TEACHER MOTIVATION AND JOB SATISFACTION: A STUDY ON TEACHERS IN THREE DISTRICTS IN NORTHERN SRI LANKA

The study explores the motivation and job satisfaction of teachers with the objectives to study the factors that related to the choice of their job and their job satisfaction. Population of the study involved the teachers in Sri Lanka and the target population of the study consisted of teachers in three districts in Northern Sri Lanka. A sample of one hundred and fifty teachers participated in a workshop was purposively selected for this study. A self-developed questionnaire, built up by reviewing related literature was used for data collection. Quantitative data collected through questionnaire survey was analyzed using simple descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was analyzed by categorizing and coding into emerging themes. Findings from the study revealed that, 79% of the teachers agreed that they selected teaching profession on their own choice. 82% of them involve in teaching with full satisfaction. However 29% of the teachers wanted to go to some other jobs. Further, the results of this study indicated that, teachers selected this profession as they preferred it, it is a permanent job and it has long holidays and less working hours. Among the teachers who involved in teaching with full satisfaction, 45% expressed that they loved it. Based on the findings, the study concluded that, teachers have motivation towards their profession. However, some of them felt that, they are not fully satisfied with their job and wanted to get some other jobs. It is therefore recommended that teachers should be provided with relevant training and professional development opportunities, salary increase and respect and recognition to motivate them and to increase their job satisfaction

Cognitive Intelligence, Emotional Intelligence, and Coping with Examination Stress: A Mixed Method Study on Academic Adjustment of Adolescent Students in Sri Lankan Government Schools

The main purpose of the study was to examine the role of cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence factors in the process used by Sri Lankan adolescent students to cope with examination stress. An exploratory sequential mixed method research design was adopted for this study. In the first phase, interview data collected from 27 adolescent students in collegiate level classes in Sri Lanka were analysed using grounded theory to qualitatively develop four models to explain the role of cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence factors in the process of coping with examination stress. In the second phase, survey data collected from 357 adolescent students in collegiate level classes in Sri Lanka were analysed using structural equation modelling procedures to quantitatively test and refine the models developed in the first phase of the study. The major findings of the investigation included the development and confirmation of two theoretically justifiable models of the process of coping with examination stress. Of these finally accepted models, one model demonstrated the role of a cognitive intelligence factor (i.e., Language Skills) as an indirect predictor of Self-Regulated Learning, which in turn was a direct predictor of Coping with Examination Stress. The other model recognized an emotional intelligence factor (i.e., Self-Awareness) as an indirect predictor of Coping with Examination Stress and Seek Support for Learning as a direct predictor of Coping with Examination Stress. The findings of the study are likely to contribute to reducing the gap in the literature on the roles of cognitive intelligence and emotional intelligence factors in coping with examination stress among adolescent students. Moreover, the findings may be used by school administrators, teachers, counsellors, parents, and policy makers to optimally support adolescent students to cope with examination stress

The Changing Educators’ Work Environment in Contemporary Society

In this paper, we are going to address job satisfaction and perceived self-efficacy withinthe context of residential child-care. A joint report from the European Foundation for the Improvement on Living and Working Conditions and the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work revealed that managers in the field of health and education were the most concerned about the psychosocial risk of their employees, although concern is not automatically translated into tools to face the risk and to manage it. So, measuring and improving employees’ job satisfaction and self-efficacy can be an important means for organizations to prevent the outcomes of psychosocial risk, and supporting high quality performance of workers. But profound changes are affecting the nature of work at large, and specifically social educator’s in the field of residential care with minors. Globalization, radical technological and communication developments, as well as the pressure to frame care as a commodity, are quickly changing procedures and praxis at work, and even the meaning of job itself. All these changes are highly demanding for this category of professionals, as much as the fact that the organizational setting is vanishing as a resource to sustain their professional attitudes and behaviors. Under these circumstances, job satisfaction and self-efficacy can be hard to experience, and isolating their precursors is essential to develop healthy and effective work environments. This paper means to highlight the process of supporting self-efficacy and job satisfaction in the educational work in residential youth care that is still underrepresented in research. It presents data emerging from two studies, study 1 involving 268 educators and study 2 involving 472 educators belonging to different Italian residential child-care services. Study 1 consists of a quantitative study including the following measures: attachment style, job satisfaction, work-related self-efficacy, and length of service. Study 2 consist of a qualitative exploration deepening the sources of educators’ work-satisfaction. Quantitative data support the identification of attachment style and length of service as antecedents of work-related self-efficacy and job satisfaction. Qualitative data show the importance of relational issues in shaping the educators’ satisfaction at work