RESEARCH REPORTS 77. A STUDY OF SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE JOB SATISFACTION AND CAREER ASPIRATIONS (PLANS) OF GHANAIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS — A STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND HYPOTHESES by K.N. Bame* Teacher shortage appears to have been plaguing most countries but the problem is acute and telling in the new States of Africa. In Ghana many trained teachers have been leaving teaching to seek employment in jobs which they think hold promise of better pay and prestige for them. Independence has not only opened up new avenues of employment and made available numerous jobs in public services but as Dr. Busia points out, the availability of the jobs has also "altered the prestige of the teaching profession"2 in Ghana and else- where in Africa. For example, in Foster's recent study of secondary school students in Ghana, he found that the students perceived the prestige of the elementary school teacher as being very low. They ranked elementary teaching 18th among the twenty-five occupations.3 Studies show that in the late 1950's and early 1960's ex- teachers 'constituted the single largest categoric group in the national legislatures'^ in many newly independent countries in Africa. In Ghana for instance, 38 out of the 104 (i.e., 34.9 ) of members of the national legislature were former teachers. In * Mr. K.N. Bame is a Research Fellow in Sociology. t 1. See Philip H. Coombs, The World Educational Crisis: A Systems Ana lysis, New York: Oxford University Press, 1967, PP- 34-44. 2. K.A. Busia, Purposeful Education for Africa, Mquton: The Hague, 1968. 3. Philip Foster, Education and Social Change in Ghana, Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 1965, p.269. 4. See James S. Coleman, (ed.), Education and Political Develop- ment, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1965, p.368; see also Guy Hunter, The New Societies of .Tropical Africa, New York: Oxford University Press, 1962, p.285. .•- T-Jk, * •X -4* RESEARCH REPORTS 78. addition many former trained teachers are now employed In private firms and industries and public services' Just at the time when Ghana is In most need of trained teachers for her accelerated educational programmes and massive expansion in her educational facilitles. As a result Ghana has had to rely on a large number of "unqualified teachers". Indeed about fifty per cent2 of Ghana's elementary school teachers are pupil-teachers, that is, they are pupils who have been recruited to teach after their middle school education without any further training. Coupled with this poor quality of teachers or perhaps because of it, is the fact that, In the view of the Ghanaian educational authorities, a large number of the teachers do not exhibit any strong sense of work commitment and involvement In their teaching. They seem to approach their teaching as a sort of dull and routine work which they have to do to earn their living. This approach to teaching in the elementary schools has been a matter of concern and reflection by the educational, authorities. A member of a Committee appointed in 1964 to examine ways and means by which the ten-year period of elementary education in Ghana could be reduced to eight expressed the general concern In the following searching question: "How can we make our teachers teach more effectively?" No definitive answers have yet been found to this crucial question. However a number of writers In general comment on the shortage of teachers in the emergent African states have stressed that the main cause is poor remuneration to teachers. Poor re- muneration may be a general cause especially in a developing country such as Ghana where salary seems to be a major factor in people's choice and stay In a job. There must however, be other factors which influence teachers' satisfaction with their work and conse- quently their decision to remain in or leave teaching. Empirical studies in Ghana and elsewhere In Africa point up other factors. lh a study of Ghanaian teachers receiving further training at the The investigator will collect in the field statistics of trained teachers who have left teaching in Ghana within a specific period of time. See Helen Kitchen, The Educated African, New York: . Frederick A. Praeger, 1962, TPF t RESEARCH REPORTS 79. University College of Cape Coast, Wyllie among other things asked the students to rate eight factors In terms of their relative importance for them in choosing their career. The students gave the highest ranking to "Opportunity to perform a useful service". Although as Wyllie rightly points out we must be skeptical with regard to rating of this kind, we cannot simply dismiss the finding because similar results have been obtained In other parts of Africa. For example, Sherwood2, in a study of African office-workers found that the workers placed the highest rating on "service to the community1 in terms of factors which affect their job satisfaction. It is probable that the importance of the variable, 'service to the community1,might have been exaggerated by the respondents in these studies, nevertheless 'opportunity to perform a useful service to their community' may seen to have some influence on the job satisfaction of Ghanaian teachers and African workers elsewhere. Wyllie also concludes from his study that "the teaching profession in Ghana may continue to lose a substantial number of persons who are technically well qualified to teach".3 In the light of the general comments by some writers referred to above and these empirical findings a question which may be asked here is, 'Why have trained teachers been leaving teaching to seek other employment? Is It because of poor salary, low prestige of. teaching, lack of opportunity for teachers to do a useful service, or all of these factors combined with others? 1. R.W. Wyllie, "The New Ghanaian Teacher and His Profession", West African Journal of Education, Vols. 8-10, 1964-66, PP. i7i-8. : 2. R. Sherwood, "Motivation Analysis: A Comparison of Job Atti- tudes Among African and American Professional Workers". (Proceedings of the South African Psychological Association) 1956-7; see also G. Balandier, Socloiogie des Brazzavilles No I res, (Paris, Armand Colin) 1955. (Both studies cited by Wyllle, op. cit. ) 3. Wyllie, op. cit., p.176. RESEARCH REPORTS 80. THE PROBLEM It is obvious that any meaningful answers to these questions can only be provided by an empirical study. Thus the purpose of this study is to identify and analyze socio-psychological factors which make Ghanaian elementary school teachers satisfied or dis- satisfied with teaching and how their satisfaction and dissatis- faction interact with other factors such as their perceptions of the availability of occupational alternatives and lead them to decide to make teaching their long-term career or leave teaching and seek employment in other fields. More specificaiiy,answers to the following questions will be sought: ••4 (I) How do the following factors either singly or (n combination operate to influence the teachers' job satisfaction and consequently their decisions to remain In or leave teaching:- salary, social prestige of teaching in elementary school, oppor- tunity to perform a useful service to their community, opportunities for advancement, super- vision of teaching, relations with fellow teachers and with Headteachers and perceived occupational alternatives. (ii) Are there any internal differentiating character- istics among the products of the older Christian Mission Teachers1 Colleges, such as the Presbyterian Training College - Akropong and Wesley College - Kumasi, as compared with teachers trained In newly established teachers' colleges such as Berekum, Obuasf and Pusiga training colleges with regard to their sense of commitment to and involvement in, their work, satisfaction in teaching and career plans? (iii) Do background variables or descriptive character- istics of the teachers such as age, sex, length of service in teaching socio-economic background and martial status have any relationship to their persistence in teaching, job satisfaction and career aspirations? RESEARCH REPORTS 81. REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE' The bulk of the background literature of this study as may be expected originates from the West, especial Iy North America and Britain. This does not seem to be a great handicap because with cautious and careful adaptation it can guide research in a developing country like Ghana. Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of teachers has long been a popular area of research among researchers. In a recent review of job satisfaction studies In industrial and educational organizations Robinson' and his associates note that over 40 per cent of the studies they reviewed concern teachers and their job satisfaction or morale. Other reviewers2 of job satisfaction researches have also shown that fairly large proportions of the studies relate to teachers and their satisfaction in teaching. However, with a few exceptions the bulk of the voluminous teacher job satisfaction and morale studies seem to be lacking in theore- tical perspective and make little, if any, contribution to the development of theory in the area. A review of the voluminous literature of job satisfaction studies conducted in Western countries is not given in this article. Rather studies conducted in Africa on teacher attitudes covering their job satisfaction and career plans are reviewed below to illustrate the type of research carried out in Africa In the area. I. Alan Robinson, Ralph Conners and Ann Robinson, "Job Satis- faction Researches of 1963". Personnel and Guidance Journal. XL 111, 1964, p.36l. "" """ 2. See C.E. 8locker and Richard years of Morale Research: A Educat ional Socjology, 1963. Researches of 1964- 1966-67, 371-379. C. Richardson, "Twenty-five Critical Review", Journal of 36, 200-210 and "Job Satisfaction Personnel and Guidance Journal, Vol.45, RESEARCH REPORTS 82, Relevant Literature on Researches Conducted in Africa Two studies conducted specifically on teachers and teacher attitudes, the findings of which undoubtedly bear elevance to the present study, have been carried out in Uganda in Central Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Uganda Study Phipps1 extensive study of teachers has revealed some variables which do influence teachers' satisfaction in that country and probably in other parts of Africa. The significant variables which emerged from the study include teachers' housing, salaries, status, frequency of transfer opportunity for advance- ment or upward mobility and the attraction of other occupations. An important point which may be noted in passing is the vital role which the teachers' perception of the factors involved played in generating their discontent. Although the survey showed that the quality of the teachers' houses was considerably better than that of the average person in Uganda, the teachers' expecta- tions of the quality of the houses they were entitled to far exceeded the difference and hence they were dissatisfied. The same thing applies to salaries. Although the teachers recognized that their salaries were much higher than most people in their community, they did not compare their salaries with the incomes of the ordinary villagers but rather understandably, they chose to compare their earnings with those of people In such fields as the civil service,and so they felt relatively deprived. I. Brian A. Phipps, "The Teaching Profession in Uganda". Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of London, 1968. Reviewed in Quentin David Nelson, "The Congolese Teacher". Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, 1970. RESEARCH REPORTS 83. .t 'The Congo Study , The second study has recently been completed by Nelson. The focus of his study was to analyze the variables which affect teacher recruitment, levels of teacher commitment and teacher wastage in the Democratic Republic of Congo.1 The study revealed that such variables as sex, place of residence, time of occupational decision and church affiliation had significant relationship with teacher commitment. Women were found to be more committed than men and 'interior-rural' teachers were more committed to teaching than coastal-rural teachers. Other variables which had significant relationships with commitment were, marital status, frequency of transfer and length of teaching experience. Tardiness and irregularity of payment of the monthly salary and,> inferior remuneration were the most frequently named reasons which has caused the teachers to something think of leaving teaching. Half of the elementary teachers in the sample planned to make teaching a long-term career. Fewer women than men intended to make teaching a permanent occupation. On the other hand two- fifths of the men intended leaving teaching within five years. However, a substantial proportion of the former teachers studied regretted having left teaching and gave indication to return to teaching some day. Nelson sees this as an indication of a possible reversal of exodus from teaching which is, of course, contingent on the improvement in salary, and other conditions of the teaching service. A Ghanaian Study An empirical research on a group of Ghanaian teachers $nd their attitudes which seems to be the only one conducted in the area is Wyllie's study.2 The subjects of the study were a I. Quentfn David Nelson, "The Congolese Teacher: A Study of Teacher Recruitment, Commitment and Wastage in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago, March, 1970. 2. R.W. Wyllie, op.cit. a ft RESEARCH REPORTS •r 4, group of Ghanaian teachers who were receiving further training at the University College of Cape Coast. Some of his findings concerning factors which the teachers said they took into account in considering their career and which might thus have influenced their satisfaction with teaching were: opportunity to perform a useful service and security of employment. The study also revealed that a large proportion of the students (46.6%) who, as indicated, were then receiving further training to go and teach did not intend to make teaching a long-term career. Wyllie makes what seems to be valid conclusions from this finding, namely, that a high rate of turnover among teachers may remain a serious problem in Ghana for some time to come. Although he admits that this situation is not new in Ghana, he points out some serious impli- cations of such teacher turnover. First, the teaching profession may lose not only graduates who are potential teachers but also graduates a large number of whom are already seasoned teachers with rich experience of teaching. He further comments that although increased remuneration might lead to lower turnover rate among teachers, more needs to be done in the form of developing and Improving the career and vocational aspects of teaching. The study also shows that even some students who chose teaching as a long-term career expressed high level of dissatis- faction with it. This means that, they intended to make the best of what they saw as a bad Job in the absence of viable occupational alternatives as they see the situation. The variables which emerged In the study as the determinants of dissatisfaction In teaching among the group were remuneration, social prestige, opportunities for promotion or advancement and incentives offered by a career In teaching. Dissatisfaction with these factors was expressed by respondents who did not intend to take teaching as a long-term career as well as those who Intended to do so. ^However, Wyllie noted two encouraging points. There seemed to be a separation of occupation and extended family relations as the teachers went elsewhere to work thus lessening the chances of a clash between domestic and professional values and obi igatiojns. _Ihen again the emphasis on service motivesf although'?t might have been exaggerated, seems to suggest that the idea of teaching as a vocation has already begun developing fri Ghana. RESEARCH REPORTS 85. t An Ivory Coast Study Another recent study carried out by Clignet and Foster I in the Ivory Coast, a neighbouring country of Ghana, bears some relevance to the present study. A section on 'The Career Patterns of Former Students' of a cross-sectiona? study of secondary school students in that country provides some relevant findings, concern- ing occupational dissatisfaction and what is termed in the present study as career aspirations or plans (a desire to change a job in this case). The investigators found that the occupational turnover rate among the former students was fairly high and an analysis of their data revealed that the frequent changes of jobs among the students was caused by their dissatisfaction with their jobs. Although dissatisfaction with the present occupation was expressed by former students in general, it was expressed by a larger proportion of the later cohorts (*t2%) than the earlier cohorts (33%) of the respondents. 3^.5% of the respondents who were currently teaching expressed a wish to change their job. In other words, they wanted to leave teaching. The important factors indicated by the former students as elements which affected their job satisfaction are in their rank order: congenial relationship with fellow workers, stability and security and social prestige of their occupation. Similarly, the variables which engendered job dissatisfaction, also in their rank order were: the difficulty of job, low pay and the distance of the place of work from their home community. The Dimensions of Job Satisfaction As it must have been evident from the literature reviewed above, job satisfaction is multidimensional. It is a complex set of variables which operate to determine a worker's attitude toward his job. Thus workers can be very satisfied with some aspect of their work, for instance, their relations with their immediate supervisor, they may be indifferent to the physical 1. Remi Clignet and Philip Foster, The Fortunate Few: A Study of Secondary School and Students"in the Ivory Coast, North- western University Press, 1966. RESEARCH REPORTS 86. surroundings of their work place and may be very dissatisfied with their wages or salaries. In other words, workers can be satisfied and dissatisfied with their job at one and the same time. This study will take into account the multidimensional nature of job satisfaction. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In the virgin field of Sociology in Education (virgin as far as established theory or theories are concerned) Parsons1 ideas and concepts, especially sections of the role theory' presented by him and his colleague, Shi Is, have been frequently adapted to the empirical Study of educational organizations. These adaptations have been popular among a number of writers who seem to have achieved considerable success in their selective use of Parsons1 ideas and concepts. Foremost among such writers* are: Getzeis and Guba, Bidwell, and Neal Gross and his associates. Of these, the writer who has articulated the adaptations into what appears to be a heuristic theoretical model for the study of formal organizations is Getzeis^ with whom Egon Guba colla- borated in the formulation of the model. 1. 2. See Talcott Parsons and Edward A. Shils, Toward A General Theory of Action (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1951). See J.W. Getzels and E.G. Guba, "Role, Role Conflict, and Effectiveness: An Empirical Study. American Sociological Review, 1954, 19, 164-75. See also the same authors 'The Structure of Roles and Role Conflict in the Teaching Situation, Journal of Educational Sociology, 29, 30-40; Egon S. Guba and Charles E. Bidwell, Administrative Relationship. Chicago: Midwest Administration Centre, University of Chicago, 1957; Neal Gross, Ward S. Mason and Alexander W. McEachern, Explora tion in Role Analysis (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1958). 3. Jacob W. Getzels, "Administration as a Social Process" in A.W. Hal pin, Administrative Theory in Education, The Macmi-11 an Company, New York 1958, pp. 150-66. -1" 4] RESEARCH REPORTS 87. The operative concepts of the role theory from which the model was formulated are (I) Actor, that is the Individual (if) role - a complex of complementary expectations regarding the actor in his interaction with other Individuals and (ill) personality comprising the system of need-dispositions' which react to the alternatives presented to the actor by the existence of different roles. In general terms, the theory holds that the behaviour of any actor can be best understood as a function of his role and personality. Ego's (i.e. the actor's)rrole Is defined by the role expectations which alter holds for ego, and vice versa. In other words, role expectations are complementary relationships between ego and alter In which the action and expectations of ego are oriented towards the expectation* of alter which act as sanctions to ego's behaviour. The Interaction between ego and alter can be looked at from two points of view. Ego when acting takes into account what the possible reactions of alter will be. In course of time ego builds up a set of expectations regarding alter's reactions and these make ego modify his activities in order to be sure of alter's approval or at least avoid alter's active disapproval. Alter in a similar way builds up expectations with regard to ego. Any deviance from a role on the part of any of the two actors is met with disapproval and negative sanction from the other whereas conformity is met with approval and positive sanction. When ego and alter Interact both revise their expectations of one another to bring them into harmony with reality. In the process of time, each actor acquires a pattern of well-defined roles whose definition, as indicated above, stews from. Both the actor and the expectations which alter holds for him. It Is from the role theory sketch Iiy presented above that Qetzels and Guba formulated the model the dlagramatic form of which Is given below: I. Need-dispositions are defined as "Individual tendencies to orient and act with respect to objects In certain manners and to expect certain consequences from these actions". S. / Social System \ RESEARCH REPORTS 88. Nomothetic Dimension Institution _ Role. j, Role Expectations Observed Behaviour Individual Personality. / -» Need-Dispositions idfographic Dimension General model showing the nomothetic and the Idiographic dimen- sions of social behaviour (1). This study takes as its theoretical framework, Getzel*s model supplemented by Maslow's (2) taxonomy of needs which gives five hierarchically-arranged need areas listed is their order of priority for the individual as: 1. Survival needs 2. Safety needs 3. Belongingness needs k. Esteem needs 5. Self-actualization needs The taxonomy seems relevant to the operationalization of the personality dimension of the model. From the supplemented model and the relevant literature reviewed above, the following hypotheses have been derived for testing in this study: 1. For detailed elaboration of Getzels's model see Jacob W. Getzels and EgonG. Cuba, "Social Behaviour and the Administrative Process", The School Review, LXV (Winter 1957) &23-M. 2. H.A. Maslow, Motivation and Personality (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 195*0 PP- 80-15**. RESEARCH REPORTS 89. General Hypothesis Job satisfaction in any school organization will be posi- tively related to the overlap of role-expectations of teachers and administrators. ; The rationale here is that in a school If both the teachers and the principal see the principal's main role as that of helping with Instructional programme, then both the principal and the teachers will report high satisfaction with their job. This Is because there will be no discrepancy or conflict between what the teachers expect the principal to do and what the principal sees himself that he should do. In the absence of any conflicts it Is expected that the participant in the interaction will be satisfied with their job. On the other hand, If the teachers see the principal's main role as the maintenance of discipline and the principal sees himself as an instructional leader, there will be conflict in the expectations and this conflict is likely to lead to low Job satisfaction on the part of both the teachers and the principal. The specific hypothesis which Is derived from the general one above and which will be tested In the study Is: Specific Hypothesis The Job satisfaction of Ghanaian teachers will be posi- tively related to the convergence of the role expectations they hold for their headteacher and their perceptions of his actual role performance. Looked at in (another way it becomes clear that the model to study the Joint effects of work role of this study attempts and personality variables on Job satisfaction. An examination of the literature reveals that job satisfaction studies have teen based on the assumption that a worker's satisfaction with his Job can be explained either by examining the nature of his work roles or by examining the nature of his personality that is the structure of his needs or motives. combines the two approaches fn the belief that a fuller explanation This framework is/- RESEARCH REPORTS 90. requires the use of both work roles and personality variables (these are the nomothetic and idiographic dimensions). It also assumes that there is an interaction between the two sets of variables which can only be revealed when the two are simulta- neously studied. Vroom succinctly brings out the salient points of the approach when he writes: Evidence concerning the effects of job content, supervisory behaviour or any other character- istic of a work role on job satisfaction repre- sents only average effects for the population studied and obscures the fact that, within that; population, different people react in markedly different ways to the same environmental conditions. Similarly, relationships between personality variables and job satisfaction may be expected to vary markedly depending on the nature of the job and work environment ... the satis- faction that an individual derives from a work role ... is assumed to be a function not only of the objective properties of that work role but also of the motives of the individual. In so far as people differ in their motives, the "optimal" or most satisfying work role will differ from each person.' From a similar consideration Schaffer hypothesizes that: Over-all job satisfaction vary directly with the extent to which those needs of an individual which can be satisfied are actually satisfied; the stronger the need the more closely will job satisfaction depend on its fulfillment.2 It is being argued from a similar premise that teachers' satisfaction in teaching will increase when they perceive that their role performance in the school enables them to meet their 1. Vroom, op. cit., p.162. 2. R.H. Schaffer, "Job Satisfaction as related to need satis- faction in work. Psychol. Monogr., 1953, 67, No.lV (Whole No.364) quoted by Vroom. RESEARCH REPORTS 91. t important idiographic needs. Thus the general hypothesis of the study and the specific hypotheses derived from it for testing are: General Hypothesis The job satisfaction will vary directly with the degree to which a worker perceives that his relevant needs are met in his role performance in his work organization. Specific Hypotheses 1. A Ghanaian elementary teacher's job satisfaction will be positively related to the degree he perceives that his relevant needs are met in his role performance in his school organization. 2. ' This relationship will hold to a greater degree among men. What is the rationale for this specification? It has been found in research that career or work roles tend to be primary for men and relatively secondary for women. In other words, where- as occupational roles represent a major source of satisfaction for men it is not so for women. Thus the relationship hypothesized above is expected to.hold to a greater degree for men than for women. An attempt will be made in this study to test the inter- action between the work role variables and the personality variables by comparing the group of teachers who score high on job satisfaction scale and report that their important needs are being largely met in teaching with the group of teachers who report that their important needs are not very much met in teaching. This will show the inter- action between need strength and occupational potential to meet the need. In line with the dynamic nature of the model the next few hypotheses attempt to predict what teachers are likely to do under the condition iof satisfaction or dissatisfaction. As it has been indicated in the section on the review of the literature, it RESEARCH REPORTS 92, is reasonable to interpret a high score on job satisfaction scale as showing that the individual worker likes his work and to some extent he may have achieved some of his goals for which he decided to engage in the work; it may also indicate that he is prepared to remain in the job. Thus it can be generally hypothesized that: General Hypothesis Workers who report high level of job satisfaction are more 1ikely to plan to remain in their work organization than those who report low level of job satisfaction. Specific Hypotheses 3. Ghanaian elementary teachers who report high level of job satisfaction are more likely to plan to re- main in teaching than those who report low level of job satisfaction. On the other hand, teachers' dissatisfaction with teaching, in the language of TestInfer, Is a relation to dissonance between their perception of what they want from teaching and what they actually get from It.' Thus adopting Festinger's line of thinking it may be argued that teachers dissatisfied with their work will try to reduce or eliminate their dissonance and produce consonance. One way in which they may do so Is to leave teaching and seek a more satisfying Job elsewhere provided they see Job alternatives open to them. The next specific hypothesis may therefore be stated as follows: k. A male Ghanaian elementary teacher's plan or aspirations to leave teaching will be positively related to his dis- satisfaction with the salary and opportunities for a**anee- ment he gets ift teaching and his perception of other Job alternatives available to him. 1. Foster, op. cit., p.6k. RESEARCH REPORTS 93. The prediction has been limited to male Ghanaian teachers because women in Ghana as elsewhere are not normal Iy regarded as the number one bread winners for their families as men are, there- fore their decision to change jobs or even stop working is not as much dependent on salary and opportunities for advancement as men's decision in that connection is. A woman may change jobs or stop working for domestic reasons - may be the husband is on transfer to another place or the husband is going to a foreign country to work or study. Or she may decide to remain in a job in which she Is not very happy because it is convenient for her family to do so and so on. Moreover, as indicated above, occupation is not a major source of satisfaction for women. A man on the other hand must generally consider first how he can maintain himself and his family before he decides to make any move. As regards the premium given to salary and opportunities for advancement, Foster has shown that "Education, in practice, was valued for its cash return" in Ghana. It is still generally valued for the money income it brings to its possessor, especially In the minds of the ordinary Ghanaian and members of the tower professions such as elementary school teaching. Income and its accompanying conditions would therefore appear to be prime motivating factors for a male Ghanaian teacher to make efforts to change one Job for another. It is thus being predicted in the hypothesis above that the most decfsive cause for a male Ghanaian teacher's voluntary leaving of the teaching profession will greatly depend on his dissatisfaction with the cash returns he receives from teaching and his perceived lack of promotional opportunities which are inextricably related to money income because if they are available to him they will lead him to earn more income in his work. With regard to perceived available occupational alternatives, common sense will suggest that a worker will take them into account before he resigns from his present occupation for another. Using the same rationale which was used above for the relationship hypothesized between Job satisfaction and plans to remain in teaching, we may present another specific hypothesis thus: 5. "A Ghanaian elementary teacher's job satisfaction will be positively related to the degree of his commitment to teaching". RESEARCH REPORTS Commitment to teaching "is the degree to which a teacher is identified psychologically with his work, or the Importance of his teaching work in his total self-image". In tine with the others stated above the last two specific hypotheses of the study may be presented as follows: 6. The products of the older Christian Mission Teachers1 Colleges in Ghana will report higher commitment to teaching than the products of the newly established non-denominational colleges. The rationale here is that the Christian Mission Colleges will tend to put greater emphasis on the missionary spirit and the service ethic in their training of teachers than the newly esta- blished non-denominational colleges will tend to do in their training of teachers. Thus, at the end of their socialization in their respective colleges the products of the former will show higher commitment to teaching than the products of the latter. 7. Ghanaian elementary teachers with high socio-economic background will be less satisfied with teaching as a career than teachers with low socio-economic background. Here again, the rationale is that for people with low socio-economic background elementary school teaching in Ghana context may represent an upward occupational mobility whereas it may represent downward occupational mobility for people with high socio-economic background. This will seem to be true for the son of a traditional farmer as compared with the $on of a lawyer. Therefore the former is more likely to be satisfied with teaching than the latter. RESEARCH REPORTS 95. * THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY The investigator believes this study will have theore- tical as well as practical implications. As the review of the relevant literature above shows, education has been a major area of job satisfaction studies. But the investigators seem to adopt static framework in their studies. Every year the job satisfaction of teachers is studied but the studies have almost entirely been descriptions and analyses of conditions and factors which make teachers either satisfied or dissatisfied with teaching. In other words, the investigators do not seem to adopt a dynamic framework which would explain not only why teachers become satis- fied or dissatisfied with their work but also what they do under either one of the two conditions. After all, in the language of Festinger teachers' dissatisfaction with their job is a relation of dissonance between the perception of what they want from teaching and what they actually get from it. Festinger would say that teachers dissatisfied with their job will make efforts to reduce or eliminate the dissonance and produce consonance. The teacher job satisfaction studies fail to tell us how teachers dissatisfied with teaching eliminate their cognitive dissonance or behaviour. 2 By attempting to establish causal linkage between job satisfaction or dissatisfaction and career aspirations or plans among Ghanaian teachers, this study will adopt a dynamic theore- tical framework which will not only analyze the factors that affect satisfaction and dissatisfaction of teachers, but also show why the teachers leave or stay in teaching. Thus the investigator will attempt to go beyond where other job satisfaction researchers leave off and thereby strive to contribute to a much-needed dynamic and comprehensive sociological theory which will provide a fuller explanation and prediction of social behaviour in educational organizations. The study will be one of the few of such studies undertaken in Africa. See L.A. Festinger, Evanston, Illinois: A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, Row, Peterson, 1957. A Study by Rabinowitz and Kay E. Crawford provides some empirical evidence for such a linkage. See W. Rabinowitz and K.E. Crawford, "A Study of Teacher Careers", The School Review, Winter I960, pp. 386-96. J? 4ft- •M RESEARCH REPORTS 96. On the practical side, the Ghana Ministry of Education has felt the need for research In all aspects of the Ghanaian educational system which, like those of other new African states, is in a flux. The Ministry has recently established a research department for the purpose. As the section on the statement of the problem of this study shows, one of the areas in the Ghanaian educational system where research is in urgent need is the area of teacher attitudes - job satisfaction, aspirations, persistence and motivation. The need for research in this area In developing countries of Africa has been fejt not only by Africans including the investigator but by non-African writers too. For example C It grief and Foster in a recent comment on a lack of empirical research on how schools do actually function in Africa, rightly note that "perhaps more is known about traditional lineage organization in Africa than about an institution which is playing a major role in the transformation of African societies".1 This study of teacher attitudes, it is hoped, will provide some research on an important facet of the operation of schools in Ghana and thus contribute to the rectification of the situation in Ghana. Again Becker* commenting on the educational problems of underdeveloped areas, including Ghana of course, clearly expresses a need for a study of teacher attitudes in Africa when he says "It would be most revealing to see studies made of the aspirations and careers of teachers in such societies, with special emphasis on the fate of enthusiasm and ability in these systems".^ The foregoing sections of this paper indicate that this study will address itself to the points which Becker wants studied. In particular it will provide data on what factors influence the satisfaction and dissatisfaction of Ghanaian teachers and attempt to show how the dissatisfaction interacts with other variables such as perceived occupational alternatives to explain the exodus of trained Ghanaian teachers from teaching into other jobs. In other words, the results of the study will provide at least partial answers to the question why some Ghanaian teachers do not show a 1. Clignet and Foster, op. clt., p.199. 2. Howard S. Becker, "Schools and Systems of Stratification" in A.H. Halsey, et al. Education, Economy and Society: A Reader in the Sociology of Education, The Free Press, New York, 1961, pp. 93-10**. 3. Ibid., p.100. RESEARCH REPORTS 97. sense of Involvement in their work and also why a number of them have been leaving the teaching field at the time when they are most needed there. Such findings when given proper interpretation and application may lead to a more effective operation of the Ghanaian educational system. The findings of the study will also provide data for comparative educational studies. They may be compared with the findings of similar studies conducted in other developing countries as well as with those conducted in developed or industrialized countries. Jt