This study was planned to increase understanding of job satisfaction among faculty in middle size universities. The problem was job satisfaction and its association with selected demographic characteristics of faculty at Kenyatta University, second largest university in Nairobi.
There was a response rate of 52.6 percent. All of the 300 faculty members with the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, lecturer and teaching fellow participated in this research.
Two instruments were used to collect data from the participating faculty. The first instrument was a demographic data sheet that solicited personal data from faculty. The second instrument was a standardized six dimensional survey instrument, the Job Descriptive Index (JDI). Both survey instruments were handed out in an envelope to all faculty by the researcher.
The findings showed that most faculty were satisfied with their job in areas of co-workers and job in general. They seemed dissatisfied with the area of opportunities for promotion. The findings further demonstrated that most faculty were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their present work, present pay, and supervision.
Analysis of variance demonstrated that the selected demographic variables of age, professional rank, and nationality were associated with job satisfaction. Scheffe's Multiple Comparison test and Newman-Keuls procedure were used to analyze differences in satisfaction among groups. The results showed that professors and lecturers were significantly more satisfied with their co-workers than were the assistant professors.
Faculty members' gender, marital status, years of experience, tenure status, academic degree and area of interest did not influence job satisfaction. It is recommended that future research to determine an appropriate system of promotions structure and faculty growth and development be initiated.
