Indiana secondary instructor and Indiana vocational technical college instructor absenteeism as related to instructor perception of administrative management style and job satisfaction

Abstract

<p>The problem of this study was to examine the absenteeism and job satisfaction among high school and vocational technical college instructors, giving special emphasis to the relationship between instructor absenteeism and satisfaction with the management style of supervision. The purpose of this study was to identify discrepancies in perceived management styles and roles of administrators and identify administrative management styles that maximize instructor job satisfaction and instructor attenDance; The basis for this research was the need to minimize instructor absences, maximize the dollars spent on education, and maximize the learning process itself;High and low instructor responses were obtained from a total of forty-one (41) schools; administrator responses were obtained from forty (40) schools; and instructor absence data was obtained from thirty-five (35) schools. The sample included Indiana Secondary Area Career Centers, matching feeder high schools, and Indiana Vocational Technical Colleges;The Instructor Environment Scale was developed which included three subscales of Administrative Policy, Instructor Services, and Personnel Services;Findings revealed differences among administrators, high absence instructors, and low absence instructors concerning Administrative Policy, Instructor Services, and Personnel Services. Administrators, low absence, and high absence instructor ratings correlated with Instructor Services. Administrators and low absence instructor ratings correlated with Personnel Services;Instructor absence did not correlate with the use of any particular management style. It correlated with certain demographic variables, namely health, union activity, distance of residence from the work place, hours of outside employment, and number of years in the educational unit. Overall, this research indicates that instructor absence is perhaps a function of specific factors of the individual instructor rather than of the educational institution or the administrator's leadership style.</p>