Job satisfaction has been the focus of research for many years. Review of job satisfaction literature revealed few studies that examined perceptions of job satisfaction of community college faculty as a function of institution size. This study proposed to (1) determine job satisfaction level of full-time Florida community college faculty using ten factors based on Herzberg's et al. (1967) Motivation-Hygiene Theory; (2) determine relative differences in job satisfaction of full-time Florida community college faculty at small, medium and large institutions; and (3) investigate relationships among demographic variables age, ethnicity and gender, and job satisfaction of community college faculty.
Specific research questions examined level of job satisfaction by size of institution among the ten factors of Herzberg's et al. (1967) Motivation-Hygiene Theory, and the proportion of variance in job satisfaction explained by selected demographic variables among full-time faculty.
Full-time community college faculty in Florida appeared to be moderately satisfied in their jobs. Faculty seem most satisfied with work, and least satisfied with salary. Results provide partial support for Herzberg's Motivation-Hygiene theory. No significant differences in job satisfaction were found among faculty at small, medium and large institutions. The canonical correlation between demographic variables (age, ethnicity and gender) and job satisfaction variables was statistically significant but small. No significant differences in job satisfaction were found between minorities (African American or Hispanic) and whites.
Conclusions include faculty seem moderately satisfied with their jobs (achievement, work and interpersonal relations), although sizeable dissatisfaction with growth, policy and administration, recognition, salary and supervision appeared. The size classification system in this study did not reveal significant differences and may warrant revision. Percentage of minority representation at community colleges decreased with institution size. Older or female faculty expressed less hygiene satisfaction than younger or male counterparts. It may be important, when hiring, to look for potential faculty who express satisfaction and a sense of achievement with teaching and working with students and colleagues. Faculty satisfaction may be a partial indication that development of this segment of higher education has been successful, with need for improvement in terms of salary and minority representation.
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