Relationship Between Teacher Factors And Job Satisfaction Among Pre-School Teachers In Mombasa County, Kenya

ABSTRACT

Pre-school teacher job satisfaction is important from the perspective of maintaining and retaining the appropriate employees within the early childhood sector for quality childcare. In Kenya, pre-schools are owned and run by public, private and local communities. The teachers work on different terms according to the employers or management. The purpose of this study was to establish the relationship between teacher factors and job satisfaction among pre-school teachers in Nyali constituency, Mombasa County. Specifically, the study established that pre-school teacher’s job satisfaction varies according to their attitude, teaching experience, gender, and teacher training. The study was guided by Maslow's (1943) Hierarchy of Needs Motivation Theory using the correlation research design. Multistage sampling technique was employed to 135 respondents which included 90 pre-school teachers and 45 head teachers. A questionnaire for teachers and interview schedule for head teachers’ were used for data collection. A pilot study was conducted in 6 pre-schools to determine the validity strictly following the study objectives. Content and face validity of the questionnaires were ensured. The split half methods were used to ensure reliability and a coefficient (alpha) of 0.7 or higher were considered reliable. Qualitative data were analyzed based on the thematic areas and the trends as well as patterns related to the contributory factors of teachers’ job satisfaction in pre-school discussed in narrative form. Quantitative data were coded and analyzed descriptively using means and percentages. The results were presented in tables, graphs and charts. The findings established that teacher factors such as attitude, teaching experience, gender and training greatly influenced their level of job satisfaction. The study also found out that administrative factors like relations with other colleagues and salaries paid played a greater role in pre-school teacher’s job satisfaction. The head teachers recommended increment of salaries and in-service training to ensure pre-school teacher job satisfaction and schools endowed with resources to encourage teacher retention and minimize teacher turn over.