The Job Satisfaction of New York State’s Public School Business and Marketing Education Teachers

Author

Michael LaMastra, University at Albany, State University of New YorkFollow

ORCID

0009-0008-3668-7867

Date of Award

Spring 2025

Language

English

Embargo Period

5-1-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

Department of Educational Policy and Leadership

Program

Educational Policy and Leadership

First Advisor

Kathryn Schiller

Second Advisor

Kristen Campbell Wilcox

Committee Members

Constance Spohn

Keywords

Business education, Business and marketing education, Career and technical education, teacher job satisfaction, teacher recruitment and retention

Subject Categories

Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration | Other Teacher Education and Professional Development | Secondary Education and Teaching | Vocational Education

Abstract

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century (Perkins) Act defines career and technical education as organized educational activities in which students learn applied academics, professional skills, and career training in a specific technical field. Many United States students, and ,specifically, New York State students, do not have access to CTE coursework. New York has seven CTE content areas: agriculture, business and marketing, computer science, family and consumer science, health sciences, technology, and trade/technical education.

One barrier to accessing this coursework is the availability of teaching staff. According to data collected by the New York State Education Department about teachers teaching out of certification, CTE has the lowest retention of teachers in the same school year to year. Many CTE teaching positions are filled by individuals teaching out of certification or who entered teaching through alternative pathways. Having uncertified teachers can mean that potentially underqualified and untrained individuals are teaching hazardous CTE coursework.

This study focused on one of the seven CTE content areas, business and marketing education (BME), to examine the job satisfaction of current teachers. This study sought to determine the satisfaction of New York’s BME teachers in the profession. A study on New York’s teachers is significant as New York is one of the largest states in the country and has, for years, been an innovator in educational policy, including an early history in organized oversight of BME programs. Since the teacher is one of the most critical determinants of the success of an academic program, a focus on teacher job satisfaction allows examination of some of the greater issues impacting teacher recruitment and retention.

The theoretical framework utilized various job satisfaction and employee motivation theories, such as Maslow’s Hierarchy, Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, person-environment fit theories, and teacher agency. The conceptual framework proposes four primary factors of BME teacher satisfaction: career needs, individual factors, job environment, and relationships, and four secondary factors: BME content; job characteristics; job security; and students, colleagues, and administrators.

This study used a mixed-methods (QUAN-qual) survey approach to gather quantitative and qualitative data regarding BME teachers’ job satisfaction. A modified version of the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (short form) measured teachers’ satisfaction on twenty items. Eight independent variables: gender, professional work experience, years of teaching experience, sole business teacher status, school size, socioeconomic status of district, region of the state, and CTSO advisor status, were analyzed to determine if any statistically significant differences exist. Two qualitative open-response questions asked respondents about their perceived benefits and challenges of the profession.

A total of 237 BME teachers throughout New York State responded to this survey. Factor analysis was used to simplify the twenty MSQ study items for analysis. The study found slight differences between developing and experienced teachers on the individual factor, whether a business teacher is the only one in their department on the career factor, graduating class sizes between 201-400 and 401+ on the career factor, and CTSO advisor and the environment factor.

The open-response questions provided insights into several benefits of being a BME teacher, including instructional autonomy, business and marketing education content, the teaching environment, personal fulfillment, and supporting student growth. Some of the challenges identified include challenging work environments, relationships with students and families, a lack of a mandate for BME, and job security.

Some central themes are that not having a mandate for BME is both liberating and challenging, that BME teachers place a high value on instructional autonomy, that BME teachers value teaching real-life skills to students, and that relationships are essential for success as a BME teacher. As New York State endeavors to make CTE a part of the new graduation requirements, this study provides teachers, educational leaders, and policymakers insight into the current status of the BME profession in New York and how to improve teacher satisfaction in the face of a changing policy climate.

This study adds to the literature on teacher job satisfaction, in general terms and specific to New York State’s BME teachers. It also adds to the scholarly understanding of CTE and BME. Some recommendations include improving instructional environments to emphasize a positive instructional culture, including BME teachers in policy decisions, developing teacher agency, and uplifting instructional autonomy to prepare students for life beyond high school. As New York State looks to implement the portrait of a graduate in the coming years, this study highlights what BME content is in modern classrooms and what the satisfaction is of those teachers in an environment of policy change.

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

LaMastra, Michael, "The Job Satisfaction of New York State’s Public School Business and Marketing Education Teachers" (2025). Electronic Theses & Dissertations (2024 - present). 185.
https://scholarsarchive.library.albany.edu/etd/185