Professional Interest as a Correlate of Job Satisfaction among Public Secondary Schools’ Teachers, Delta-north Senatorial District, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between professional interest and job satisfaction of teachers in public secondary schools in Delta Central Senatorial District. The study is grounded on the conceptual assumption that intrinsic motivation, particularly professional interest, serves as a critical determinant of workplace attitudes and satisfaction. One research question and one null hypothesis guided the study. The study adopted a correlational research design. A sample of 360 teachers were selected from a population of 6,405 teachers in public secondary schools in Delta Central Senatorial District through a multistage sampling procedure. The data for the study were collected using questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated through experts’ judgement and factor analysis. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument. It yielded a coefficient of 0.81 for Interest Rating Scale; and 0.71 for Teachers’ Job Satisfaction Rating Scale, which were judged to be adequate. The data obtained were analysed using correlation and coefficient of determination to answer the research question while linear regression statistics was used to test the stated hypothesis at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significant relationship between professional interest and job satisfaction of teachers in public secondary schools (r = 0.424; r2 = 0.180). These findings underscore the role of intrinsic interest as a primary driver of workplace morale, suggesting that administrative focus should shift from extrinsic rewards to fostering professional engagement.