Factors affecting job satsifaction and turnover among public school superintendents in Iowa and Minnesota

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors of job satisfaction among school superintendents and the relationships between satisfaction and turnover. One hundred eighty-one superintendents in Iowa and Minnesota who had spent less than three years or more than fifteen years as chief administrator in their current district responded to a three-page questionnaire. The survey instrument consisted of personal-experiential variables, task variables, and the Job Descriptive Index and was designed to measure job satisfaction and rate of turnover;Group t tests were used to establish significant differences between the two groups of superintendents, and the findings were compared to Chand\u27s 1982 study. Pearson r correlations established relationships between level of overall satisfaction and all other variables in the instrument. Multiple regression correlation determined the capacity of job satisfaction in predicting turnover;Analysis of the data results in these findings: (1) Length of service made significant contributions to job satisfaction in the areas of community attitude, work hours per week, paper work, safety, co-workers, and pay. (2) Length of service does not affect the level of overall job satisfaction among superintendents. (3) Three-fourths of the superintendents would choose the superintendency as a career again. (4) Superintendents in Iowa and Minnesota are more highly satisfied than those involved in the national study. (5) Job satisfaction does not predict turnover