Abstracts Category : Other

A Perception Study| Relationship of Teacher-Perceived Supervisor's Level of Emotional Intelligence and Special Education Teacher Job Satisfaction

by Lindsay Ryder Perez

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine if and to what extent a relationship existed between teacher-perceived emotional intelligence (EI) of immediate supervisors and teachers level of job satisfaction. It was not known how these two variables related to each other, which was identified as a small piece of a much larger concern nationwide special education (SpEd) teacher attrition. This study was built upon the foundation of two theoretical models: Salovey and Mayers (1990) EI ability model and Lockes (1968) model of job satisfaction. Both of these models have been utilized and refined through multiple research studies and were used to define the variables in the current study. Study participants were recruited from the National Association of Special Education Teachers as well as snowball sampling techniques. Overall, 102 SpEd teachers participated in the study, which was carried out through an online survey. The primary research question asked if there was a statistically significant relationship between SpEd teacher-perceived EI of immediate supervisor and SpEd teacher job satisfaction. A Pearson correlation coefficient demonstrated a strong positive correlation between SpEd teacher-perceived EI of immediate supervisors and SpEd teacher job satisfaction, <i>r</i>(100) = .605, <i> p</i> < .01. Therefore, it is recommended that educational organizations critically evaluate EI when hiring and promoting individuals into a supervisory position.