Superintendent Job Satisfaction in an Era of Reduced Resources and Increased Accountability

The purpose of this study was to investigate New York State school superintendent job satisfaction and the potential contributing factors to their job satisfaction in an era of reduced resources and increased accountability.

Sharp, Malone and Walter (2002) created a 49-item survey entitled the Positive Aspects and Motivation Survey and used it in a three-state study (Indiana, Illinois and Texas) that found increasing job satisfaction. Padalino (2009) used the same instrument and found increasing superintendent job satisfaction (75%) in New York State.

In this study, superintendent job satisfaction was only measured at 60%. This is a 15% decrease in 6 years. Approximately 81% of respondents had positive feelings about working with the board of education. Almost exactly the same 81% of respondents said they would aspire to the superintendency if starting their careers over. Thus, superintendent-board of education relations were far more important to superintendent job satisfaction than any external factors measured in this study.