Career Orientations as Antecedent of Perceived Life Satisfaction among Ghanaian Teachers

Abstract

Work is essential and provides a number of psychological experiences that promote mental well-being individuals, aside the financial gain. This study explored how the inner drives, motive and values of the teachers affect their work experiences. When there a fit between the personal resources of the teachers and their job demands, they are more likely to have fulfilled and satisfying work experience, which would boost their satisfaction in life. The study involved a sample of 297 professional teachers from the basic and Senior High Schools from the Cape Coast and Tema Metropolises of the Central and the Greater Accra regions respectively. The design employed for the study was quantitative survey. The data for the study were collected within three weeks at the two metropolises. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that the carer orientation of Ghanaian teachers significantly predict their career/life satisfaction. Service dedication was found to be the most significant predictor of career experience of teachers. Males were also found to be significantly higher on pure challenge, autonomy and managerial competence anchors. Age of respondents was also significantly related negatively with their pure challenge and service dedication anchors. The implications of these findings were discussed.

Key words: Service dedication, career orientation, life satisfaction, Ghanaian teachers, person-career congruence