Stay or leave? : Veteran teachers’relationships with students and job satisfaction

Abstract

The central aim of this dissertation was to investigate the association between veteran teachers’ job satisfaction and their relationships with students. The overarching research question addressed in this dissertation was: How is veteran teachers’ job satisfaction associated with the different aspects of teachers’ relationships with students?In the first two studies, we used a multiple case-study approach to explore the experiences of veteran teachers in their relationships with students, and the association of these relationships with their job satisfaction. In the first study, we found that veteran teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with students were indeed potentially important for their job satisfaction. In the second study, we identified teachers’ interpersonal self-efficacy as a potentially important factor for veteran teachers’ job satisfaction. In the third study, we developed and validated an instrument to measure especially teachers’ interpersonal self-efficacy. In the fourth study, we established a typology of veteran teachers, based on their perceptions of their relationships with students and their job satisfaction.