The Determinants Of Job Satisfaction Among Secondary School Teachers
[MORO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KWARA STATE, NIGERIA]

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the study
    Job satisfaction is not as new phenomenon at all in any organization. It is one of the topics that have drawn interest among scholars in the field. Many studies have been done on this particular topic for over six decades and thousands of articles have been published (Zembylas & Papantasiu,2006). Job satisfaction has been defined as “a pleasurable emotional state arising from the appraisal of one’s job, an effective reaction to one’s job, and an attitude towards one job (Ubom, 2001). It has also been shown that when job satisfaction in the teaching profession increases, turnover decreases (Robert, 2004).
    Job satisfaction as a social construct does not have a precise definition as it is exposed to different meanings and interpretations from different scholars. There is a lack of consensus on what actually constitutes job satisfaction, Locke and Lathan see job satisfaction as the pleasurable or positive emotional or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experience. A different definition of job satisfaction considers it to be an emotional reaction based on the comparison between actual and expected outcomes (Stone, 1992). Workers decision about whether to work or not, what kinds of job to accept or stay in are all likely to depend on the evaluation of their job satisfaction. However, job satisfaction among teachers can be described as the extent to which teachers are satisfied with their job, the degree to which teachers are having their pleasurable and positive feelings that individual have towards their jobs.
    Since a nation’s progress depends on the quality of education which in turn depends on the quality of teachers, then quality of teaching is well related to the satisfaction of the teachers with their job. It is important that teachers are satisfied with their job because satisfaction is an important factor in the achievement of the established goals and objectives of teaching. Humanity rises or falls, grows or declines, flourishes or withers, not only on the nation but also at the universal level, depending on the education it gets. These problems coupled with the challenges of global economy pose a major concern to the government and board of education.
    Students’ achievement is expected to be high to satisfy parents and stakeholders and to match with present world of high technology know-how. Teacher’s dis-satisfaction and its effects on teacher retention poses a great threat to a profession with an increasing demand for members. The quest for teacher’s satisfaction for effective classroom instruction is a major issue facing Nigeria today. It against this background the researcher investigated determinants of job satisfaction among secondary schools teachers in Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State.
Statement of the problem
    The concerns of most organisations, in the submission of Amoda, Odunaike and Oluwaseun (2007). is the attitude of the workers to work. Workers are expected to be dedicated and committed to their work. Adeyemo (2001) however, observed that it is common to hear that people remark that present-day teachers are not as good or committed as their former counterparts, when teachers are truly not committed to their work, it is an indication of dis-satisfaction with their job. Studies from diverse nations of the world indicate that teachers have one time or the other been dis-satisfied with their job. As such, there is the need to identify the factors that bring about job satisfaction. This means that it might not be a continuous experience. Hence, teachers who are satisfied with their work today might be satisfied with it tomorrow or vice-versa. This implies that consistent research is required to ascertain the job satisfaction status of teachers at a particular of time.
    A closer examination on job satisfiers among secondary school teachers in Nigeria, however, showed that there is still a gap to be filled. In view of these, the present study investigated the determinants of job satisfaction among secondary school teachers in Moro Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria.