Organizational Climate and EFL Teachers Job Satisfaction: Insights from Teachers Perceptions

Although organizational climate construct is proposed as a fundamental precursor to individuals’ job satisfaction (Schneider Barbera, 2014), it has gone somewhat overlooked and raised concerns that should be tackled in practice. The purpose of the study was to investigate how school organizational climate could influence EFL teachers’ job satisfaction. It also examined in detail the key organizational climate factors playing a crucial role with regard to EFL teachers’ job satisfaction. A semi-structured interview was used with 18 male and female EFL teachers at both state high schools and private language institutes with diverse qualifications and years of experience in the city of Ahvaz. The data were audio-recorded, transcribed and subjected to content analysis as guided by grounded theory. The accuracy and the internal validity of the interviews was done using member checking and respondent validation. Given teachers’ perceptions, principal leadership, reward/salary system, and the establishment of an integrated value-based system were found to be the most cardinal organizational climate dimensions. A theoretical model relevant to results was also introduced. Theoretical and applied implications of the study for different groups of stakeholders were discussed.