Abstract

This research study, “An investigation into Job Satisfaction and how it Impacts on Job Performance” focused on Bikita Rural District Secondary Schools. It was guided by the following objectives: to identify the effects of teacher attitudes to job performance, and to establish the influence played by both motivation and schools’ working conditions to teacher job satisfaction and teacher job performance. A qualitative approach to the study was adopted where both questionnaires and structured interviews were used. Twenty five rural secondary school teachers and ten secondary school heads, including their deputies were used as respondents. Factors such as teacher attitude, organisational working conditions and the motivational aspects for teachers were seen to bear influence in teacher job satisfaction and job performance. It was established that if these are not clearly observed, they will lead to teacher job dissatisfaction, subsequently lowered teacher performance, and unfortunately, the lowered teacher performance will, in turn, impact negatively on student performance. Considerations by the Ministry of Education for the establishment of a teaching professional board, speeding up teacher promotional processes, provision of more infrastructure, reviewing of salaries and rural educator incentives to enhance teachers’ job satisfaction and job performance was seen to be of paramount importance.