The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Job Satisfaction of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Teachers

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the job satisfaction levels of primary school teachers in public schools across the TRNC during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the bulk of research conducted during the pandemic has focused on healthcare professionals, this study seeks to contribute to the literature by exploring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the job satisfaction of teachers, offering a novel perspective within this professional group. During the 2020–2021 academic year, 101 primary school teachers from public schools under the auspices of the TRNC Ministry of National Education participated in the study. The research utilized the 'Minnesota Job Satisfaction Scale' adapted into Turkish by Baycan in 1985, for which validity and reliability analyses were conducted. Data analysis included descriptive statistics for continuous variables, t tests for bicategorical groups, ANOVA for groups with more than two categories to examine the impact of various independent variables on scale scores, two-step cluster analysis and Pearson correlation analysis. Teachers reported high job satisfaction (x̅=3.96) during the COVID-19 period. This indicates that teachers were satisfied with their jobs during the pandemic. Teachers' positive attitudes toward their jobs and the TRNC government's effective educational measures may have contributed to their greater job satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic