An Investigation of Female Faculty Job Satisfaction Levels at Four-year Institutions
Author | : Kimberly Elizabeth Scruton |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 121 |
Release | : 2010 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:1029353841 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (41 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: This dissertation study examined female faculty job satisfaction levels at 4-year postsecondary Carnegie classification institutions using the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) conducted by the National Center for Education Statisitics of the U.S. Department of Education. The focus of this study was to investigate if a relationship exists between demographic characteristics and institutional characteristics of job satisfaction of female faculty members. To compare the levels of female faculty job satisfaction, the study had 2 main categories of independent variables: demographic and institutional. The demographic variables included gender, age, marital status, annual salary, race, tenure status, academic rank, professional discipline, and scholarly productivity. The institutional variables included Carnegie classification of the institution, institution size based on total of full-time enrollments, and institution type and control. Dependent variables included two indexes: satisfaction with instructional activities and satisfaction with employment conditions. The instructional activities index is composed of variables such as satisfaction with academic freedom, technology, equipment and facilities, and teaching improvement. The index of satisfaction with employment conditions is composed of variables such as satisfaction with workload, salary, benefits, and job overall. The results indicate that female faculty was quite dissatisfied with several factors of their employment. This study identifies these demographic and institutional factors and provides recommendations for changes in both policy and practice and recommendations for future research that may provide assistance in improving the number of female faculty that are satisfied with their jobs in academia.