Abstract

Culture is a broad context that has the potential to affect teachers’ job satisfaction. The present study investigated the relationships between self-construal and teacher job satisfaction in a collectivist culture. Participants of the study were 426 individuals from primary, secondary, and high schools (1st-12th grades) in a mid-sized city. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were used in the data analysis. The findings suggested that relational vertical, humanistic, and personal self-construal significantly predicted intrinsic satisfaction. Furthermore, collective horizontal and humanistic self-construal significantly predicted extrinsic satisfaction. Finally, collective horizontal, humanistic, and personal self-construal significantly predicted job satisfaction (total). These findings provide strong evidence of the explanatory power of self-construal in intrinsic satisfaction, extrinsic satisfaction, and job satisfaction (total).

Keywords

References

• Admiraal, W., Veldman, I., Mainhard, T., & van Tartwijk, J. (2019). A typology of veteran teachers’ job satisfaction: Their relationships with their students and the nature of their work. Social Psychology of Education, 22(2), 337-355. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-09477-z
• Alderman, K. M. (2004). Motivation for achievement: Possibilities for teaching and learning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Atchison, T. A. (1999). The myths of employee satisfaction. Healthcare Executive, 14(2), 18-23.
• Ayan, S., & Kocacik, F. (2010). The relation between the level of job satisfaction and types of personality in high school teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(1), 27-41. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2010v35n1.4
• Baycan, F. A. (1985). Analysis of some aspects of job satisfaction in people working in different groups (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Bogazici University, Istanbul.
• Bogler, R. (2001). The influence of leadership style on teacher job satisfaction. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(5), 662-683. https://doi.org/10.1177/00131610121969460
• Brouwers, A., & Tomic, W. (2000). A longitudinal study of teacher burnout and perceived self-efficacy in classroom management. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(2), 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0742-051X(99)00057-8
• Buitendach, J. H., & De Witte, H. (2005). Job insecurity, extrinsic and intrinsic job satisfaction and affective organisational commitment of maintenance workers in a parastatal. South African Journal of Business Management, 36(2), 27-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/sajbm.v36i2.625
• Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Borgogni, L., & Steca, P. (2003). Efficacy beliefs as determinants of teachers' job satisfaction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 821-832. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.4.821
• Caprara, G. V., Barbaranelli, C., Steca, P., & Malone, P. S. (2006). Teachers' self-efficacy beliefs as determinants of job satisfaction and students' academic achievement: A study at the school level. Journal of School Psychology, 44(6), 473-490. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2006.09.001
• Chen, J. (2010). Chinese middle school teacher job satisfaction and its relationships with teacher moving. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(3), 263-272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-010-9085-1
• Cheng, C., Cheung, M. W. L., Montasem, A., Awang-Hashim, R., Bacova, V., Baumane, I., Chan, R., Christou, M., Chun, W. Y., Clemena, R. M., Comunian, A. L., Czapinski, J., Dayan, N., Loving, R. D., Duarte-Silva, M. E., Falzon, A., Falzon, R., Gan, Y., Golden, D. L., … Uglanova, E. (2016). Explaining differences in subjective well-being across 33 nations using multilevel models: Universal personality, cultural relativity, and national income. Journal of Personality, 84(1), 46-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12136
• Cheng, C., Jose, P. E., Sheldon, K. M., Singelis, T. M., Cheung, M. W., Tiliouine, H., Alao, A. A., Chio, J. H. M., Lui, J. Y. M., Chun, W. Y., de Zavala, A.G., Hakuzimana, A., Hertel. J., Liu, J., Onyewadume, M., & Sims, C. (2011). Sociocultural differences in self-construal and subjective well-being: A test of four cultural models. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42(5), 832-855. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022110381117
• Christopher, M. S., D'Souza, J. B., Peraza, J., & Dhaliwal, S. (2010). A test of the personality-culture clash hypothesis among college students in an individualistic and collectivistic culture. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health, 3(2), 107-116. https://doi.org/10.1080/17542863.2010.491707
• Cockburn, A. D., & Haydn, T. (2004). Recruiting and retaining teachers: Understanding why teachers teach. Routledge Falmer.
• Dickson, K. E., & Lorenz, A. (2009). Psychological empowerment and job satisfaction of temporary and part-time nonstandard workers: A preliminary investigation. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 10(2), 166-191.
• Dinham, S., & Scott, C. (1998). A three domain model of teacher and school executive career satisfaction. Journal of Educational Administration, 36(4), 362-378. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578239810211545
• Duncan, E., Ornaghi, V., & Grazzani, I. (2013). Self-construal and psychological wellbeing in Scottish and Italian young adults. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(4), 1145-1161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-012-9372-0
• Elizabeth G, & Zakkariya, K. A. (2018). Psychological empowerment and job satisfaction in the banking sector. Palgrave Pivot.
• Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). McGraw-Hill series in social psychology. Social cognition (2nd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Fraenkel, J., Wallen, N., & Hyun, H. H. (2012). How to design and evaluate research in education (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Gelfand, M. J., Nishii, L. H., & Raver, J. L. (2006). On the nature and importance of cultural tightness-looseness. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(6), 1225-1244. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.6.1225
• Greenglass, E. R., & Burke, R. J. (2003). Teacher stress. In M. F. Dollard, A. H. Winefield, & H. R. Winefield (Eds.), Occupational stress in the service professions (pp. 213-236). Taylor &Francis.
• Haberstroh, S., Oyserman, D., Schwarz, N., Kühnen, U., & Ji, L. J. (2002). Is the interdependent self more sensitive to question context than the independent self? Self-construal and the observation of conversational norms. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(3), 323-329. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1513
• Hackman, J. R., & Oldham, G. R. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(76)90016-7
• Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Education Limited.
• Harb, C., & Smith, P. B. (2008). Self-construals across cultures: Beyond independence-interdependence. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39(2), 178-198. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022107313861
• Herzberg, F. (1987). One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review, 65(5), 109-120.
• Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., & Snyderman, B. (2010). The motivation to work (12th ed.). Transaction Publishers.
• Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture and organizations. International Studies of Management & Organization, 10(4), 15-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/00208825.1980.11656300
• Hofstede, G., Hofstede G. J., & Minkov, M. (2010). Organizations and cultures: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
• Hongying, S. (2007). Literature review of teacher job satisfaction. Chinese Education & Society, 40(5), 11-16. https://doi.org/10.2753/CED1061-1932400502
• Huang, X., & Van de Vliert, E. (2004). Job levels and national culture as joint roots of job satisfaction. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53(3), 329-348. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2004.00174.x
• Hui, C. H., & Yee, C. (1999). The impact of psychological collectivism and workgroup atmosphere on Chinese employees’ job satisfaction. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 48(2), 175-185.
• Ingersoll, R. M. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38(3), 499-534. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312038003499
• Judge, T. A., & Bono, J. E. (2001). Relationship of core self-evaluations traits—self-esteem, generalized self-efficacy, locus of control, and emotional stability—with job satisfaction and job performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 80-92. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-9010.86.1.80
• Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., & Patton, G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction-job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 376-407. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.3.376
• Kağıtçıbaşı, Ç. (2017). Family, self, and human development across cultures: Theory and applications. Taylor & Francis.
• Kemelgor, B. H. (1982). Job satisfaction as mediated by the value congruity of supervisors and their subordinates. Journal of Occupational Behaviour, 3(2), 147-160. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.4030030202
• Kirkman, B. L., & Shapiro, D. L. (2001). The impact of cultural values on job satisfaction and organizational commitment in self-managing work teams: The mediating role of employee resistance. Academy of Management Journal, 44(3), 557-569. https://doi.org/10.5465/3069370
• Kunter, M., Klusmann, U., Baumert, J., Richter, D., Voss, T., & Hachfeld, A. (2013). Professional competence of teachers: Effects on instructional quality and student development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(3), 805-820. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032583
• Kwantes, C. T. (2010). The facets of job satisfaction: A nine-nation comparative study of construct equivalence. Applied Multivariate Research, 13(2), 145–159. https://doi.org/10.22329/amr.v13i2
• Lawler, E. (1990). Strategic pay: Aligning organizational strategies and pay systems. Jossey-Bass.
• Li, M., & Wang, Z. (2016). Emotional labour strategies as mediators of the relationship between public service motivation and job satisfaction in Chinese teachers. International Journal of Psychology, 51(3), 177-184. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12114
• Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology (pp. 1297-1349). Rand McNally.
• Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98(2), 224-253. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.2.224
• Maulana, H., Khawaja, N., & Obst, P. (2021). An Indonesian model of well-being: The integration of universal and cultural factors. PsyCh Journal, 10(1), 141-154. https://doi.org/10.1002/pchj.402
• Moses, I., Berry, A., Saab, N., & Admiraal, W. (2017). Who wants to become a teacher? Typology of student-teachers’ commitment to teaching. Journal of Education for Teaching, 43(4), 444-457. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2017.1296562
• Mottaz, C. J. (1985). The relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards as determinants of work satisfaction. The Sociological Quarterly, 26(3), 365-385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1533-8525.1985.tb00233.x
• Moza, D., Lawrie, S. I., Maricuțoiu, L., Gavreliuc, A., & Kim, H. S. (2020). Not all forms of independence are created equal: Only being independent the “Right Way” is associated with self-esteem and life satisfaction. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 606354. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.606354
• Novin, S., Tso, I. F., & Konrath, S. H. (2014). Self-related and other-related pathways to subjective well-being in Japan and the United States. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(5), 995-1014. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-013-9460-9
• Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., Terry, K., & Hart-Johnson, T. (2004). Possible selves as roadmaps. Journal of Research in Personality, 38(2), 130-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00057-6
• Özcan, B. (2017). Predictors of subjective well being: self construal self esteem and social support (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ankara University, Ankara.
• Özcan, B., & Öğülmüş, S. (2021). Adaptation of the sixfold self-construal scale to Turkish culture. SDU Faculty of Arts And Sciences Journal Of Social Sciences, 52, 41-56.
• Park, J., Norasakkunkit, V., & Kashima, Y. (2017). Cross-cultural comparison of self-construal and well-being between Japan and South Korea: the role of self-focused and other-focused relational selves. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1516. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01516
• Pepe, A., Addimando, L., & Veronese, G. (2017). Measuring teacher job satisfaction: Assessing invariance in the teacher job satisfaction scale (TJSS) across six countries. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 13(3), 396–416. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v13i3.1389
• Reyes, P., & Shin, H. S. (1995). Teacher commitment and job satisfaction: A causal analysis. Journal of School Leadership, 5(1), 22-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/105268469500500102
• Riketta, M. (2008). The causal relation between job attitudes and performance: A meta-analysis of panel studies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(2), 472-481. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.2.472
• Robbins, S.P. (1996). Organizational behavior: Concepts, controversies, and applications (7th ed.). Prentice Hall.
• Schaufeli, W. B., & Salanova, M. (2007). Efficacy or inefficacy, that's the question: Burnout and work engagement, and their relationships with efficacy beliefs. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 20(2), 177-196. https://doi.org/10.1080/10615800701217878
• Sheu, H. B., Chong, S. S., Chen, H. F., & Lin, W. C. (2014). Well-being of Taiwanese and Singaporean college students: Cross-cultural validity of a modified social cognitive model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 61(3), 447-460. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000018
• Shoshani, A., & Eldor, L. (2016). The informal learning of teachers: Learning climate, job satisfaction and teachers’ and students’ motivation and well-being. International Journal of Educational Research, 79, 52-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2016.06.007
• Singelis, T. M. (1994). The measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20(5), 580-591. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167294205014
• Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2010). Teacher self-efficacy and teacher burnout: A study of relations. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(4), 1059-1069. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.11.001
• Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2011). Teacher job satisfaction and motivation to leave the teaching profession: Relations with school context, feeling of belonging, and emotional exhaustion. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(6), 1029-1038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2011.04.001
• Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2014). Teacher self-efficacy and perceived autonomy: Relations with teacher engagement, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Psychological reports, 114(1), 68-77. https://doi.org/10.2466/14.02.PR0.114k14w0
• Spector, P. E. (1997). Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes, and consequences. Sage.
• Suh, E. M., Diener, E. D., & Updegraff, J. A. (2008). From culture to priming conditions: Self-construal influences on life satisfaction judgments. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 39(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022107311769
• Triandis, H. C. (1989). The self and social behavior in differing cultural contexts. Psychological Review, 96(3), 506-520. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.96.3.506
• Triandis, H. C. (2004). The many dimensions of culture. Academy of Management Perspectives, 18(1), 88-93. https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2004.12689599
• Uskul, A. K., Hynie, M., & Lalonde, R. N. (2004). Interdependence as a mediator between culture and interpersonal closeness for Euro-Canadians and Turks. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35(2), 174-191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022103262243
• Veldman, I., Admiraal, W., van Tartwijk, J., Mainhard, T., & Wubbels, T. (2016). Veteran teachers’ job satisfaction as a function of personal demands and resources in the relationships with their students. Teachers and Teaching, 22(8), 913-926. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1200546
• Vroom, V. H. (1982). Work and motivation (Rev. ed.). Krieger Publishing Company.
• Warr, P. B. (2007). Work, happiness and unhappiness. Earlbaum.
• Wei, X., Shen, P., Li, T., & Liu, X. (2020). Self-construal mediates the impact of job burnout on life satisfaction and Chinese happiness. Current Psychology, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00735-y
• Weiss, D. J. , Dawis, R. V. , England, G. W. , & Lofquist, L. H. (1967). Manual for the minnesota satisfaction questionnaire. University of Minnesota, Industrial Relation Center.
• Yamaguchi, A., & Kim, M. S. (2015). Effects of self-construal and its relationship with subjective well-being across cultures. Journal of Health Psychology, 20(1), 13-26. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105313496448
• Yetim, N., & Yetim, U. (2006). The cultural orientations of entrepreneurs and employees’ job satisfaction: The Turkish small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) case. Social Indicators Research, 77(2), 257-286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-4851-x
• Yu, X., Zhou, Z., Fan, G., Yu, Y., & Peng, J. (2016). Collective and individual self-esteem mediate the effect of self-construals on subjective well-being of undergraduate students in China. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11(1), 209-219. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-014-9362-y
• Zembylas, M., & Papanastasiou, E. (2004). Job satisfaction among school teachers in Cyprus. Journal of Educational Administration, 42(3), 357-374. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230410534676

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.