A CAUSAL MODEL OF TURNOVER OF POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTRUCTORS INCORPORATING DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS, WORK-RELATED VARIABLES, AND JOB SATISFACTION

The study was conducted on a population of 615 postsecondary vocational instructors who taught in the 6 Nebraska public community colleges during 1984. The problem investigated was to describe the population through demographic characteristics, work-related factors, and job satisfaction, and then to use these variables as determinates in a causal model to predict an instructor\u27s intent to leave teaching. The first concern was to describe the typical postsecondary vocational instructor through the use of 18 independent variables which were: (1) Demographics; age, sex, tenure, marital status, and educational level (2) Work-related; work load, socialization, internalization, career goal, job search, and perceived alternate job (3) Job satisfaction (from the Job Descriptive Index); satisfaction with teaching, pay, promotion, co-workers, supervision, and administration. The last satisfaction measure, administration, was an unvalidated measure. Two variables, thoughts of quitting and intent to look for an alternate job, were used as intervening variables between the independent variables and the dependent variable of intent to leave in the causal model. The technique derived from multiple regression analysis, path analysis, was the basic statistical procedure used in the testing of the causal model. Conclusions. (1) The typical instructor was married, was male, was 36 years of age or older, had some college, had 6 or more years of work experience, and taught in the Trade and Industry area. (2) Instructors who left teaching compared to those who remained were: younger, female, married with no children, had a baccalaureate degree, expressed intent to leave 25% more often, and were more dissatisfied with their jobs. (3) Overall this population was more dissatisfied than any other occupational group. (4) The Health instructors were most satisfied and the Marketing and Business Administration instructors were the least. (5) The instructors did not have an excessive turnover rate. (6) The path model was successful in predicting intent to leave