Individual and Organizational Variables in Job Satisfaction of First- to Ninth-Grade Teachers: A Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses-Guided Scoping Review

Abstract

(1) Background: Teacher job satisfaction is critical to a school’s organizational development and students’ academic success. This study investigates the job satisfaction of first- to ninth-grade teachers, focusing on the individual and organizational variables that influence and explain this phenomenon. (2) Methods: A systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, analyzing studies published between 2017 and 2022 in the Scopus, ERIC, and SciELO databases. A total of 32 studies were included in the review. (3) Results: The results indicate that demographic variables (33.5%) are the most frequently examined at the individual level concerning teacher job satisfaction. At the organizational level, variables associated with school principals are the most prominently represented (12%). (4) Conclusions: This review identifies a significant gap in the literature, with limited attention to individual and organizational variables. This finding underscores the need for further research on emerging factors, such as the impact of administrative burdens on teacher satisfaction. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of accounting for different countries’ socio-cultural and institutional contexts when exploring factors that influence teacher job satisfaction.

1. Introduction

Researchers suggest that teachers are one of the main elements of educational systems, especially regarding students’ academic achievements (Baroudi et al., 2020; Hoque et al., 2023). Accordingly, researchers have studied multiple variables affecting teachers’ work, including job satisfaction, a variable of increasing interest for international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).

Traditionally, job satisfaction is defined as a pleasant or positive emotional state as the result of the individual’s assessment of job activity or as the realization of values through work (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2015). Teachers’ job satisfaction is increasingly important in the teaching and learning process due to its influence on teachers’ physical and mental health and professional behavior (Baroudi et al., 2020). Although job satisfaction is not consensual, traditionally, it has been defined as an emotional state or a feeling about teaching, demonstrated by dedication to work and a positive attitude towards the experiences and the context of work (Toropova et al., 2020).

Whether positive or negative, teacher satisfaction impacts the teachers’ work and relationships with work. If positive, teacher satisfaction leads to motivation, a positive teaching style, effort, and enthusiasm for teaching, consequently improving the quality of the teaching staff, school organizational development, student performance, and the general index of school satisfaction (Baroudi et al., 2020; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2015). If negative, job satisfaction can have an undesirable impact on teachers’ motivation and commitment, which may diminish their interest in the profession (Demir, 2020).

The OECD is one of the international organizations investigating teachers’ job satisfaction and the variables that can directly affect teachers’ performance (e.g., Teaching and Learning International Survey—TALIS). Based on the results of TALIS 2018, the OECD (2020) indicates five factors that are related to teacher satisfaction at work: (1) the selection of candidates with strong motivation, committed to lifelong learning and professionally committed; (2) a strong focus on induction and guidance throughout the career; (3) a strong focus on providing significant and impactful opportunities for professional learning; (4) working conditions and school climate propitious to teachers’ well-being; and (5) the importance of a sense of trust and respect (OECD, 2020). Indeed, teacher job satisfaction seems to be multidetermined. Many studies investigate factors that predict teachers’ job satisfaction by analyzing data collected differently. According to the literature, the school’s individual and organizational aspects explain the most variance in job satisfaction (Lopes & Oliveira, 2020; Niu et al., 2023; K. Wang et al., 2019).

Individual factors refer to the teacher’s characteristics, actions, attitudes, demographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, race, and teaching experience), and variables related to the classroom (e.g., the disciplinary climate in the classroom) (L. Wang & Yao, 2020). Organizational factors refer to the school’s internal rules or environments, including location and size, leadership, socioeconomic status, teacher autonomy, and school climate (Zakariya, 2020).

1.1. Individual Factors in Job Satisfaction

The factors related to the individual aspects of teachers significantly explain the differences regarding their job satisfaction. In a study conducted with the Japanese and South Korean samples of TALIS 2018, Niu et al. (2023) found that gender, teaching experience, social utility motivation to teach, self-efficacy, teacher–student relations, and professional development are the personal factors that more significantly explain teacher job satisfaction.

The study performed by García-Torres (2018) with primary teachers in Singapore revealed that sex and experience were significantly related to work and teacher satisfaction, with female teachers less satisfied with their workplace and profession than male teachers. L. Wang and Yao (2020) did not find significant differences in job satisfaction between male and female teachers and no positive relationship between the teaching experience and the teachers’ job satisfaction.

The classroom disciplinary climate is another important variable at the individual level for teachers’ satisfaction. In a study conducted with 1926 teachers and 122 principals of schools in the United States, L. Wang and Yao (2020) found that the disciplinary climate in the classroom was the only statistically significant predictor of teacher job satisfaction among the factors evaluated. This result is similar to the study of Toropova et al. (2020) carried out with Swedish teachers, in which the students’ discipline was positively associated with teacher job satisfaction.

Teacher self-efficacy, an important individual-level variable, has been widely investigated, with numerous studies linking it to levels of job satisfaction (Demir, 2020; Karabatak & Alanoğlu, 2019; Smetackova et al., 2019). In a study with Czech teachers, Smetackova et al. (2019) confirmed a close relationship between job satisfaction and self-efficacy: teachers with greater job satisfaction reported having greater self-efficacy and more frequent use of positive confrontation (Smetackova et al., 2019).

1.2. Organizational Factors in Job Satisfaction

School-related factors are also regarded as key determinants of teachers’ job satisfaction (Hoque et al., 2023; Soe & Alegado, 2024). A substantial amount of empirical research examines the connections between organizational factors and teachers’ job satisfaction. The school organizational factors influencing teacher job satisfaction have been explored in the literature based on variables such as the school environment, the characteristics of the school, the role of leadership, and the relationships between teachers and students (e.g., Bernarto et al., 2020; Dekawati et al., 2021; Chen et al., 2023).

An important organizational factor in teacher job satisfaction is the school climate, which, according to Otrębski (2022), is a complex and multidimensional construct studied in the literature as a school’s personality and overall atmosphere, including its norms, values, and expectations. Several studies have indicated that the mutual respect between teachers, school staff, leadership, and students (school climate indicator) contributes to a positive and respectful work environment, enabling greater job satisfaction and greater efficiency in teachers’ work (Alonso-Tapia & Ruiz-Díaz, 2022; Chen et al., 2023).

1.3. Study Objectives

Teacher job satisfaction is a topic of growing interest in educational and organizational psychology. However, previous studies seem to be quite broad about the groups of teachers under investigation (e.g., kindergarten teachers, elementary school teachers, and high school teachers). Systematizing the research on this topic through an analysis explicitly focused on first- to ninth-grade teachers may provide a clearer view of what is consistently supported by research and which variables are being investigated in conjunction with teacher job satisfaction for this group of teachers.

Our study aims to systematize research published between January 2017 and January 2022 on teacher job satisfaction variables from the first to the ninth grade. Specifically, the objectives of the study are (1) to identify which individual variables are most associated with the research on job satisfaction among teachers from the first to the ninth grade, and (2) to identify which organizational variables are most associated with the research on job satisfaction among teachers at this level of education.

2. Methods

A systematic literature search was performed for articles in English and Portuguese published between 1 January 2017 and 31 January 2022 in Scopus, Eric, and Scielo, the most relevant databases regarding the volume of publications in educational psychology. The studies were identified after a search regarding the article title, abstract, keywords, and the combinations of the following research terms: “Teacher job satisfaction” AND “School” AND “Individual characteristics” OR “Professional” OR “Organizational” OR “Classroom”.

2.1. Eligibility Criteria

The studies considered for this review had to meet the following inclusion criteria: (1) quantitative and qualitative studies; (2) studies strictly related to the school context; (3) studies with samples of first- to ninth-grade teachers; (4) studies evaluating teacher job satisfaction as a dependent or independent variable; (5) studies published in the English or Portuguese language.

The inclusion criteria were applied to ensure that studies were considered for full-text coding whenever it was unclear whether they met the eligibility requirements from the title and abstract. This approach aimed to minimize the risk of erroneously excluding relevant studies. However, 428 studies that did not meet these criteria were excluded based on title and abstract screening, as depicted in the PRISMA flow diagram (Figure 1).

Book chapters, literature reviews, meta-analyses, studies unrelated to the research theme, studies with samples that do not differentiate the first to ninth grades from other levels of education (e.g., kindergarten and/or secondary level), and studies conducted in special education schools were excluded.

2.2. Study Selection and Data Extraction

This scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) (Tricco et al., 2018), meeting all pre-established process steps. A second researcher replicated the searches to assess the quality of all included studies. Full inter-observer agreement was obtained when selecting studies included in the review (Donato & Donato, 2019). A qualitative synthesis of the information was performed based on a thematic analysis (e.g., Patton, 2014) to identify and categorize the researched variables on teachers’ job satisfaction.

3. Results

The initial search in the three databases (Scopus, Eric, and Scielo) found 539 articles, which were reduced to 520 after excluding duplicates. From the remaining articles, 92 were selected for a full-text further analysis from the title and abstract information. After that, 60 full-text articles were excluded for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Thus, 32 studies were considered eligible for this review. These results are presented in detail in the flow diagram shown in Figure 1 (Haddaway et al., 2022).

The databases used for this study were selected considering the following criteria: multidisciplinary scope (SCOPUS), access to specific literature in education (ERIC), and the opportunity to explore content on the subject published in the Portuguese language (Scielo).

A qualitative synthesis of information on all 32 studies analyzed is presented in

Table 1. Descriptive data of the analyzed studies (N = 32).

Authors (Year)	Objective(s)	Sample		Methodology		Results
		N	Participants	Method	Design
Benoliel and Barth (2017)	To propose that diverse school cultures influence participative leaders’ rise and impact on teachers’ job satisfaction and burnout.	367	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	There are significant differences in teachers’ perceptions of participative leadership and teacher burnout across schools due to different cultural attributes.
Gil-Flores (2017)	To identify variables contributing to explaining teacher job satisfaction in secondary education.	192 3339	Schools Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) database	Self-efficacy, control of classroom discipline, age, sex, years of work experience at the current school, employment status, and teacher–student relations explain teacher job satisfaction.
Koedel et al. (2017)	To merge teacher performance evaluations from the new system with data from post-evaluation teacher surveys to examine the effects of differentiated ratings on teacher job satisfaction.	13,266	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	Higher ratings under the new system causally improve teachers’ perceptions of work compared to lower ratings.
Kouali (2017)	To present the practice of Cypriot school principals’ instructional role and its effect on teachers’ job satisfaction.	173 504	Principals Teachers	Mixed methods: quantitative and qualitative	Survey questionnaires Observation, interviews, informal conversations, and collection of artifacts	Higher levels of teachers’ job satisfaction are not predicted when principals deal with and accomplish their instructional tasks.
Viano and Hunter (2017)	Replicate prior research on teacher-principal race congruence and job satisfaction, investigating principal race and region variations.	16,070 141,850	Schools Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) database	Race congruence likely explains the lower job satisfaction of white teachers under Black principals
Edinger and Edinger (2018)	To find if social capital, teacher efficacy, and organizational support increase teacher job satisfaction.	122	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	Teacher job satisfaction is predicted by teachers’ centrality in the school’s trust network and the density of their academic advice ego network.
García-Torres (2018)	To extend research on teacher job satisfaction in Singapore and provide comparative information for other education systems.	431 9044	Schools Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	Distributed leadership significantly predicted teachers’ work and professional satisfaction.
Li et al. (2018)	To investigate the teachers’ emotional intelligence (EI) trait concerning their job performance.	37 881	Principals Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires and scales	A cross-level moderated mediating effect, with the indirect effect of teachers’ trait EI on job performance becoming stronger for teachers working in schools with lower levels of organizational trust.
Ouellette et al. (2018)	Explore teacher-reported self-efficacy, student functioning, and organizational health as predictors of stress and satisfaction.	71 65	Teachers in mental health services model schools Teachers in services and professional development as usual (SAU) schools	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	No significant difference was found in teacher work-related stress or satisfaction between conditions.
K. Wang et al. (2018)	To examine the differences between the job satisfaction of STEM and non-STEM novice teachers with leaving intentions (hereafter STEM NTLI).	933	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires (SASS) database	The support from the school and collaboration with colleagues are strong predictors for STEM and non-STEM NTLI.
Aras (2019)	To examine the connection between mobbing levels in primary school music teachers and their organizational commitment and job satisfaction.	248	Music teachers working at primary schools	Quantitative	Scales	Mobbing in music teachers predicts lower job satisfaction through organizational commitment.
García-Torres (2019)	To investigate relationships among distributed leadership, professional collaboration, and teachers’ job satisfaction in U.S. schools.	122 1926	School Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	Teachers’ perceptions of distributed leadership are positively linked to job satisfaction after considering individual and school culture variables.
Karabatak and Alanoğlu (2019)	To determine the role of stress as a mediator in the effect of teachers’ self-efficacy on their job satisfaction.	310	Teachers	Quantitative	Scales	Teacher self-efficacy positively affects job satisfaction, while stress negatively impacts it, with stress acting as a mediator between self-efficacy and job satisfaction.
Y. Liu and Werblow (2019)	To find how the variations in the operation of distributed leadership are related to principals’ and teachers’ organizational commitment and job satisfaction.	6045 104,358	Schools Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	Principals’ and teachers’ roles in developing colleagues and the management team’s leadership in instructional management positively relate to job satisfaction and organizational commitment.
Rezaee et al. (2019)	To explore the contributions of the Iranian school organizational climate to English Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ job satisfaction.	440	Teachers	Mixed methods: quantitative and qualitative	Survey questionnaires Semi-structured interviews	A significant positive correlation exists between the school organizational climate and the EFL teachers’ job satisfaction.
Shrestha (2019)	To examine the job satisfaction of school teachers across their school-related attributes.	345	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	Job-satisfied teachers exhibit elevated organizational citizenship behavior, performance, commitment, and school retention.
Smetackova et al. (2019)	To examine the relationship between teacher burnout, self-efficacy, coping strategies, workplace social support, and job satisfaction.	2394	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	Close links exist between burnout and job satisfaction, as well as among teachers’ self-efficacy, coping strategies, and social support.
K. Wang et al. (2019)	To analyze how selected student and school factors may affect teacher job satisfaction and teacher factors.	122 1926	Principals Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	Findings have significant implications for educational policies on teacher job satisfaction and retention.
Wolomasi et al. (2019)	To describe the job satisfaction of elementary school teachers of Boven Digoel district, Papua, and how it predicts their job performance.	352	Teacher	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	The job performance of that district’s elementary school teachers is significantly positively predicted by their job satisfaction.
Bernarto et al. (2020)	To examine how transformational leadership affects perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, the influence of organizational support on job satisfaction, and the connection between job satisfaction and life satisfaction.	127	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	Transformational leadership positively influences perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, and life satisfaction, with organizational support impacting job satisfaction and life satisfaction and job satisfaction affecting life satisfaction.
Demir (2020)	To determine the relationship between self-efficacy, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, and job involvement.	321	Teachers	Quantitative	Scales	The more teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs increased, the more their job satisfaction, organizational commitment, motivation, and job involvement increased.
Ferreira et al. (2020)	To discuss the concepts of self-efficacy and job satisfaction to verify the relationship between them and sociodemographic aspects and working conditions in teaching.	87	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires and scales	There was variation in the level of self-efficacy and satisfaction. Working conditions can influence pride in teaching.
Lassibille and Navarro Gómez (2020)	To evaluate and compare the impact of gender diversity on the overall job satisfaction of lower secondary education teachers across an extensive range of countries.	7992 134,518	Schools Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	Mixed empirical evidence was found for a relationship between teachers’ job satisfaction and gender diversity.
Lopes and Oliveira (2020)	To identify variables contributing to job satisfaction in a Portuguese sample of lower secondary education teachers.	177 3489	Schools Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	Teacher-level variables, excluding public/private schools, are stronger predictors of job satisfaction than school-level variables. Interpersonal relations stand out as key predictors.
Toropova et al. (2020)	To investigate the relations between teacher job satisfaction, school working conditions, and teacher characteristics for eighth-grade mathematics teachers.	150 4090 200	Schools Students Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) database	A notable link exists between school working conditions and teacher job satisfaction. Student discipline is crucial for the job satisfaction of teachers with lower self-efficacy.
Wula et al. (2020)	To examine job satisfaction and its eventual effects on teachers’ job performance in elementary schools of Southern Papua.	1062	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires	The performance of elementary school teachers in Southern Papua is significantly positively affected by their job satisfaction.
Yoo and Rho (2020)	To identify the most critical predictors of job satisfaction in Korean teachers.	177 2933	Principals Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires TALIS database	New variables to teacher job satisfaction included teacher feedback, participatory school climates, and perceived barriers to professional development.
Çam (2021)	To examine the relationships between work-related flow, burnout, and job satisfaction.	274	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey inventory	Negative, significant link: flow relates to lower emotional exhaustion. Positive connections were found between flow, personal accomplishment, and intrinsic satisfaction variables.
Chanana (2021)	To examine the level of organizational commitment and job satisfaction among male and female school teachers working in private schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.	181	Teachers	Qualitative	Descriptive method questionnaire and research journals, articles, books, and with the help of the internet	Female teachers are more continuously committed than male teachers during the pandemic. The level of organizational commitment is found to be low in both female and male teachers during COVID-19.
Don et al. (2021)	To examine primary school teachers’ understanding of their teacher satisfaction and organizational environment.	220	Teachers	Mixed methods: quantitative and qualitative:	Survey questionnaires Semi-structured interview	Teachers are more motivated to achieve the school’s objectives when they agree with the administration.
Pepe et al. (2021)	To evaluate the relationship between psychological distress and job satisfaction in a sample of Palestinian in-service primary and lower secondary teachers.	380	Teachers	Quantitative	Survey questionnaires and scales	The moderate positive relationship identified between job satisfaction and psychological distress was fully mediated by work engagement.
Wayoi et al. (2021)	To examine the effect of Organizational Commitment (OC) factors on job performance and job satisfaction at Islamic schools in Indonesia.	387	Teachers	Quantitative	Scales	The data suggest that OC factors, affective, normative, and continuance commitment, significantly influence job performance and satisfaction.

and

Table 2. Classification of the studies by variables’ categories.

Authors (Year)	Categories
	Individual Variables	Organizational Variables
Benoliel and Barth (2017)	Teacher burnout	Participative leadership; Principal gender
Gil-Flores (2017)	Self-efficacy; Control of classroom discipline; Age; Sex; Years of work experience at the current school; Employment status	Type of school (public or private); School size (number of students); Perceived teacher–student relations; Perceived teacher collaboration; Perceived distributed leadership
Koedel et al. (2017)	Gender; Race; Education; Certification level; Years of experience	Assessment of performance ratings on teachers (teacher evaluations)
Kouali (2017)	Dealing with the instructional tasks; Accomplishment of instructional tasks	Principal’s instructional and transformational leadership; Principal’s role at school (Leadership behavior; School management; Level of cooperation with teachers; Initiatives taken for school improvement; Support toward teachers; Equal opportunities provided to teachers; Ability for monitoring and supervision of the accomplishment of school goals; Teacher feedback)
Viano and Hunter (2017)	Teacher Race; Sex; Total experience; Regular teaching certificate	Principal race; Region of the country; Working conditions; Supportive administration; Recognition for a job well done; Necessary materials available; Paperwork and duties interfere with the job; Principal communicates vision; Principal enforces rules
Edinger and Edinger (2018)	Teacher efficacy; Perceived organizational support; Teacher experience; Level of education; Trust; Perceived organizational support	Academic advice network
García-Torres (2018)	Gender; Teacher training; Education; Age; Years of teaching experience; Teacher self-efficacy; Teacher-level distributed leadership	Distributed leadership; School resources (lack of material resources); School size; School delinquency and violence; School socioeconomic status
Li et al. (2018)	Teachers’ traits; Emotional Intelligence; Job performance	Organizational trust; Principals’ trait emotional intelligence
Ouellette et al. (2018)	Teacher stress; Teacher sense of efficacy; Teacher gender; Race; Ethnicity; Age; Years of teaching experience; Years teaching at current school; Highest level of education; Disruptive behavior in the classroom	Organizational health; Student functioning
K. Wang et al. (2018)	Teacher self-efficacy; Professional development; Educational background; Student behavior; Autonomy in teaching	Support from the school; Distributed leadership in the school; Collaboration with colleagues
Aras (2019)	Gender; Age; Marital status; Seniority in teaching (years); Organizational commitment; Seniority in music teaching (years); Educational status	Negative behavior; Mobbing levels
García-Torres (2019)	Gender; Teacher training; Education; Experience; Teacher self-efficacy	Distributed leadership; Professional collaboration; School delinquency and violence; School socioeconomic status; School size; Sector (public or private); Staff decision-making; Collaborative school culture; Principal decision-making
Karabatak and Alanoğlu (2019)	Teacher self-efficacy; Stress
Y. Liu and Werblow (2019)	Teacher organizational commitment; Teacher attitudes	Distributed leadership; Principal attitudes; Principal commitment
Rezaee et al. (2019)	Autonomy/decision-making	School organizational climate; Principal leadership; Teaching load
Shrestha (2019)	Qualifications (10 + 2 and below; bachelor; master; and above); Service period (under 10 years; 11–20 years; more than 20 years)	School type; Job nature (permanent or temporary); Pay; Work itself; Work environment; Supervision; Recognition
Smetackova et al. (2019)	Burnout; Self-efficacy; Positive coping strategies; Negative coping strategies; Social support
K. Wang et al. (2019)	Gender; Experience; Teacher self-efficacy; Teacher–student relationship; Effective professional development; Classroom discipline climate	School location; Mutual respect; School autonomy for instructional policies; Distributed leadership in the school; Principal job satisfaction; Participation among stakeholders; Students who are low achievers; Students with behavioral problems; Students with socioeconomic disadvantage; Teachers’ cooperation
Wolomasi et al. (2019)	Teachers’ job performance
Bernarto et al. (2020)	Life satisfaction; Perceived organizational support	Transformational leadership
Demir (2020)	Self-efficacy belief; Organizational commitment; Motivation; Job involvement
Ferreira et al. (2020)	Self-efficacy; Age; Sex; Experience; Years at current school; Teaching grade level; Workload	Working conditions; Class size; Work environment
Lassibille and Navarro Gómez (2020)	Gender; Qualification (formal education); Teaching experience; Subject taught; Weekly hours worked; Behavioral problems in the class	Country; Class size
Lopes and Oliveira (2020)	Teacher self-efficacy; Classroom disciplinary climate; Age; Teacher–student relations	Teacher cooperation; School climate; Distributed leadership;
Toropova et al. (2020)	Gender; Experience; Professional development; Teacher workload; Teacher self-efficacy; Student discipline	School working conditions; Leadership support; School resources; Teacher cooperation
Wula et al. (2020)	Job performance
Yoo and Rho (2020)	Teacher self-efficacy; Gender; Age, Years of experience; Classroom climate; Professional development	Teacher feedback; Administrative duties; Principal leadership; School demographics; School climate
Çam (2021)	Work enjoyment; Intrinsic work motivation; Emotional exhaustion; Depersonalization; Personal accomplishment; Absorption; Work enjoyment; Intrinsic work motivation
Chanana (2021)	Gender; Affective commitment; Organizational commitment; Continuance commitment; Normative commitment
Don et al. (2021)	Gender; Experience; Student relationship	School organizational climate; Instructional innovation; Decision-making; Collaboration; School facilities
Pepe et al. (2021)	Work engagement (vigor; absorption; dedication); Psychological distress (anxiety; loss of confidence; social dysfunctioning)
Wayoi et al. (2021)	Gender; Teaching experience; Affective commitment; Normative commitment; Continuance commitment; Job performance; Organizational commitment	Location

. Table 1 provides the summarized findings (objective, sample, methodology, and results), and Table 2 presents the classification of the variables of the studies analyzed in this scoping review based on two categories of analysis: individual and organizational variables.

The 32 studies have teachers’ job satisfaction as crucial to the study’s objectives. Twenty-nine studies employ quantitative analysis methods, while three utilize mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative). Only one study is exclusively qualitative. Twenty studies include only teachers; four studies include principals and teachers; seven include schools and teachers; and one includes schools, students, and teachers. Eleven of the thirty-two studies utilized extensive data from national and international research (e.g., TALIS, SASS, TIMSS) with stratified samples. All studies present a representative number of teachers in the sample.

Furthermore, the analysis of the objectives and conclusions of the examined studies indicates that various variables in the school context have predictive strength in explaining the job satisfaction of first- to ninth-grade teachers. After systematically analyzing the selected studies, variables of interest were extracted.

It should be noted that teacher job satisfaction can be a dependent or an independent variable in the Table 2 studies.

A preliminary analysis of the content of the 32 selected articles (Table 2) allowed the deductive extraction of the data based on two predetermined categories: (1) individual variables and (2) organizational variables. The variables were selected and grouped into each category based on what the literature defines as individual and organizational variables or how data collection was conducted (i.e., questions directed at teachers yield individual variables, while questions directed at principals or students yield organizational variables).

After the data extraction presented in Table 2, the absolute and relative frequencies of the two categories, individual variables (

Table 3. Frequency analysis of individual variables.

Individual Variables	f	%
Experience	15	11
Gender/Sex	15	11
Self-efficacy	14	10.1
Education (level)	9	6.5
Classroom disciplinary climate	8	6
Age	7	5
Organizational commitment	5	3.6
Professional development	4	2.9
Race	4	2.9
Job performance	4	2.9
Stress/Emotional exhaustion	4	2.9
Years teaching at current school	3	2.2
Motivation	3	2.2
Workload	3	2.2
Teacher-student relationship	3	2.2
Burnout	2	1.4
Qualification	2	1.4
Perceived organizational support	2	1.4
Instructional tasks	2	1.4
Teacher training	2	1.4
Affective commitment	2	1.4
Autonomy	2	1.4
Continuance commitment	2	1.4
Normative commitment Other variables (f = 1)	2 19	1.4 13.8
Total	138	100

) and organizational variables (

Table 4. Frequency analysis of organizational variables.

Organizational Predictors	f	%
Principal variables   Principal attitudes   Principal commitment   Principal communicates vision   Principal decision-making   Principal rule enforcement   Principal gender   Principal job satisfaction   Principal race   Principal’s instructional and transformational leadership   Principal’s role at school   Principals’ traits of emotional intelligence	11	12
Distributed leadership	7	7
School climate   School delinquency and violence   Mutual respect	7	7
Organizational support	5	5
Professional collaboration	5	5
School location/country/region	4	4
Teacher cooperation	4	4
Other leadership types   Participative leadership   Transformational leadership   Leadership behavior	3	3
School size	3	3
Working conditions	3	3
Type of school/sector	3	3
Principal leadership	2	2
School resources	2	2
School socioeconomic status	2	2
Recognition	2	2
Work environment	2	2
Decision-making	2	2
Class size	2	2
Teacher feedback	2	2
Behavioral problems	2	2
Other variables (f = 1)	26	26
Total	99	100

), were analyzed. The absolute frequency (fi) is the number of occurrences of each variable. The following equation is used to calculate the relative frequency (fr) regarding the proportion between the total sample value and the number of elements on this sample:

fri = fi ÷ ∑fi

The relative frequency is multiplied by 100 to obtain the percentage.

The frequency and percentage in which individual and organizational variables occur in the 32 studies analyzed are presented in Table 3 and Table 4, respectively.

The variables that refer to the same construct but are named differently in the studies were grouped in the same variable (e.g., “ethnicity” was included in the “race” variable). The variables that appeared only once among the studies analyzed were grouped in the “Other variables (f = 1)” category.

The results’ analysis indicates that, at the individual level, the most referenced variables in the studies were the demographic variables experience (11%), sex (11%), educational level (6.5%), and age (5%). Self-efficacy (10.1%) and the disciplinary climate in the classroom (6%) are also associated with the study of job satisfaction of first- to ninth-grade teachers. At the organizational level, the variables related to the school principal (12%), distributed leadership (7%), and school climate (7%) have also been investigated within the scope of job satisfaction of first- to ninth-grade teachers.

4. Discussion

This review examined individual and organizational variables influencing teachers’ job satisfaction (grades 1–9). As the results, key individual factors included demographics, self-efficacy, and classroom disciplinary climate, while organizational factors focused on variables were related to the school principal, leadership, and school climate. This study also identified gaps, particularly the absence of critical variables and the role of socio-cultural and institutional contexts in shaping job satisfaction.

Our results indicate that, at the individual level, the demographic variables are the most investigated in terms of teachers (grades 1–9). Still, the relationship between teachers’ demographic profiles and job satisfaction often produces inconsistent results. For example, in a study with 3976 teachers from China, S. Liu et al. (2020) found no significant differences in job satisfaction between male and female teachers. However, in a study that analyzed data with teachers from Japan and South Korea, Niu et al. (2023) found that gender significantly predicted teacher job satisfaction in both countries, with females having a lower level of job satisfaction than males. The authors also found that teaching experience was a significant predictor, and teachers who had worked longer had lower job satisfaction for both countries (Niu et al., 2023). On the other hand, Toropova et al. (2020) found a non-linear relationship between the teaching experience and teacher job satisfaction.

The inconsistencies in the analysis of demographic variables may be attributed to the socio-cultural specificities of different countries or variations in educational systems. Schools are generally recognized as historical and cultural institutions with similar architectural and organizational structures. However, each school has unique characteristics, wherein social subgroups with distinct interests interact and define themselves through their respective cultures within a specific spatial and temporal context (Soe & Alegado, 2024). In a study employing hierarchical linear modeling with data from teachers in China (Shanghai), Singapore, Canada, and the United States, Huang et al. (2024) found that demographic variables had no significant effects on teachers’ job satisfaction, except for gender in Canada. Specifically, male teachers in Canada showed higher job satisfaction compared to their female counterparts. Findings from cross-cultural comparisons, such as those presented by Huang et al. (2024), provide further empirical support for our analysis.

The results also suggest that the teacher’s self-efficacy is a common studied and relevant variable for teacher job satisfaction, with studies with teachers worldwide finding that teachers with higher self-efficacy show greater job satisfaction (Demir, 2020; Karabatak & Alanoğlu, 2019; Smetackova et al., 2019; Toropova et al., 2020). Another result we found is that the disciplinary climate in the classroom is an important variable in the studies on teachers’ job satisfaction. Using data from TALIS 2013, Lopes and Oliveira (2020) found that the disciplinary climate in the classroom—that is, the teacher’s perceived capacity to control the order or disruption in the classroom—and the teacher’s self-efficacy are the most important predictors of job satisfaction of Portuguese teachers. Niu et al. (2023) found similar results with Japanese and South Korean teachers.

At the organizational level, principal-related factors are the most frequently studied variables concerning teachers’ job satisfaction, as principals play a critical role in the school, namely modeling and encouraging subordinates to achieve desirable school goals. They can also offer support for school team development and foster the enthusiasm of school teachers and staff (Dekawati et al., 2021). Remarkably, the autonomy and influence of the principals may vary from country to country and between public and private schools, which may relativize or increase its importance (Lopes & Oliveira, 2020). A study by Dekawati et al. (2021) found a moderate/strong relationship between the principal role and teachers’ job satisfaction, highlighting the importance of the relationship between these variables. Chen et al. (2023) also found that the school climate and culture created by the principal impact teachers’ job satisfaction.

School leadership can be employed in different ways, and distributed leadership is just one example of it, as, according to García-Torres (2019), it differs from the broad concept of leadership as it is not related to a single individual. In her study, García-Torres (2019) revealed that teachers’ perceptions of distributed leadership are significant and positively associated with job satisfaction, and our scoping review confirms the growing interest in this variable within the school environment as an alternative to the leadership approach centered on a single subject.

The school climate, generically understood as the tacit atmosphere of a school (Otrębski, 2022), is also among the most investigated variables in this area. In their study, Soe and Alegado (2024) conclude that there is a positive correlation between favorable perceptions of the school climate and elevated teacher job satisfaction. The perceived impact of the school climate on job satisfaction and its many facets may explain the ongoing interest in this variable (e.g., Alonso-Tapia & Ruiz-Díaz, 2022; Otrębski, 2022; Soe & Alegado, 2024).

Our results also indicate that there is a higher number of studies with organizational variables than studies with individual variables, but studies adopting a multilevel approach suggest that individual variables better explain teacher job satisfaction than organizational variables (e.g., S. Liu et al., 2020; Lopes & Oliveira, 2020; Niu et al., 2023). However, the measurement of individual variables seems to be more complex. Toropova et al. (2020) states that although it is easy to identify the unique factors of teachers, it is more difficult to explain how they work and find adequate metrics due to their complex nature. This difficulty may partially explain the greater number of studies with organizational variables.

This study explored individual and organizational factors influencing job satisfaction among first- to ninth-grade teachers. Although prior research highlights the complexity of job satisfaction, there is a risk of overemphasizing certain aspects while neglecting others (Hoque et al., 2023; S. Liu et al., 2020; Lopes & Oliveira, 2020; Niu et al., 2023; K. Wang et al., 2019). A meta-analysis by Wartenberg et al. (2023) emphasized the role of student interactions in shaping teachers’ career choices but also underscored the need to view job satisfaction as a multidimensional construct for a deeper understanding of its impact on teachers’ job performance.

Our review identifies some trends and gaps in the literature with implications for the field. For instance, some variables are seldom considered in research on teacher job satisfaction, even though they may be relevant to teachers’ job satisfaction or could represent emerging factors in specific educational systems. One example is the overload of administrative tasks (Alanoğlu & Demirtaş, 2021; Osipov et al., 2021), which is highlighted in only one reviewed study (cf. Yoo & Rho, 2020). Nevertheless, in a mixed study with 220 teachers from 23 Malaysian primary schools, Don et al. (2021) found that teachers are more motivated to achieve the school’s goals when they agree with the administrative requirements (i.e., issues involving educational management and the organizational environment), which makes the school environment more positive and ultimately increases teachers job satisfaction.

School administrative tasks are among the factors contributing to what Ouellette et al. (2018) describe as organizational health. In an organizationally healthy school, students tend to demonstrate more academic focus, and teachers feel more satisfied with their profession, as well as connected with colleagues and students (Ouellette et al., 2018). Moreover, teachers are included in the decisions related to school policy and administrative tasks, improving teacher job satisfaction (S. Liu et al., 2020; Yoo & Rho, 2020). Our results suggest that more research must be performed on teachers’ administrative workload, considering its relevance to teachers’ well-being.

Noteworthy, the samples of the studies included in this scoping review cover groups of teachers from different countries, which means that it is possible that the variables assume different weights in job satisfaction according to each country’s or school’s socio-cultural and institutional context. The relationship between teachers and school factors may differ between countries or regions, including organizational support (Edinger & Edinger, 2018), duty and administrative tasks (Osipov et al., 2021; Yoo & Rho, 2020), school management (Kouali, 2017), school type (Shrestha, 2019), and school and students’ socioeconomic status (García-Torres, 2018; K. Wang et al., 2019).

Thus, even though the teaching profession is universal, the factors involved in job satisfaction may vary significantly due to the education systems’ conditions and the conditions each country offers to its teachers (Sahito & Vaisanen, 2020; Zakariya et al., 2020). Cultural context is crucial in research, as shown by Xu et al. (2025), who found that school leadership strongly influences U.S. teachers’ satisfaction but has a lesser impact in China. This highlights how job satisfaction factors differ based on educational and cultural contexts.

It is important to point out that a significant part of the studies (34.40%) use data from large national and international surveys, which allows the exploration of several variables from extensive samples. However, these studies can only assess variables included in these databases; for example, TALIS is a survey that traditionally investigates issues related to the teaching profession but does not consider some relevant predictors for teacher satisfaction. Our results show that only 4 of the 32 studies analyzed incorporate qualitative data.

Given job satisfaction’s complex and subjective nature, the predominance of quantitative studies relying on questionnaires may constrain a comprehensive understanding of teachers’ job satisfaction. Integrating qualitative research insights could enhance the findings and provide a more nuanced understanding of the construct. The qualitative reviewed studies identify key variables related to teacher satisfaction that are often overlooked in quantitative research, including engagement with instructional tasks, the accomplishment of instructional objectives (Kouali, 2017), autonomy (Rezaee et al., 2019), continuance and normative commitment (Chanana, 2021), as well as instructional innovation, decision-making, and collaboration (Don et al., 2021).

Additionally, even though job satisfaction is linked to higher-order needs and social relationships (Lopes & Oliveira, 2020; Pepe et al., 2021), this association remains underexplored. While numerous variables can be identified at both the individual and organizational levels, researchers have underexplored various aspects of the educational context (e.g., relationships with colleagues, students, and parents; bureaucratic structures; socio-cultural factors) and the potential interactions between both levels. These interactions likely operate in complex and mutually influential ways rather than as independent domains. This is the case of professional stability (Baroudi et al., 2020), burnout (Halimaha et al., 2023), teacher salary (L. Wang & Yao, 2020), the amount of perceived pressure exerted by their students’ parents (Eades-Baird & Qiao, 2024), and administrative tasks (Don et al., 2021; Yoo & Rho, 2020).

5. Conclusions

This scoping review mapped the variables associated with job satisfaction among teachers from the first to the ninth grade and it proved to be—based on the rigorous and transparent application of the steps—a valuable way of exposing the methodological results of the studies analyzed. The information collected in this review allowed us to identify the variables associated with the investigation of teachers’ job satisfaction (grades 1–9) and the methodological gaps of the previous studies. Our results show, for example, that 29 of the 32 articles analyzed come from quantitative studies using questionnaires and survey scales. Therefore, the investigation of teachers’ job satisfaction from the first to the ninth grade is limited to the variables predetermined by the instruments used in the studies and may ignore other critical variables.

Our study highlights some gaps in the field that should be addressed in future studies, namely, (1) since teacher job satisfaction is a complex and multi-determined variable, it would be relevant to conduct studies with qualitative and longitudinal designs that allow for the identification and exploration of variables in a more phenomenological way, in order to discover patterns and trends that are not usually identified by more structured methods; (2) it is important that researchers identify the specific variables of the educational and cultural context in which teachers are inserted; and (3) future studies should address specificities of teachers’ job satisfaction according to different levels of education.

By systematizing information on the variables most frequently associated with job satisfaction among teachers from the first to the ninth grade, the education sector stakeholders—including teachers, principals, and policymakers—can leverage the insights from our study to implement strategies and practices that enhance teacher satisfaction at this educational level. Our findings contribute to a broader understanding of teacher job satisfaction, providing a foundation for further research and informing the development of teacher training and professional development programs. Additionally, these insights can assist school leaders in making evidence-based decisions that promote teacher well-being and, consequently, improve the quality of education.

The analyzed studies’ methodological constraint is our review’s main limitation. The lack of methodological variability in this area and the essentially descriptive nature of the available research restricted the scope of our review, making it impossible to meet the requirements for conducting a systematic review. Unlike systematic reviews, scoping reviews are suitable for broad topics and aim to recognize and gather the evidence produced by the investigation. Also, due to the temporal restriction of the selected studies sampled, limited to the years of 2017 to 2022, and the use of only three databases (Scopus, Eric, and Scielo)—excluding other databases of lesser international importance—some caution is recommended when generalizing the results. Still, this study provides a valuable overview of this key variable in teachers’ professional lives, offering insights that should be considered in its management.