Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this adaptation study was to identify the satisfiers and dissatisfiers perceived by elementary school principals as contributing to their job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. The study was designed to use and to apply the Herzberg Motivation-Hygiene Theory to elementary school principals in an attempt to determine the types of events that cause satisfaction or dissatisfaction on the job. Methodology. The subjects in this study were 35 elementary school principals in San Bernardino County, California. This was a replication study. A modified Herzberg semi-structured personal interview technique was used. Questions were based on a survey conducted in 1990 with middle school principals. Individuals were asked to describe situations when they felt exceptionally good or bad about their jobs. From the descriptions, the types of situations that lead to positive or negative attitudes toward the job were identified. Findings. Examination of the qualitative data gathered from the interviews supported the findings of Herzberg's study that motivators, as defined by Herzberg, were identified more frequently as contributing to job satisfaction than were the hygiene factors. Secondly, the hygiene factors, as defined by Herzberg, were identified more frequently as contributing to job dissatisfaction than were the motivators. Finally, it showed that there were differences in satisfiers/dissatisfiers based on the principal's age, years of experience as an elementary school administrator, gender, Academic Performance Index (API) of the principal's school, and the percentage of low socio-economic status (SES) students attending the principal's school. Conclusions. Principal satisfaction focused on two motivators, "achievement" and "recognition." Principal dissatisfaction focused on the hygiene factors of "company policy and administration" and "working conditions." In addition, the motivator, as defined by Herzberg, of "responsibility" also contributed heavily to elementary principals' job dissatisfaction. Recommendations. Further study should be conducted using a larger sample of elementary principals. A study might be considered for schools that are in program improvement vs. not in program improvement to see if there is a similar result to this study. Further, district office personnel should make an attempt to recognize principals for their achievements on both a personal and professional level.