Professional commitment refers to the strength of motivation to work in a chosen career role and to the attachment an individual has towards his/her profession. According to Somech & Bogler (2002), “Professional commitment is characterized by client orientation, loyalty, professional autonomy, conformity to professional standards and ethics.” Hence it is understood that professional commitment includes feelings of involvement, loyalty and bonding to the profession. Teachers deeply committed to their profession and content tend to play a more constructive role and the teachers engaged in teaching at the higher secondary level play a very significant role in the lives of their students. According to Rivikin, Hanushek & Kain (2005), competencies of teachers have great impact on students’ learning outcomes. Similar to the professional commitment of teachers, job satisfaction is of prime importance for almost everybody because of the pleasure and the sense of happiness that brings to them. Job satisfaction indicates the feelings of inner fulfillment derived from being engaged in a work. It is essentially related to human needs and their fulfillment through the work. Job satisfaction plays a very important role in one’s everyday life. People who are employed want to gain satisfaction from their work. As the quality of education depends upon the quality of the teachers, it is well known that the teachers’ role is one of the most important factors contributing to the national development.
The present study aimed to study the professional commitment and job satisfaction of higher secondary teachers and the existing relationship between them. The Professional Commitment Scale for Teachers developed by Ullah Hamida (2015) and Job Satisfaction Questionnaire developed by Naseema (1993) were used to collect data for the present study. On the whole, the findings of the present study revealed that there was significant and positive relationship between professional commitment and job satisfaction of higher secondary teachers. The relationship between professional commitment of higher secondary teachers with their job satisfaction makes them to be very successful and prepares them to meet with their professional needs at their work places eminently.
Key words: Professional Commitment, Job Satisfaction, Higher Secondary Teachers.
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