RELATIONS BETWEEN LIFE SATISFACTION AND PROFESSIONAL DETERMINANTS AND SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS AMONG PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

Abstract The aim of the study reported in this paper was to examine life satisfaction among physical education teachers, as well as to look for relationships of its level within selected parameters related to the occupation of teaching and socio-cultural factors. The research applied to a group of 99 physical education teachers from the Opolskie Voivodeship. The Polish adaptation of the SWLS life satisfaction scale was employed for this purpose [10]. An original survey questionnaire developed by this author was also used, as it enabled the determination of the ways in which free time is spent and the duration of time per day when the interviewed subjects sit for excessively long periods. The study did not demonstrate statistically significant dependences between the gender of the subjects as well as their level of education and the investigated parameters. Most teachers reported a high (55.6%) level of life satisfaction, whereas average satisfaction was reported by 41.4 % of the subjects, and by a few as low as 3%. The study did not reveal any statistically significant correlations between life satisfaction and age, work experience nor the time spent in a sitting position. Only 46.5% of the teachers stated that if they had more free time for themselves, they would embark on some form of physical activity among other tasks. The subjects who declared working longer hours more often stated that they are willing to take various forms of rest excluding physical activity. For the reasons outlined above, it seems necessary to encourage physical activity among physical education teachers as a manner of expending free time. Further research should strive to determine the factors responsible for life satisfaction among a variety of factors, not just socio-cultural, professional, or economic ones, with a note that such a study should involve a larger population