| The purpose of this study was to assess the job satisfaction of a sample of Florida's public high school assistant principals in light of the importance of this factor in maintaining a qualified administrative work force. The study was undertaken as a follow-up to Thornton's 1996 dissertation study of middle school assistant principals entitled, Job Satisfaction and the Assistant Principalship in Central Florida School Districts.;Each public high school assistant principal in seven districts from throughout the state was surveyed using the Job Descriptive Index developed by Bowling Green State University. Questions related to issues of importance to educators in the state of Florida provided additional information.;Results of the study indicated that 90 of the 123 respondents (78.9%) were satisfied overall with their positions. Participants indicated the greatest degree of job satisfaction in relation to the supervision they received on the job. There was a positive correlation between overall job satisfaction and duties in the areas of curriculum and personnel.;Pay and promotion opportunities were the greatest sources of dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction was negatively associated with student services, including the area of student discipline. Several participants found dissatisfaction related to negative interactions with students' parents, paperwork, and funding problems.;Overall results were similar to the middle school data from the Thornton study. Gender was not found to be a significant factor in either group.;Conclusions from the study were as follows: (a) Principals should publicly recognize the contributions of assistant principals and should allow them opportunities for continued staff development; (b) Assistant principals should experience varying job responsibilities in preparation for future principalships; (c) Consideration should be given to finding ways to shorten assistant principal working hours; and (d) School districts should consider providing school-within-a-school programs to reduce student anonymity and increase positive interactions between students, teachers and administrators. Recommendations were made for further research. |
