College of Education
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item PREGNANCY AND WORK: A MIXED-METHODS STUDY OF JOB SATISFACTION AND TURNOVER INTENTIONS DURING A FIRST PREGNANCY(2017) Ross, Katherine; Hoffman, Mary Ann; Counseling and Personnel Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Despite the prevalence of working mothers and mothers-to-be, there is a paucity of research on the intersection of pregnancy and work. This study used a mixed methods approach to examine the workplace experiences of women who were working full-time during their first pregnancy. Participants (N = 166) represented a diverse sample in terms of geographic location (36 states), income level ($25,000 to over $200,000), education level (less than high school through doctorate) and age range (18-42). Quantitative results showed that pregnancy-related work stress, social support in the workplace, level of satisfaction with family leave policies, and the employee’s level of negative affect are all factors related to job satisfaction and turnover intentions for pregnant employees working full-time in the United States. Qualitative data about women’s supportive and unsupportive workplace experiences during pregnancy were also collected and coded using a modified version of Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR-M; Spangler, Liu, & Hill, 2012). Supportive and unsupportive experiences were coded into the following themes: 1) Things people do and say in the workplace, 2) Demands of the job, 3) Pay, 4) Career trajectory, 5) Paid leave, 6) Support for maternity leave, 7) Help from colleagues, and 8) Other parents in the workplace. Coders also identified more specific categories of experiences within each theme. These and other results, as well as implications for employers, employees, and career counselors, are addressed in this manuscript.Item The effects of classroom autonomy, staff collegiality, and administrative support on teachers' job satisfaction(2013) Lasseter, Austin; Lasseter, Austin; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of my dissertation is to determine which job-related factors are most likely to explain teachers' sense of satisfaction with their current job. Based on previous research (Fairchild et al., 2012; Lee, Dedrick, & Smith, 1991; Perie & Baker, 1997), I hypothesized that teachers' perceptions of classroom autonomy, staff collegiality, and administrative support would have a greater impact on teachers' job satisfaction than demographic characteristics of either teachers or schools. My study used a dataset of 19,130 teachers in 2,420 schools drawn from the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The study employed a two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) technique. I modeled the key constructs at both the individual and collective levels by conceptualizing autonomy, collegiality, and support as individual teachers' perceptions and as the average of all teachers' perceptions in the school. My dissertation found that individual teachers' perceptions of classroom autonomy, staff collegiality, and administrative support had a greater impact on teachers' job satisfaction than demographic characteristics of schools and teachers. In addition, my study found that school-wide perceptions of classroom autonomy, staff collegiality, and administrative support had a significant effect on teachers' job satisfaction over and above the effects of individual teachers' perceptions. The study found significant negative effects on job satisfaction for teachers working in Catholic schools and for teachers working in schools where poverty was perceived to be a school-wide problem. Finally, my study determined that sufficient between-school variance existed in the outcome to justify future school-level policy interventions aimed at improving teachers' job satisfaction. Based on my findings, I recommend that policy makers who are concerned about addressing low levels of job satisfaction among teachers should begin by improving factors related to classroom autonomy, staff collegiality, and administrative support, since these are likely to have a meaningful impact. I also recommend that future research should employ a narrow definition of the outcome focusing on teachers' satisfaction with their job rather than their satisfaction with teaching in general.