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Background #1: "The Five Factors: How School Leaders Can Improve Teacher Retention"

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Background #1: "The Five Factors: How School Leaders Can Improve Teacher Retention"

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Flores, J., & Shuls, J. (2024). The five factors: how school leaders can improve teacher retention. Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 8 (1), 1-20. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=teacher+retention+and+school+culture&pr=on&id=EJ1431320

Summary: This 2024 peer-reviewed study, “The Five Factors: How School Leaders Can Improve Teacher Retention,” draws on interviews with school leaders and identifies five in-school influences on retention: positive school culture, supportive administrators, strong professional development, mentoring, and classroom autonomy. It provides practical examples of how school leaders can intentionally shape culture and shared goals to help teachers stay longer. While it doesn’t focus heavily on evaluation systems, it highlights how collaborative mentoring and autonomy can feed into teacher satisfaction.

Commentary: This resource is solid for our topic—it's grounded in real-world leadership insights and directly ties culture and shared purpose to retention, though it only lightly touches on formal evaluation practices.

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ERIC - EJ1431320 - The Five Factors: How School Leaders Can Improve Teacher Retention, Journal of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, 2024

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Prior research has identified five in-school factors that impact teacher retention: positive school culture, supportive administration, strong professional development, mentoring programs, and classroom autonomy. While much of the national attention is focused on state or district-level policies to address the teacher retention crisis, this study focuses on how school leaders can improve teacher retention by addressing the five factors. Semi-structured interviews with school leaders were used to provide examples of how principles can improve school culture and increase teacher retention.

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Background #3: The factors associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and their impacts on students’ achievement: a review (2010–2021)

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Background #3: The factors associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and their impacts on students’ achievement: a review (2010–2021)

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Hoque, K. E., Wang, X., Qi, Y., & Norzan, N. (2023). The factors associated with teachers’ job satisfaction and their impacts on students’ achievement: a review (2010–2021). Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), Article 177. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01645-7

Summary:

Hoque et al. (2023) present a systematic literature review of 32 empirical studies from 2010 to 2021, exploring how teacher job satisfaction (TJS)—both internal and external factors; correlates with student achievement across different global contexts. They find that most studies report a positive relationship between TJS and student outcomes, although some indicate no significant effect; factors like material support and professional development boost both teacher satisfaction and student performance . The review also highlights that cultural and contextual variables can modulate these effects, underscoring the need for locally tailored frameworks and measurement tools .

Quality of Source:
This article offers a clear, accessible snapshot of global research linking teacher satisfaction to student success;emphasizing that while happier teachers generally support better learning, school and cultural context really matter.

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Abstract

The success of any educational organization depends heavily on the effectiveness of its teachers, who are tasked with transferring knowledge, supervising students, and enhancing the standard of instruction. Teachers' job satisfaction has a significant impact on the lessons they teach since they are directly involved in transferring knowledge to students. In order to determine the effect of teachers' job satisfaction (TJS) on students' accomplishments, the researchers sought to analyze the empirical studies conducted over the previous 12 years (SA). To determine the characteristics that link to instructors' job satisfaction and their effect on students' achievement, thirty-two empirical studies were examined. The analysis of world-wide empirical research findings shows four types of results: (i) In some countries, teachers' job satisfaction is low, but students' achievement is high (Shanghai, China, South Korea, Japan, Singapore) (ii) In some countries, teacher job satisfaction is high, but student achievement is low (Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, Italy). (iii) In some countries, teachers' job satisfaction is high, and so is student achievement (Finland, Alberta, Canada, Australia). (iv) In some countries, teacher job satisfaction is low, which has a negative impact on student achievement (Bulgaria, Brazil, Russia). In sum, irrespective of countries, highly satisfied teachers give their best to their students' success, not only by imparting knowledge but also by giving extra attention to ensure the better achievement of each student. The review of this study makes it even more worthwhile to reflect on the need to avoid stereotypical considerations and assessments of any objective presentation of the phenomenon and to reflect more deeply on the need to assess the validity of the relationship study.

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Introduction

Teachers are the main part of the school education system. The factors affecting students' achievement (SA) should be multifaceted. Among them, teachers are one of the important factors that affect students' academic performance (Ma, 2012). Teacher job satisfaction (TJS) refers to teachers' satisfaction with their current work, which can be divided into internal satisfaction and external satisfaction (Wang, 2019). TJS inquiry and analysis can help managers not only comprehend teachers' professional attitudes and avoid burnout but also provide some guidance for management decision-making. Improving TJS will assist instructors in maintaining a high level of passion and enthusiasm for their profession for a long time, allowing them to play even better in the lesson and ensuring consistent teaching quality (Zong, 2016). Teachers must have proper work satisfaction in order to be fully ready to transmit knowledge and skills important for learners to develop in SA. Teachers have been revered as "nation builders". More specifically, teachers who teach in colleges and train students into elites and have talents in different disciplines are the key to a nation. Low TJS may lead to lower levels of education (Borah, 2016).

Many studies show that TJS has a significant positive correlation with job performance. As an example, Hayati & Caniago ( 2012) found that higher job satisfaction is conductive to higher job performance, while Ejimofor's ( 2015) finding shows triadic relationships in which it indicates that TJS improves teaching quality, and teaching quality has the direct effect of improving students' quality. One of the most important topics in every academic organization is TJS and SA. TJS not only increases productivity but also helps promote a productive teaching and learning environment. Based on this, both school administrators and the government should give more attention to meeting the needs of teachers to improve their motivational level to achieve educational goals so as to improve student academic performance (Ihueze et al., 2018). Surprisingly, though some researchers did not find a substantial link between TJS and SA (Ejimofor, 2015; Borah, 2016), the intuition and popular expectation is that TJS affects SA significantly and directly (Fisher, 2003). Moreover, Lopes & Oliveira ( 2020), utilizing information from the 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey, demonstrated that teacher job satisfaction is a vital element of teachers' and schools' performance as well as students' academic and educational attainment (TALIS). They also discovered that aspects of interpersonal relationships are the most effective predictors of job happiness. They advised schools to improve by addressing interpersonal problems, especially in the classroom, where the majority of perceived job satisfaction tends to reside. The findings demonstrated that, (1) among the personal traits of teachers, teacher efficacy had significant effects on job satisfaction (You et al., 2017). As the factors affecting teachers' job satisfaction vary depending on the context of different countries, this review included studies from different regions to give a comprehensive scenario of findings based on different regional factors. The review results have revealed the associated factors of teachers' job satisfaction and their impacts on student achievement. The findings can be the subject of further exploration. The review study set out to accomplish the following objectives:

Objectives:

1. 1.
to find whether teachers' job satisfaction (TJS) has an impact on student achievement (SA)

2. 2.
to find the factors that have a positive impact on TJS and SA

3. 3.
to find the factors that influence the effect of TJS on SA and that manifest differently in different countries

Theoretical background

Between 2010 and 2021, the number of studies examining the impact of TJS on SA increased significantly.

Conceptualization of teachers' job satisfaction

Job satisfaction is one of the important topics in the fields of occupational psychology, organizational behavior, and human resource management to explore employee productivity and organizational effectiveness (Fisher, 2003). With the development of humanistic thinking and the concept of lifelong education, this concept has been generally accepted by people, and the academic community has increasingly paid attention to the work-related emotional experiences of different professional or occupational groups such as teachers, nurses, etc.

Generally speaking, TJS refers to a teacher's overall emotional experience and cognitive expression of their occupation, working conditions, and state. The international community generally believes that, as a variable of emotional attitude, TJS itself not only covers different dimensions but, more importantly, TJS has an important and direct impact on teachers' enthusiasm and commitment to teaching. Daily work efficiency and effectiveness are also powerful predictors of SA. In addition, from the perspective of organizational commitment, improving TJS is an important way to enhance teachers' sense of identity and belonging to the school, as well as to improve teachers' professional attractiveness.

From the perspective of logical inference, according to the important phenomenon of the mentoring effect in the rise of talent chains and talent groups in the history of scientific development, as well as the practical experience that "the greatest happiness of teachers comes from the extraordinary achievements of students," and even the word "teacher" often used when praising teachers, judging from the phrases such as "famous teachers produce master apprentices" and "peaches and plums fill the world," in practical work, SA should also be one of the important sources of TJS (Wang & Zhang, 2020).

Factors affecting the teachers' job satisfaction

Different studies have used different elements that have direct, indirect, or even no impacts on the job satisfaction of teachers. In their research on college teachers' job satisfaction, Shi et al. ( 2011) revealed that work treatment, job pressure, leadership behavior, gender, age, etc. have more or less influence on the job satisfaction of college teachers. Existing research usually divides the factors that affect TJS into four levels: individual, school, work, and others. The influencing factors at the individual level can be grouped into objective factors and subjective factors. Among them, objective factors include teachers' educational background, teaching years (experience), gender, professional title, monthly income and workload, teaching subjects, etc.; subjective factors include occupational preference and work engagement.

The two main influencing variables at the school level are students and management. While the management aspect comprises the institutional culture of the school and student management, the student aspect includes the student's learning environment. The professional growth environment, work pressure, learning exchange possibilities, etc. are examples of workplace factors. The location of the school (eastern, central, or western) and whether it is located in an urban or rural area are examples of other levels (Beijing Normal University Teachers' Labor Market Research Group et al., 2021).

These elements can be categorized into three groups when considered collectively: the elements of the college professors themselves, the elements of the institutions, and the level of compatibility between individuals and roles. The author's research focuses on the connection between these three variables and college professors' job satisfaction (Shi et al., 2011).

Professional title, educational background, and job satisfaction are among the factors that teachers can control for themselves, but these variables have very weak correlations and cannot be used as explanatory variables in the regression equation. Age, on the other hand, has a weak correlation with job satisfaction but can be used as a variable to explain job satisfaction. Salary level is the school component that has the greatest impact on TJS. The primary output that teachers receive from the organization is compensation, which is also a key component that teachers demand from the organization. The degree of alignment between instructors' expectations and their compensation is the most significant element determining TJS in terms of the matching of people to roles.

Student achievement

Defining a student's grades is not an easy task. The most common metric of achievement is undoubtedly student performance on achievement exams in academic disciplines like reading, language arts, math, science, and history. The quality of schools and teachers, students' backgrounds and situations, and a host of other variables all have an impact on academic attainment (Cunningham, 2012). The researchers looked at academic levels, achievement gaps, graduation and dropout rates, student and school development over time, and student success after high school.

Academic achievement is the ability to complete educational tasks. Such achievements can be general or topic-specific. Academic achievement refers to students' scores in courses, curriculums, courses, and books that they have studied, expressed in the form of marks, percentages, or any other scale of marks (Borah, 2016). It is important to highlight that academic performance encompasses not only students' achievement in tests and exams, but also their participation in social events, cultural events, entertainment, athletics, and other activities in academic institutions and organizations.

Conceptual framework of the study

How to improve the academic performance of students is a popular topic in the field of education. After all, the purpose of education is to train students to become talents in society. Between 2010 and 2021, scholars from many different countries studied the relationship between TJS and SA. Many scholars' studies have shown that there is a significant positive correlation between TJS and SA (McWherter, 2012; Crawford, 2017; Andrew, 2017; Iqbal et al., 2016). In these studies, the effects of TJS on SA were investigated, suggesting that it is fairly common in the literature to study the relationship between the two as a theme (Ejimofor, 2015; Borah, 2016).

Specifically, some districts have high SA but lower TJS than average schools. While some districts had high TJS, this did not improve SA. Therefore, it makes sense to understand the findings of these studies as a whole. What's more, it is necessary to sort out the reasons for this divergence among numerous studies and make comparisons. The following questions serve as a guide for this study's analysis of the findings in the literature on the effect of TJS on SA.

1. 1.
Does research show that TJS has an impact on SA?

2. 2.
What factors will have positive impact on TJS and SA?

3. 3.
What factors influence the effect of TJS on SA that manifests differently in different countries?

Methods

By examining previous research, this work seeks to characterize teacher motivation and assess the evaluation criteria and processes that account for student performance. The research method is systematically summarizing and analyzing based on a literature review, which helps us research and analyze the topic from a dialectical perspective. This study refers to the model of PSALSAR. The process of selecting documents starts with analyzing the topic, searching and classifying relevant documents, screening relevant documents from different sources according to the selection criteria, and finally extracting the most relevant documents for sorting out. Analysis (Bearman et al., 2012). The scope of this review also followed four criteria as outlined in the review work of Wayne & Youngs ( 2003).

Data sources

The data for this literature review was extracted from three major data sources: Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and HowNet. The review intended to take into account all recognized and relevant sources reporting on studies that are in English and falls within the duration of the study, which is a 12-year period from 2010 to 2021. The aim of the search is to locate all appropriate literature without expanding the search too much and retrieving a huge number of unrelated results. After applying an analytical inclusion/exclusion criterion to the 721 papers that were found, 32 papers were found to be applicable to the study's objectives.

Data screening

The databases were searched using the following terms: "career management of teachers," "teacher job satisfaction," "student achievement," and "teacher job satisfaction and student achievement."

There is much literature on the relationship between TJS and SA, many of which use TJS as a mediator, or TJS is just one of the variables to promote SA. Since the focus of this review was on the impact of TJS on SA, the literature search consisted of two phases to ensure that all relevant literature on the relationship between the two was included. In the first phase, which focused on TJS, the following search terms were used: "teacher job satisfaction", "teacher work satisfaction" and "teacher satisfaction", combined with the search term "SA". In the second stage, the focus is on the effect of TJS on the SA selected from the first stage choices. After screening for keywords and selecting the year interval as 2010-2021, 26 documents were finally extracted for research. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) is an evidence-based framework that clearly defines the bare minimum of items to be included in systematic reviews and meta-analyses (Moher et al., 2009).

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

In order to check on the quality and validity of the data obtained, the most recent journals available on the topic were chosen. Also, a high priority was given to reading the findings and extracts of every journal before it was selected for review. Literature analysis adopts the selected research selected by narrative methods so that the author can understand the literature and find the mode by carefully reading and interpreting the research results (De Rijdt et al., 2013).

Next, each article is completely reread to determine the important part. Based on the content analysis method, the paragraphs of important information containing the answer to the hypothesis research question are encoded. In this literature review, as mentioned in an earlier section, the PRISMA is applied to the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the review. The table below depicts the details (Table 1).

Table 1 Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results

The review results of 32 empirical studies have revealed the following answers to formulated research questions. The answers are organized according to research questions.

Does research show that TJS has an impact on SA?

From 2010 to 2021, most studies from different countries have shown that TJS has a positive impact on students SA (McWherter, 2012; Crawford, 2017; Farooqi & Shabbir et al., 2016) The morale of teachers is closely related to the academic achievements of students (Sabin, 2015). This is because when the teacher is dissatisfied with their work, they will transfer it to students in many ways, including the absence of classes. When this happens, students will suffer, and their academic performance will inevitably be negatively affected.

The research results also show that the more teachers believe that teaching is a valuable occupation, the more satisfied they are (Armstrong, 2009), and the better the students' outcomes. A study in two sub-Saharan African nations examined the degree of teacher satisfaction in Uganda and Nigeria, its causes, and how it affects the quality of instruction and learning (Nkengne et al., 2021). According to research, teachers who are satisfied with their jobs are more likely to teach effectively, which should help their pupils learn more in the classroom. In order to make employees play a greater role, the work itself must have satisfactory characteristics. If it is interesting, it has good income and work safety. A teacher with high work satisfaction usually puts more effort into teaching and learning (Ihueze et al., 2018). However, whether it is based on the conclusions of existing mainstream theoretical research or on practical experience, low job satisfaction will not only affect teachers' teaching enthusiasm but also cause teachers to have a teaching attitude problem of "not happy to teach", as a result, it may even lead to the problem of "poor teaching" ability and ultimately have a negative impact on students' academic performance; at the same time, it will also have a negative effect on the organizational commitment of in-service teachers and the professional attractiveness of teachers (Wang and Zhang, 2020).

The results of several earlier investigations likewise show the opposite. The intuition and general expectations of the work satisfaction of teachers will affect the students' grades (Fisher, 2003). TJS lacks a significant relationship with student grades, which is in line with the findings of Banerjee et al. ( 2017). According to their longitudinal study of young children between kindergarten and fifth grade, student reading growth has no association with teacher job satisfaction, but there is a slight but favorable relationship between the two. Although this seems to be a violation, it is consistent with the previous 41 research (Iaffaldano & Muchinsky, 1985; Fisher, 2003). Studies lack significant relationships between TJS and children's academic achievements (Ejimofor, 2015). The relationship between TJS and SA can be ignored, which is to say that teachers' job satisfaction has no significant impact on SA (Borah, 2016). Despite such findings, most of the scholars agree with the notion that job satisfaction concerning school teachers reflects their strong motivation towards their dedication to students' performance (Manandhar et al., 2021).

What factors will have positive impact on TJS and SA?

TJS has a positive impact on the quality of education; therefore, affecting teacher job satisfaction can affect the quality of education. However, because multiple factors have a significant effect on TJS and SA, not all things that improve TJS also improve academic performance. In many circumstances, the aims of increasing job happiness and enhancing student accomplishment are antagonistic rather than complimentary (Michaelowa, 2002).

System control factors and incentive structures, in particular, due to a complete lack of job protection, have been found to have a significant positive impact on teacher performance, although they tend to be strongly opposed by the instructors involved. According to a study (Tsai & Antoniou, 2021) conducted in Taiwan with 113 teachers and 2,334 students to examine the relationships between teacher attitudes toward teaching mathematics, teacher self-efficacy, student achievement, and teacher job satisfaction, teacher attitudes toward teaching mathematics, efficacy in the classroom, and student achievement in mathematics could, to some extent, explain variations in teacher job satisfaction. The majority of the variation in teacher job satisfaction, which may translate into improved teacher efficacy and student achievement, was explained by teacher attitudes about teaching mathematics. It suggests that improving the quality of education for children is a complex process for which variables like instructors' attitudes, their level of self-efficacy, and their pleasure and satisfaction at work may be responsible (Khalid, 2014). According to a study by Rutkowski et al. ( 2013) on 81 elementary school teachers from a sizable metropolitan school district in the United States, the PD program improved teachers' pedagogical topic knowledge and subject-matter expertise. The teachers that participated in the professional development program showed a greater level of topic and instructional strategy understanding.

In fact, only a few variables had a clear positive effect on both goals. One was related to classroom equipment, which had a clear positive effect on teachers' well-being. By accessing the material support of a supportive and satisfying working environment, teachers are more likely to be more actively involved in their teaching activities, which in turn is an important factor in how this leads to the creation of relevance for students' teaching practice (Benevene et al., 2020). Among the device variables, many variables do not have any significant effect on SA and therefore do not even appear in the regressions. However, the situation is different for students' teaching materials, which are highly correlated with SA and positively correlated with teacher job satisfaction. Therefore, improving the supply of textbooks is certainly a relevant policy option (Hee et al., 2019). In terms of class size, however, it does have a significant impact on teacher work satisfaction (Hee et al., 2019). TJS can be improved by reducing class size. Increasing class size is clearly the best answer to high student numbers for both teachers and kids. The disadvantages of double-shifting are so severe that they are applicable to classes of up to 100 pupils. Teacher efficacy has been shown to correlate with the presence of classroom processes and procedures, and the presentation of good classroom processes may contribute to better outcomes for students (Perera et al., 2022). At the same time, good teacher efficacy will also enable teachers to provide more effective pedagogical support, resulting in better outcomes for students in teaching and learning.

The commonly held belief that low salaries and large class sizes are the key reasons for low teacher job satisfaction and low SA has no support in this study. This had no discernible impact on SA. As a result of this research, an extraordinarily costly endeavor to enhance teacher compensation does not appear to be a suitable policy option in general.

What factors influence the effect of TJS on SA that manifest differently in different countries?

In their study, Dicke et al. ( 2020) found that the working context item was associated with student accomplishment for both teachers and principals; however, only the general and working environment factors of teacher job satisfaction were related to the disciplinary climate observed by students. International Student Evaluation Projects (PISA) and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) found that in countries and regions with outstanding academic performance of students, their teachers showed lower work satisfaction (OECD, 2016; TALIS, 2013). For example, for two consecutive years in the PISA test, it is hailed by the World Bank as Shanghai, China, which has the highest education system in the world, shows that the teacher's work satisfaction is significantly lower in the Talis 2013 survey results (Liang et al., 2016). In fact, Shanghai is not a special case. PISA (2015) data shows that, as a whole, despite the outstanding performance of students, the work satisfaction and occupational satisfaction of East Asian countries and regions are lower than the international average (Chen, 2017). At the same time, in those countries or regions that are less ideal in the PISA test, their teachers' work satisfaction and occupational satisfaction are often significantly higher than the international average (Wang and Zhang, 2020). Data from 1,539 teachers at 306 secondary schools in the two Indian metropolises of New Delhi and Kolkata supported the notion that instructional leadership has indirect effects on teaching and learning and that the social and affective climate of the classroom has direct effects on teacher job satisfaction, which in turn affects student achievement (Dutta & Sahney, 2016). De Vries et al. ( 2013) conducted a study on teacher professional development (PD) in the context of inquiry-based science education (IBSE). The study aimed to investigate the effects of a long-term PD program on teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. A total of 62 primary school teachers from the Netherlands participated in the trial and were randomized to either the PD program or a control group. Surveys, interviews, and classroom observations were used to gauge the teachers' awareness of, attitudes about, and behavior with regard to IBSE. The outcomes demonstrated that the PD program had a favorable impact on teachers' attitudes and knowledge to IBSE. IBSE knowledge was higher among the teachers in the PD program group, and they were more enthusiastic about advantages for their pupils.

Australia, Chile, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Korea, Portugal, Spain, USA, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominia, Peru, Arab, Netherlands Combining the survey and test data of TALIS 2013 and PISA 2012, it is found that there are four main correspondences between teachers' job satisfaction index and students' test scores in different countries (regions) (OECD, 2016; TALIS, 2013). Countries (regions) with better test performance, such as Finland, Canada (Alberta), Australia, the Netherlands, etc. The second is countries (regions) where teachers' job satisfaction is high but students' performance is significantly worse, such as Mexico, Malaysia, Chile, Italy, etc.; the third is countries (regions) where teachers' job satisfaction is significantly lower than the international average level, but students' test scores are significantly higher than the international average or even among the best, such as Shanghai (China), South Korea, Japan, Singapore, and other East Asian countries and regions; the fourth is countries with low teacher job satisfaction and low student test scores, such as Bulgaria, Brazil, Russia, etc.

There is a clear correlation between cultural differences in different countries (regions) and teachers' job satisfaction. Firstly, teachers' job satisfaction in countries (regions) with a high power distance index is generally lower; secondly, individualism is different in different countries (regions), and there is a potential positive correlation between the index and teacher job satisfaction; furthermore, countries with a high long-term orientation index tend to have lower teacher job satisfaction and vice versa; and lastly, countries with a high indulgence index score. In other regions, teachers' job satisfaction is generally higher (Wang and Zhang, 2020).

Combined with the analysis results, it can be determined to a large extent that national (or regional) culture has a potential impact on teachers' job satisfaction that cannot be ignored, and compared with the usual experience of "good SA, TJS should also be high". From the perspective of stereotyped thinking, the degree of influence of cultural differences on teachers' job satisfaction, or at least the degree of correlation between the two, is more obvious and stronger. Therefore, it seems that a more reasonable explanation can be made for the puzzling differences in teacher job satisfaction in different countries (regions) shown by the TALIS 2013 survey data (Sims, 2017; Wang and Zhang, 2020). In order to highlight areas for development and to wrap up the section, Kravarušić ( 2021) can be quoted. He looked at the fundamental components of the structure of factors in the Republic of Serbia. He discovered that the status of society, the immediate social context, the quality of the study program, the professional environment, continuous professional development, pedagogical practice, the personal characteristics of educators, job satisfaction, and private life all influence the level of competence of teachers. As a result, the setting is a key factor in determining how satisfied teachers are with their work, which in turn influences student progress.

Limitations & recommendations

This review summarizes and analyzes the existing literature on teacher job satisfaction and student achievement, which will help improve student performance from the perspective of teachers' job satisfaction in the future. However, there are still some limitations in the research process, which can be considered in the follow-up research.

First of all, it is about theoretical research. Although the research on teachers' job satisfaction theory has been refined and divided into three stages for discussion and definition, the influencing factors obtained from the experimental analysis based on this definition have also been proved to be effective. However, this method of definition has not been widely accepted, which does not mean that researchers have not paid enough attention, precisely because job satisfaction theory involves too much content and there is not enough practice to demonstrate that the theory is true and effective. In addition, due to the repetition and contradiction of different types of theories caused by too many related studies, it has seriously affected the research on the classification and influencing factors of teachers' job satisfaction at different stages. As the working lives of teachers cannot be simply divided into pre-service teachers and in-service teachers, such as teachers before retirement, teachers in private schools, etc., these can be the basis for classification, and the factors that affect teachers' satisfaction are also different. At this stage, the theoretical knowledge of teachers' job satisfaction is simply divided into stages, but teaching is a process, and its complexity and variability cannot be explained clearly by existing theories. The research at this stage cannot realize the analysis of teachers in terms of process. Therefore, future research can focus on defining teachers job satisfaction from different aspects through practice and strive to obtain the most accurate factors that affect teacher satisfaction so as to achieve the adjustment of students' achievement.

Secondly, the articles chosen for this study include a reasonably high proportion of quantitative research, which is the primary method for studying the theory of teacher satisfaction and examining its affecting elements. However, this means that the research method is single, and the research results mainly come from the results of questionnaires and data analysis. The research results on the influencing factors to improve teachers' job satisfaction promote the development of teachers' personal professional abilities, and thus students' achievement have been confirmed. However, some researchers said that relying too much on questionnaires and data made them ignore the complexity of the research content, and the validity of the research results also weakened their in-depth research ideas to a certain extent. In order to gain a deeper understanding of teachers' job satisfaction, a qualitative investigation should be used to truly understand the source of teachers' satisfaction and provide more possibilities for research on influencing factors (Fig. 1).

An overview of the overall screening procedures as well as the workflow associated with selecting relevant material. At the beginning of the process, a total of 2188 records were discovered from the databases. After eliminating gray literatures, duplicated papers, book and book chapters and conference papers, the number of articles maintained for further title reading and abstract review was decreased to 632. Following this, only 159 papers met the eligibility requirements for additional abstract reading and main body skimming. Out of that, 67 remained to be read in their entirety. During the main body reading, articles 32 without content pertaining either to teachers' professional development or student achievement were excluded manually. At last, 32 papers met eligibility requirements for SLR study remained.

Concluding remarks

In the past 12 years, most studies from different countries have paid much attention to the effect of teachers' job satisfaction on student achievement. Most research shows that TJS will have a positive impact on students achievement (McWherter, 2012; Crawford, 2017; Andrew, 2017; Iqbal et al., 2016). Although there is still a small subset of studies showing no significant relationship between TJS and SA, the number of these studies is far lower than the number of studies that believe that TJS has a positive effect on SA (Ejimofor, 2015; Borah, 2016). There are many factors that affect TJS, but only work treatment, work pressure, co-worker relationships, etc. However, research shows that only classroom equipment and classroom size have a positive effect on both. Research shows that it is largely certain that national (or regional) culture has a non-negligible potential impact on teacher job satisfaction. Moreover, compared with the usual experience and stereotyped thinking that "students have good grades, so teachers' job satisfaction should also be high", the degree of influence of cultural differences on teachers' job satisfaction, or at least the degree of correlation between the two, is more obvious and relevant. The review of this study makes it even more worthwhile to reflect on the need to avoid stereotypical considerations and assessments of any objective presentation of the phenomenon and to reflect more deeply on the need to assess the validity of the relationship study. As in the case of measuring teacher job satisfaction, the extent to which cultural differences affect teacher job satisfaction cannot be ignored. This is why it is important for scholars to develop a framework for measuring teachers' job satisfaction according to cultural contexts and specific social needs and to give more dimensions to reflection and further measurement. Only on this basis can the overall level of teacher satisfaction be improved, thus increasing the overall level of teacher effectiveness and well-being, and better motivating students to engage in teaching and learning activities that lead to better quality learning outcomes.

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1. Faculty of Education, Universiti Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kazi Enamul Hoque, Xingsu Wang & Yang Qi

2. Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, 35900, Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia

Normarini Norzan

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Correspondence to Kazi Enamul Hoque.

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Hoque, K.E., Wang, X., Qi, Y. et al. The factors associated with teachers' job satisfaction and their impacts on students' achievement: a review (2010-2021). Humanit Soc Sci Commun 10, 177 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01645-7
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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The factors associated with teachers' job satisfaction and their impacts on students' achievement: a review (2010-2021) - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications

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The success of any educational organization depends heavily on the effectiveness of its teachers, who are tasked with transferring knowledge, supervising students, and enhancing the standard of instruction. Teachers' job satisfaction has a significant impact on the lessons they teach since they are directly involved in transferring knowledge to students.

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Methodological #1: Teacher Job Satisfaction and Student Achievement: The Roles of Teacher Professional Community and Teacher Collaboration in Schools

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Methodological #1: Teacher Job Satisfaction and Student Achievement: The Roles of Teacher Professional Community and Teacher Collaboration in Schools

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Banerjee, N., Stearns, E., Moller, S., & Mickelson, R. A. (2016). Teacher job satisfaction and student achievement: The roles of teacher professional community and teacher collaboration in schools. American Journal of Education, 123(2), 203–241. https://doi.org/10.1086/689932

Summary:

Banerjee et al. (2016) examine whether elementary-school teachers’ job satisfaction is linked to student growth in math and reading, and how school culture factors (like professional community and collaboration) influence that relationship. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, the study found that teacher satisfaction was modestly, positively associated with reading gains—but not with math—and that the interaction between satisfaction and a supportive school environment strengthened outcomes in both subjects. The authors conclude that policies aimed at improving student performance should consider not only teacher satisfaction but also fostering collaborative and professional school cultures.

Quality of Source:
This study shows that happy teachers, especially those working within a strong, collaborative culture, help students grow more; not just in reading, but often in math too when the environment supports them.

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Background #2: "Teacher Retention and the Future of Learning: Alarming Concerns about Preparing the Next Generation of Citizens"

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Background #2: "Teacher Retention and the Future of Learning: Alarming Concerns about Preparing the Next Generation of Citizens"

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Parker, D., & Holmes, B. (2025). Teacher retention and the future of learning: Alarming concerns about Preparing the next generation of citizens. Journal of Research Initiatives, 8 (5), 1-11. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=teacher+retention+and+school+culture&pr=on&id=EJ1472187

Summary: This peer‑reviewed article offers a focused and practical look at why teachers stay in their roles—highlighting three key themes: administrative support, workplace collegiality, and personal passion/principle. Its strength lies in directly linking these themes to how school culture and shared purpose can foster better teacher retention.

Commentary: While it doesn’t dive deeply into formal evaluation systems, its clear, straightforward insights align well with our focus on how a positive culture and shared goals help retain teachers.

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ERIC - EJ1472187 - Teacher Retention and the Future of Learning: Alarming Concerns about Preparing the Next Generation of Citizens, Journal of Research Initiatives, 2025

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Research is robust in detailing the various reasons teachers leave the profession. There is scant literature on why teachers stay and what should be done to improve teacher retention. Teacher retention is a primary concern nationally and internationally. The inability to retain teachers has resulted in a teacher shortage and significantly affects student learning. Sorenson and Ladd (2020) This study yielded three emergent themes related to integral factors of teacher retention: changing attitudes on administrative support, workplace collegiality, and persistence of passion and purpose. Recommendations offered include encouraging administrators to leverage the passion and commitment of the educators to create and develop school cultures that influence long-term teacher retention.

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Theoretical #1: "Making Sense of Teacher Turnover: A Mixed Methods Exploration of Why Teachers Leave"

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Theoretical #1: "Making Sense of Teacher Turnover: A Mixed Methods Exploration of Why Teachers Leave"

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Doughty, M. (2024). Making sense of teacher turnover: A mixed-methods exploration of why teachers leave. Teachers College Record the Voice of Scholarship in Education, 126(8). https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681241276954

Summary:

This study looks at why teachers leave their jobs by comparing multiple-choice survey answers with teachers’ written explanations. It finds that teachers often leave because of issues like leadership, workload, pay, and student behavior, but the written responses show how these issues are connected and how much school leadership impacts everything else. The study suggests that to keep teachers, schools need to understand the deeper reasons behind why teachers leave, not just surface-level survey results.

Quality of Source:

This is a high-quality, directly relevant resource for understanding teacher turnover and school culture because it centers teachers’ voices and explains how school leadership and working conditions shape their decisions to leave. It offers clear, research-based insights that can inform practical strategies for improving retention and supporting healthier school environments.

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Theoretical #2: "Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory on Work Motivation: Does it Works for Todays Environment?"

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Theoretical #2: "Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory on Work Motivation: Does it Works for Todays Environment?"

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Tan, S. K. (2023, September). Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory on Work Motivation: Does it Works for Todays Environment? ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262639924_Herzberg

Summary:

This article looks at Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, which says that good working conditions and pay (extrinsic factors) keep workers from being unhappy, while meaningful work (intrinsic factors) actually makes them satisfied. The article reviews newer studies showing that in today’s workplaces, pay, job security, and work environment can also make people feel satisfied, not just prevent dissatisfaction, and suggests updating the theory to treat both types of factors as important for keeping employees motivated.

Quality of Source:

As a resource, this article is somewhat relevant to the topic of teacher turnover and school culture because it explains how working conditions and meaningful work impact motivation, which are key factors in why teachers stay or leave. However, since it does not focus specifically on schools, its ideas would need to be connected to the education context to be fully useful for understanding teacher retention.

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Theoretical #3: "Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change"

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Theoretical #3: "Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change"

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Summary:

This foundational article by Albert Bandura introduces the concept of self-efficacy, a person’s belief in their ability to execute actions needed to manage situations—as a key driver of behavioral change. Bandura argues that people are more likely to engage in and persist with challenging tasks when they believe they can succeed, and he outlines how self-efficacy is developed through mastery experiences, observing others, social persuasion, and emotional regulation. The article presents a unifying framework showing that diverse treatment methods can all effect change through strengthening self-efficacy. Bandura supports this theory with experimental findings linking increased self-efficacy to increased willingness and success in confronting fears.

Quality of Source:

This is a high-quality, seminal resource for understanding motivation and behavior change, forming the backbone for later work on teacher motivation, retention, and school culture. In the context of teacher retention, the article’s emphasis on self-efficacy offers a valuable lens for understanding how teachers’ beliefs in their capacity to handle classroom challenges and school demands can impact their persistence and satisfaction within school environments.

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Methodological #2: Collective teacher culture and school goal structure: Associations with teacher self-efficacy and engagement

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Methodological #2: Collective teacher culture and school goal structure: Associations with teacher self-efficacy and engagement

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Summary:

This article examines the components of a strong collective teacher culture—supportive relationships, shared goals and values, collective efficacy, and value alignment—using data from over 1,100 teachers in Norway. The findings show that when these elements are present, schools are more likely to have a learning-focused environment, which in turn supports teacher motivation and self-efficacy.

Quality of Source:
This is a valuable and relevant resource. It offers clear evidence that a strong, shared school culture plays a key role in fostering teacher engagement and retention.

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Collective teacher culture and school goal structure: Associations with teacher self-efficacy and engagement - Social Psychology of Education

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One purpose of this study was to test a model of a collective teacher culture (CTC) proposed by Skaalvik and Skaalvik (Skaalvik and Skaalvik, Social Psychology of Education 24:1389–1406, 2021). In this model, a second-order CTC variable was indicated by four first-order variables: positive and supportive social relations with colleagues, collective teacher efficacy, shared goals and values, and value consonance. A second purpose was to test how a CTC was associated with teachers’ perceptions of the school goal structure (learning and performance goal structures). A third purpose was to explore relations between the two dimensions of the school goal structure, CTC, teacher self-efficacy, and teacher engagement. Participants in the study were 1145 teachers in elementary school, middle school, and high school. The data were analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analyses and SEM analysis. The factor analyses supported the proposed model and revealed that a CTC was positively and strongly associated with a learning goal structure and positively and moderately associated with both teacher self-efficacy and teacher engagement. In contrast, a CTC was negatively associated with a performance goal structure. A learning goal structure was also positively associated with teacher self-efficacy and engagement. In the SEM model, CTC partly mediated the associations between a learning goal structure and teacher self-efficacy and engagement.

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Methodological #3 Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators

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Methodological #3 Solving the Teacher Shortage: How to Attract and Retain Excellent Educators

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https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/solving-teacher-shortage

Podolsky, A., Kini, T., Bishop, J., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2024, April 4). Solving the teacher shortage: How to attract and retain excellent educators. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/solving-teacher-shortage

Summary: This report from the Learning Policy Institute examines the complex issue of teacher shortages in the United States. It identifies key factors contributing to the problem, such as insufficient salaries, inadequate preparation and support for new teachers, and challenging working conditions. The authors propose evidence-based policy solutions to attract and retain excellent educators, emphasizing comprehensive strategies that address these systemic issues.

Quality of Source: The Learning Policy Institute is a respected group that does solid research to help improve education. This report on solving the teacher shortage is a good example of their work, and many people who study education trust and refer to their findings.