Job satisfaction of teachers in primary adult education in Croatia: portrait on the eve of educational reform

Assessing teacher job satisfaction is a recurrent theme in educational research. Given the forthcoming reform of the Croatian adult education system, a survey of teacher satisfaction in primary adult education was performed. Teachers exhibited two dimensions of satisfaction/dissatisfaction: one with the teaching programme and process, and the other with the attendees? performance and support. Four clusters of teachers were identified with respect to their satisfaction levels regarding the two dimensions. Most teachers are dissatisfied with the teaching programme and process. This dissatisfaction is associated with higher experience, working only in adult education, delivering lessons based on periodical individual instruction, and having non-native speakers of Croatian in class. Satisfaction with attendees? performance and support is more pronounced but is associated only with not having non-native speakers of Croatian in class. Existing theories explain the results well, considering the differences between the regular education system and that of adult education.