JOB SATISFACTION OF TEACHERS ATTACHED TO THE SPECIAL EDUCATION UNITS IN REGULAR SCHOOL IN SRI LANKA

Many studies have been done in developed countries in relation to the importance of job satisfaction of special education teachers. (Salehi, Taghavi, & Yunus, 2015); However, only a limited number of studies have been conducted on special education unit teachers’ job satisfaction in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the present study attempts to investigate the job satisfaction of teachers who work under special education unit system in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. In this study both qualitative and quantitative research methods including in-depth interview protocols and questionnaires were utilized. To collect quantitative data, validated questionnaires were administered to a sample of 213 teachers who teach in special education units established in regular schools of Northern Province in Sri Lanka. After collecting the completed questionnaires, 12 special education unit teachers were selected for an interview. Both quantitative and qualitative data were categorized, coded and analyzed based upon the research objectives and the respective research questions. The results revealed that there is a significant variation in personal information among special education unit teachers, significant positive correlation between variables of teachers’ job satisfaction and age, gender, experience, qualification and appointment type. Moreover, teachers have high job satisfaction in their job (average mean value – 3.68 and SD 1.01). However, stakeholder’s attitude is main challenge to get satisfaction in the job the teachers. Based on the findings of the study, it can recommended be that stakeholders should be aware regarding special education and they need to develop positive attitude on special education. Therefore, Ministry of Education and Department of Education of Northern Province have to raise necessary actions to make awareness among parents, community members, regular classroom teachers, principals and administrative staffs, a policy on education of disabled students should also be developed at provincial level. Article visualizations: