Satisfaction, Statistical Analysis, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Surveys, Regression (Statistics), Professional Autonomy
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A