Reliability and Validity of the Botswana Educator Job Satisfaction Survey (BEJSS)

Abstract

There are many existing teacher job satisfaction instruments, but we found none adequately accounted for the unique challenges educators face in Botswana. Culturally relevant surveys can be challenging to find in non-Western, developing contexts. Secondary education in Botswana has specific characteristics, such as a centralised curriculum, rural-urban resource disparities, difficulties accessing continued professional development and off-campus teacher housing. Our study aimed to design the Botswana Educator Job Satisfaction Survey (BEJSS) with relevant constructs for Botswana and similar contexts. Herzberg’s Two-factor theory of motivation guided our instrument design for conceptualising job satisfaction. Following an exploratory sequential QUAL-QUAN design, we used mixed methods research (MMR) with an inductive approach. Five educational experts were involved in our study for the item generation and content validation phase. The sampled teachers came from senior secondary schools in Botswana's North-East region, and we randomly selected 25 teachers for five focus groups. The items were generated and refined based on the expert inputs and the focus group themes. During the quantitative phase, we randomly selected teachers to complete the BEJSS, and the total sample size was 51 respondents. For the qualitative data analysis, we used Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA), and for the item and instrument analysis, the Rasch Rating Scale Model was applied with Winsteps. The MMR results for the new instrument showed sufficient evidence of internal reliability and validity. Our study contributes a new instrument to teacher job satisfaction in Botswana, tailored for school settings with similar contexts.