whether morale levels differ as a function of differences in: school location (Western U.S. versus Hawaii), teacher's gender (male or female), teacher's highest level of educational (baccalaureate, masters or Ph.D), and teacher's age. (25 or under, 26-35, 36-45, 46-55, 55+)
The study's research problem can be characterized as a research effort designed to answer the following research questions:
(1) What are the teacher morale levels of high school teachers working in Seventh-Day Adventist schools located in the Western United States and Hawaii?
(2) Do the morale levels of teachers significantly differ as a function of differences in school location or differences in teachers' ages, gender, or highest level of education?
(3) Are any associations observed between teacher morale and teachers' ages, gender or highest level of education in accord with (or out of accord with) the findings observed for these variables in studies utilizing samples of public school teachers?
The central assumption of the study concerns the construct of job morale. As noted by Vecchio (1991), definitions of job morale have varied and evolved over the years. In some cases, these definitions have related job morale to emotional states. For example, low morale was associated with feelings of frustration, powerlessness and alienation while high job morale was associated with feelings of zeal and courage and commitment to eduction in general and the school in particular). In other cases, morale was related to the job meeting teachers personal and professional needs.
The assumption made in this study is that job morale as it applies to teachers is best related to needs and to job goals. This definition underlies the development of the study's measurement of teacher morale, namely the Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire (PTO) developed by Bently and Rempel (1970). As noted by the authors, the PTO was based on a definition of morale as:
...an...