Teachers' job satisfaction: religious and secular schools in Israel

Teacher attrition and shortages have become a challenge worldwide. These phenomena diminish when teachers feel satisfied with their job. This study aimed to examine the relationship between teachers' intrinsic motivations and job satisfaction in religious and secular schools. A questionnaire was administered to 759 teachers in the Israeli Jewish sector. The results show that teachers in each sector highlighted different motivational factors as a basis for fostering job-satisfaction. Providing students with social-emotional support was associated with greater satisfaction among teachers in the religious schools, while transmitting general and civic values was linked to satisfaction in the secular schools. Encouraging students to pursue high grades negatively affected job satisfaction only in the secular sector. Implications for research and practice are discussed.