Proceedings of the 5th Global Conference on Education and Teaching
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Profiles of Job Satisfaction and Relations to the Quality of Early Childhood Education in the United Arab Emirates
Rehab AlHakmani, Nagla Ali and Shaljan Areepattamannil
ABSTRACT:
Teacher job satisfaction is one of the crucial factors that impact the quality of education. Many research found that teacher job satisfaction has a positive effect on student achievement and the learning environment. This study investigated the latent profiles of job satisfaction among early childhood educators (ECEs) in the United Arab Emirates and its relation to the quality of classroom practices. Job satisfaction surveys were administered, and classroom observations were conducted on early childhood educators who teach and provide care for children in preschools, kindergartens, and cycle-one (grades 1 -3) schools. A person-centered approach (i.e., latent profile analysis) was implemented to identify the latent subpopulations of early childhood educators who demonstrated distinctive profiles of job satisfaction. Analysis of ECEs’ Responses to 20 indicators of five facets of job satisfaction (i.e., pay, contingent rewards, co-workers, Communication, and Operating Conditions) revealed two latent profiles of job satisfaction: a high-moderate satisfied educators who constituted 61% of the sample and a moderate-low satisfied” educators who constituted 39% of the sample. Further, ECEs characteristics (e.g., gender, teaching experience, education degree) did not differentiate between the educators in the two profiles. Concerning classroom practices and instructional quality, irrespective of profile membership, ECEs showed a considerably low level of instructional support compared to the relatively high level of emotional support and classroom organization.
keywords: classroom practices, early childhood educators, latent profile analysis, PRE-K-3RD, teacher job satisfaction