Influence of self-esteem on job satisfaction of secondary school teachers in kenya

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of self-esteem on job satisfaction of secondary school teachers in Kisii Central Sub-County, Kenya. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two factor theories informed the present study. The study’s target population comprised all 903 secondary school teachers in Kisii Central Sub County. A sample of 306 was selected by stratified sampling to obtain a sample that was representative from all the categories of secondary schools (National, Extra County, County and Sub-County) followed by stratification according to gender to ensure representativeness. For qualitative data, twelve secondary school principals were purposively selected. The study adopted an Ex Post Facto research design where a mixed method research approach was adopted. Data was collected using a modified Sorensen self-esteem scale, job descriptive index questionnaire and interview schedule. Validity was ensured by the assistance of two supervisors’ judgment while for reliability, Cronbach’s Alpha and was found to be 0.764. Quantitative data was organized using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 and the data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was analyzed using Thematic analysis. The correlation analysis established a weak but positive (r =.157; p=.011 < .05) correlation between teacher self-esteem and level of job satisfaction, with higher self-esteem associated with high levels of job satisfaction. Findings of the study recommends that the Teacher Counselors should consider extending their services to the secondary school teachers who seemed to be struggling with low levels of job satisfaction as this also affected their productivity.