LEADERSHIP STYLE OF THE QUASI-ADMINISTRATOR AND TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION

Abstract

This study was designed to explore the relationship between the perceived leadership behavior of the quasi-administrator and teacher job satisfaction. In addition, the study also considered how the variables of the quasi-administrator's prior assignment, teacher age and teaching experience affected teacher job satisfaction.;The study sample consisted of 131 elementary special education teachers from five school districts in the New York City school system. The test instruments used were the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire, (LBDQ), the Job Satisfaction Index, (JSI), and a Personal Data Form.;The LBDQ identifies two fundamental leader behavior factors, Initiating Structure and Consideration. Initiating Structure is the relationship between the leader and work group members in the structure, communication and procedural methods of the organization. Consideration describes the behavior between the leader and work group members reflecting friendship, mutual-trust, respect and warmth.;All data were analyzed for four leadership style groups in relation in Initiating Structure and Consideration scores, high-high, high-low, low-high and low-low groups. The researcher also analyzed the relationship between teacher job satisfaction and the quasi-administrator who had been selected from inside or outside the unit disregarding the four leadership style groups. Teacher job satisfaction was significantly higher when the quasi-administrators were appointed from outside the unit.;The results also seem to suggest that: (1) Teachers who perceive their quasi-administrators as being high in both Initiating Structure and Consideration will have a greater degree of job satisfaction than will those teachers who perceive their quasi-administrators as having any other leadership style. (2) Age does not seem to be a factor in the degree of teacher job satisfaction since the differences in satisfaction between the age groups were very small. (3) Although none of the differences betweeen experience groups were significant at the .05 level, the findings for teachers in the two largest groups (HH and LL) seemed to indicate a tendency for the more experienced teachers to have the greatest job satisfaction.;Based on the findings, the researcher's recommendations include: the need for a better definition of the role of the quasi-administrator; and the construction of an instrument specifically to measure the leadership behavior of a quasi-administrator.