Variations in sources of job satisfaction and teacher efficacy between novice and experienced teachers

Abstract

Low levels of job satisfaction and teacher efficacy can cause teachers to leave the profession. Few studies, however, have addressed possible differences in sources of job satisfaction and teacher efficacy for teachers in different professional life phases. This study uses data about Norwegian schoolteachers derived from TIMSS 2015 to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction, teacher efficacy in science instruction, support from school leadership, and collegial collaboration among novice and experienced teachers, respectively. The results add new insights to the findings of previous research and show that teacher efficacy in science instruction is related to job satisfaction in both groups. Additionally, the results suggest that support of school leaders plays a critical role in shaping the job satisfaction of novice teachers, whereas experienced teachers’ job satisfaction is more strongly associated with collegial collaboration. Furthermore, the results indicate that support from school leadership and collegial collaboration is especially important for novice teachers’ efficacy beliefs. Practical implications are outlined, and limitations are discussed.