Scheduled for Pedagogy I Free Communications: Investigating the Careers and Development of Teachers, Wednesday, April 2, 2003, 1:30 PM - 2:45 PM, Convention Center: 307AB


Exploring Teacher Satisfaction in Physical Education Using the Ecological Momentary Assessment Method

Russell L. Carson, Thomas J. Templin and Howard M. Weiss, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN

Teacher satisfaction, or the evaluative judgment one makes about one's job, has been traditionally assessed in the education literature at the global level (i.e., "How do you feel about your job overall?") or more discrete faceted level (i.e., pay, supervision, or staff collegiality). Such literature seems to suggest that teacher satisfaction is a predictor of teacher commitment, motivation, and retention (Shann, 1998). However, the most current trend among organizational behavior researchers has been to study the psychological states and associated behaviors of employees over time (Weiss, Nicholas, & Daus, 1999). Hence, the purpose of the present study was to explore the satisfaction levels and corresponding behaviors of physical educators using the novel method of Ecological Momentary Assessment. Three middle school physical educators with similar teaching experiences (i.e., 20-25 yrs.) and from the same school were asked to chart their perceived satisfaction level throughout a pre-determined day. Additionally, participants explained the specific triggers to which resulted in the notable variances of their graphed satisfaction levels. Interviews concluded with descriptions of the subsequent behaviors related to their momentary satisfaction level. Results indicated that physical education teacher satisfaction levels tracked over a course of a day tend to be more unstable than stable. Furthermore, within-person themes revealed that physical educators do in fact go through a variety of emotional swings throughout a typical workday. These perturbations were tied to various factors related to personal, professional, and environmental dynamics of the school day. The particular behaviors physical educators identified to be a manifestation of their satisfaction levels included: adjustments in pedagogy, reinforced teacher planning, positive instructional practice, creative responses, and increased punitive actions. As for the between-person themes that emerged, no significant differences were found across the co-working physical educators in their perceived satisfaction trends or the recognized events associated with their satisfaction levels. The results of this study confirm the importance of the Ecological Momentary Assessment model to examine perceived teacher satisfaction; suggesting future research on this topic should not only use this method, but also include varying school contexts and teachers with an array of experience.

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