Abstract
Sixty-four teachers of educable mentally retarded children completed a measure of work satisfaction and the Stern Scales of Unconscious Motivation for Teaching. Two hypotheses were tested: (a) teachers who possess certain needs will experience more work satisfaction in teaching the EMR than those possessing other needs, and (b) greater congruence between underlying needs and manifest attitudes will take place among satisfied than among dissatisfied teachers. Significant differences between mean scores of satisfied and dissatisfied elementary teachers were found on the Nondirective, Preadult Fixated, Orderly, and Exhibitionistic gratification scales. Greater congruence between attitude and gratification among satisfied teachers was found at the elementary level. Analysis of variance indicated that the interaction between satisfaction level and teaching level obscured some important differences between satisfied and dissatisfied groups.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.