Job Satisfaction among Early Childhood Female Teachers and its Impact on Professional Commitment

The research aimed to reveal the level of job satisfaction among early childhood teachers in private and public schools in Al-Ahsa Governorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It also investigated the impact of job satisfaction on their professional commitment. To achieve the objectives of the study, quantitative and qualitative methods were used to verify the level of job satisfaction and its impact on professional commitment. To obtain relevant and sufficient data, the descriptive-analytical method was used to verify the current practices of female teachers concerning job satisfaction and its impact on their professional commitment. A sample of 208 female teachers from public, private and international schools and kindergartens participated in the research. They were chosen randomly. The results showed a high level for most dimensions of job satisfaction. Satisfaction with salary scored (2.169), community appreciation (2,922), working conditions (2.851) and relationships with children and their families (2.5). The three dimensions of professional commitment also scored high including emotional commitment (4.158), normative commitment to the profession (3.854) and dimension continuity (3.239). This shows that the dimensions of job satisfaction had a strong relationship with the level of professional commitment. 82.7% of the female teachers stated that they would choose the teaching profession in early childhood if they chose the profession again. In light of the current findings, the research presented some recommendations that can be used in educational programs to enhance the positive aspects of female teachers to increase levels of satisfaction and professional commitment.