The Experiences of Senior Teachers at Yekatit 12 Preparatory School: Longevity, Job Satisfaction, Challenges and Coping strategies
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Date
2016-11
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
In Ethiopia, plenty of researches have been conducted on issues such as job satisfaction of
teachers; retention and turnover of teachers. The research employed qualitative, descriptive
phenomenological approach to examine reason senior teachers stay in the profession for thirty
years and more, challenges they have faced and coping mechanisms they employed. Criterion
based purposive sampling method was used to select Twelve senior teachers at Yekatit 12
Preparatory School who have been in the teaching profession for thirty and more years as
research participant. Semi structured interview and focus group discussion were used to collect
data. The study found out that for most teachers, teaching in their early year career was full of
happiness and exciting; however, their current perception about implies that most participants are
dissatisfied with their career. The love for teaching profession and working with students, and for
some having limited access to join other professions were identified as a reason to keep teachers
in teaching. Inadequate salary, deteriorating respect for the profession and political interference
were identified as the major challenges in teaching profession. Families and colleagues as a
resource used for coping with challenges while activities like reading books, spending time on
internet and walking used to cope with challenges. Furthermore, improving financial benefit,
recruitment system, refraining politics from school, working on students behavior and societies
attitude were suggested as means of improving teachers satisfaction and minimizing challenges.
This research will serves as a point of reference for studies to be conducted in related areas. In
addition, the study finding implies the need for policy advocacy of social workers in relation to
teachers’ quest for better salary, detrainment of politics from school and in meeting other
challenges. Beyond that, it also calls for social work intervention in providing scientific means of
coping with the stresses and challenges inherent in the teaching profession
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Social Work