Spirituality and job satisfaction: A correlational study of elementary school teachers

Purpose. The purpose of this quantitative study, consistent with the original study by Bell (2006), was to examine the relationships between spirituality and job satisfaction among elementary school teachers. Methodology. The Spirituality Assessment Scale (SAS; Howden, 1992) was used to determine the spirituality scores and the level of spirituality among teachers. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) short form (Weiss, Dawis, England, & Lofquist, 1967) was used to determine intrinsic satisfaction and general satisfaction. The general satisfaction and spirituality scores were compared to determine if a relationship exists between job satisfaction and spirituality. Demographic variables of age, educational level, grade level taught, and numbers of years teaching were used to determine additional relationships between spirituality and job satisfaction among teachers. Findings and Conclusions. A moderate significant positive correlation was found between spirituality and general job satisfaction. Similarly, a higher significant positive correlation was found between spirituality and intrinsic job satisfaction. These findings seem to confirm the idea that spirituality is closely related to general job satisfaction levels for elementary school teachers. No significant differences where noted on the spirituality measure or the general job satisfaction scale on any of the demographic aspects of the participant sample. Recommendations. Future research should utilize this study to examine whether a strong sense of spirituality among educational leaders correlates to teacher job satisfaction. Studies should also examine where high levels of spirituality among teachers would positively impact the academic performance of their students. Researchers may also wish to consider the following question: Why did the correlation between spirituality and job satisfaction have a moderate significant relationship, and yet the overall job satisfaction scores of this group indicate low levels of general job satisfaction