The satisfied school psychologist: the moderating impact of locus of control on the relationship between school climate and job satisfaction

Abstract

This study examined the effect of locus of control on the relationship between school psychologists' perception of school climate and their overall level of job satisfaction. Public schools can be a difficult working environment. The climate in public schools has long been a topic of interest among researchers (Collie, Shapka & Perry, 2012), as has the resulting job dissatisfaction of teachers (Cohen et al., 2009; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2009). Unfortunately, there is a void in previous research to examine this relationship amongst school psychology professionals, who play an invaluable role in today's educational system. Personal characteristics, (i.e.- locus of control, age, degree, etc.), in combination with the perceived environment (i.e. school climate) have an impact on emotions (i.e. job satisfaction). In this study, participants' job satisfaction, perception of school climate and locus of control were assessed using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire, short form (MSQ-sf), the School Climate Survey, Staff Version Revised (SCS), and Rotter's Internal External Scale (I-E). The relationship between the resulting scores were examined and compared.