Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Date

10-2013

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

job satisfaction, Index of Job Satisfaction, Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC), online course module completion

Abstract

As the online education market continues to mature, institutions of higher education will respond to student demand by employing quality faculty members. Faculty members need unique training to successfully teach online. While the effect of training on job satisfaction has been investigated in the realm of business, it has not been tested extensively in the realm of online higher education. A convenience sample of 497 Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC) faculty members was invited to participate, and 148 responded. A quantitative study utilizing regression analysis investigated the relationship between the training methodology of online course module completion and job satisfaction and the amount of training received and job satisfaction reported for faculty members who teach online, while controlling for the factors of gender and age. A survey methodology was used, whereby faculty members self-reported the training individual faculty members received, as well as the amount of training received. Overall job satisfaction was operationalized to assess current overall faculty job satisfaction through the use of the Index of Job Satisfaction (IJS) created and tested by Brayfield and Rothe (1951). Specifically, this study surveyed faculty members who teach for the ICCOC. The study was unable to find a statistically significant relationship for either training as a yes/no variable and overall job satisfaction (p=.463>.05) or a relationship between training as a continuous variable and overall job satisfaction (p=.330>.05), controlling for age and gender. There was also not enough evidence for a relationship between gender and job satisfaction (RQ1 p=.557>.05 and RQ2 p= .542>.05) for either research question. There is evidence in this study to support the literature review, of a linear relationship between age and overall job satisfaction (RQ1 p=.023<.05 iii and RQ2 p=.028<.05). The results of this study will be useful for school administrators as they seek cost conscious ways to improve faculty job satisfaction in a changing online environment.

Comments

  • A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty of the School of Education of Northcentral University in partial fulfillment for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
  • Dr. Leah Wickersham, Major Professor
  • © 2013 Brian Hoekstra

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