Date of Award

Summer 7-2016

Access Restriction

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctorate in Education

Department

Education

School or College

School of Education

First Advisor

Magaly C. Lavadenz

Second Advisor

Martha McCarthy

Third Advisor

Rebecca Stephenson

Abstract

Criticism of the public school system tends to be aimed squarely at teachers in the classroom (Karpinski, 2012). As school principals lead in this current educational climate, it is incumbent upon them to provide their teachers an environment that is conducive to job satisfaction, emphasizing teacher retention, and mitigating the deleterious effects of teacher turnover on students’ academic achievement. To understand the practices of the principal, this study investigated teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ practice, asking the following questions: What is the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their principal’s practice of building professional capital and teachers’ job satisfaction? What are the experiences of teachers in relation to their perception of their principal’s practice of building professional capital and job satisfaction?

Research was conducted employing an explanatory sequential mixed-methods correlational study; utilizing a researcher-created on-line survey and semistructured interviews. The results of this study indicate that teachers’ job satisfaction is independent of principals’ practice of building professional capital. The quantitative findings found no correlation between teachers’ perceptions of their principal’s practice of building professional capital and teacher job satisfaction. The qualitative data indicate that teachers attributed their job satisfaction to factors that are independent of their relationship with their principal; commitment to their students and colleagues and sense of purpose were cited as sources of job satisfaction.

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