A study of the job satisfaction of Nebraska public high school principals

The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the degree of satisfaction that Nebraska public high school principals found in their work, (2) report what areas of work they found the most and least satisfaction, and (3) determine the relationship of five specific factors (age, salary, school size, degree attainment, and experience) upon job satisfaction as reported by the principals. One hundred twenty Nebraska public high school principals responded to the survey which requested demographic information and the short form Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). The public high school principals' responses to the constructs on the MSQ were compiled and analyzed. The MSQ constructs were ranked from high to low. A multiple regression procedure was used to predict the effect of five factors (age, salary, school size, degree attainment, and experience) upon job satisfaction. Telephone interviews were conducted with the four highest and four lowest scores generated on the short form MSQ. The long form MSQ was used for the telephone interviews as well as the same demographic questions. Findings of the study revealed that the general satisfaction scores of the Nebraska public high school principals were above average when compared to scores of norm groups established for the MSQ. The analysis of the 20 constructs of the MSQ indicated that Nebraska public high school principals found the most satisfaction in the variety of their job, the chance to do things for other people, the ability to keep busy, and the way their job provides steady employment. The areas in which Nebraska public high school principals found the least satisfaction were the lack of recognition they received for doing a good job, pay for the amount of work that they did, advancement opportunities, and the way that the superintendents handled their subordinates. With the exception of salary, results of the multiple regression procedure indicated there was little support that any of the factors researched in the study had a major influence upon job satisfaction of Nebraska public high school principals.