Do satisfied teachers teach more effectively than their less satisfied colleagues? Although previous research has investigated the factors which lead to teachers being more satisfied with their jobs (Collie et al., 2012; Kasalak & Dagyar, 2020; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2014), not much attention has been given to the impact of job satisfaction on pedagogic quality.

We took data from the OECD’s TALIS-2018 survey – in which 260,000 teachers from 48 economies/regions participated – to investigate this relationship and to determine if the quality of student–teacher relationships was a mediating variable. We used ‘cognitive activation’ and ‘teaching clarity’ to operationalise pedagogic quality. We also tested the influence of cultural differences on the relationships among student–teacher relationships, job satisfaction and pedagogic quality (Li & Yamamoto, 2020), by categorising data from nine of the regions participating in the TALIS-2018 survey into Eastern Confucian contexts (N = 27,106; Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Shanghai) and Western English-speaking contexts (N = 20,209; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom).

We found a positive association between teachers’ job satisfaction and pedagogic quality in both Eastern and Western settings: teachers who were more satisfied with their jobs tended to be better educators. This is consistent with the findings from positive psychology that wellbeing is associated with better work performance (Boehm & Lyubomirsky, 2008; Walsh et al., 2018).

We also found that the association between teachers’ job satisfaction and pedagogic quality was mediated by student–teacher relationships, highlighting the importance of positive student–teacher relationships for building a supportive learning environment. For instance, teachers’ regard for their students and responsiveness to their questions and interests, as well as the emotional climate of the classroom, can all contribute to student accomplishments (Liberante, 2012).

‘We found that the association between teachers’ job satisfaction and pedagogic quality was mediated by student–teacher relationships, highlighting the importance of positive student–teacher relationships for building a supportive learning environment.’

We were also able to highlight certain cross-cultural variations in the relationship between work satisfaction and pedagogic quality. In Western countries, more satisfied teachers made greater use of cognitive activation in their teaching. This means that they tend to ask cognitively challenging questions to engage their students and stimulate deep learning. Such findings suggest that perhaps in countries that value equal relationships (that is, low power distance), interpersonal relationships between teachers and students are seen more positively than in other countries, so these teachers tend to engage more with their students.

In Confucian countries, we also saw an association between job satisfaction and cognitive activation. Interestingly, we also found an increased focus on the clarity of instruction in satisfied teachers. This might suggest that more satisfied teachers in Confucian countries may be more engaged in teaching, albeit taking a more traditional, teacher-led approach.

Our research highlights the importance of schools paying attention to teachers’ job satisfaction, and to improving the relationships between teachers and students, since these factors lead to better teaching and, ultimately, better learning outcomes for students.

References

Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Does happiness promote career success? Journal of Career Assessment, 16(1), 101–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072707308140

Collie, R. J., Shapka, J. D., & Perry, N. E. (2012). School climate and social–emotional learning: Predicting teacher stress, job satisfaction, and teaching efficacy. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(4), 1189–1204. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029356

Kasalak, G., & Dagyar, M. (2020). The relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher job satisfaction: A meta-analysis of the teaching and learning international survey (TALIS). Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 20(3), 16–33.

Li, J., & Yamamoto, Y. (2020). Western and east Asian sociocultural learning models: Evidence from cross-cultural and immigrant research. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 23(2), 174–186. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12384

Liberante, L. (2012). The importance of teacher–student relationships, as explored through the lens of the NSW quality teaching model. Journal of Student Engagement: Education Matters, 2(1), 2–9. https://ro.uow.edu.au/jseem/vol2/iss1/2

OECD. (2019). TALIS 2018 results (Vol. I). OECD Publishing.

Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2014). Teacher self-efficacy and perceived autonomy: Relations with teacher engagement, job satisfaction, and emotional exhaustion. Psychological Reports, 114, 68–77. https://doi.org/10.2466/14.02.PR0.114k14w0

Walsh, L. C., Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2018). Does happiness promote career success? Revisiting the evidence. Journal of Career Assessment, 26(2), 199–219. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072717751441