Testing a Model of Teacher Satisfaction for Blacks and Whites

The purpose of this study was to construct and test a model of the influences affecting early-career teachers’ job satisfaction. The path model is presented and tested first with a sample of black teachers and then with a sample of white teachers. Although the model provides a plausible explanation for the relationships among the variables for both groups, differences in the structural coefficients indicate the process leading to teacher job satisfaction is different for blacks and whites. The implications of this study suggest it may be critical to take into account factors such as race and sex in teacher induction and training.