Student Affairs professionals' job satisfaction: A meta-analysis

In this meta-analytic review, the researcher summarizes previous studies by calculating population correlation coefficients for Student Affairs professionals' job satisfaction with its antecedents and correlates. The calculations were adjusted by correcting for sampling error and error of measurement. In total, 43 meta-analyses were carried out. Forty were on the antecedents of and three on the correlates of student affairs professionals' job satisfaction.;Meta-analytic results identify that the population correlations between Student Affairs professionals' job satisfaction and seven demographic characteristics range from .000 to .175; between job satisfaction and two personal characteristics are .374 and .386; between job satisfaction and 14 job characteristics range from .292 to .622, between job satisfaction and role ambiguity and role conflict are -.533 and -.189 respectively; and between job satisfaction and two institutional characteristics are .054 and .095. The population correlation between job satisfaction and career commitment is .781 and between job satisfaction and job-related stress is -.436.;In addition, precise estimates of population correlation coefficients, defined as when sampling error and error of measurement account for greater than or equal to 75% of the variance, were found in some of the meta-analyses. That is, precise estimates were observed in nine of the meta-analyses of samples including all Student Affairs professionals. They were also observed in six subsequent meta-analyses of subgroups of both chief Student Affairs professionals and Student Affairs professionals working in specific institutional environments.;This meta-analysis provides a frame of reference for researchers and practitioners who have an interest in understanding job satisfaction in the field of Student Affairs and who would like to carry out future meta-analyses, based upon this current study.;This study provides practical recommendations to improve Student Affairs staff development programs aimed at enhancing job satisfaction. Recommendations include cultivating individual leadership, creating a positive job environment, increasing a link between staff's career goals and the profession, giving clear and consistent role-related information, and providing staff with methods to manage stressful job conditions.;Finally, the study challenges future researchers to conduct more empirical job satisfaction research that focuses on the specific types of Student Affairs professionals, the specific institutional environments in which they work, and the consequences of job satisfaction. It also shows the need for future research to develop a reliable instrument to measure Student Affairs professionals' job satisfaction.