The present research study was designed to test a contingency
model of job satisfaction based on participation in decision making
as the antecedent variable and job involvement as the intervening
variable. The instruments used to measure the variables were the
participation in decision making scale developed by Siegel and Ruh
(1973), the job involvement scale by Lodahl and Kejner (1965) and the
job satisfaction construct derived from Hoppock (1935).
The findings indicate that statistically significant correlations
do exist for the 1995 educators surveyed in this study. Educators who
reported high levels of participation in decision making consistently
reported high levels of job involvement (p!: 0.001). Also, teachers
reporting high levels of job involvement consistently scored high on
their levels of job satis faction (p!: 0.001). All major hypotheses were
sUPFOrted by the data. Through exploratory hypotheses, the study attempted
to develop statements of relationships between criteria of job satisfaction
and sex and marital status of employees in the system. The hypotheses
received only minimal support, but the results did highlight the
impracticability of attempting to develop any such relationships without
using definite personality and situational variables as moderators.
Differences between male and female socialization, sex discrimination
and multiplicity of roles are briefly discussed as possible explanations
for the reported findings
