Job stress, perceived social support and job satısfaction in teachers working with mentally retarded children

The aim of this study is to compare job stress, perceived social support, and job satisfaction levels of teachers working with mentally retarded children in private and public special education institutions and to identify whether these differentiate based on personal characteristics of the teachers as well as variables associated with their professional lives.The study was conducted in the 2007-2008 training and educational year with the participation of 320 teachers working with mentally retarded children in private and public special education schools in Ankara central province.The research data were collected using a Personal Information Form, a Job Stress Scale, a Perceived Social Support Scale, and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). The data obtained via the data collection tools were analyzed using statistics software. Frequency and percentage calculations were made in order to determine the distributions related to the characteristics of the study group. In the evaluation of research data, t-test Analysis and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient Analysis techniques were used.The study showed significant differences between job stress, perceived social support, and job satisfaction levels of teachers working in private and public special education schools. It was found that work stress levels of the teachers working in public institutions were lower and their perceived social support and job satisfaction levels were higher as compared with those of the teachers working in private organizations. On the other hand, while a significant relation was found between work stress and job satisfaction in teachers, the relation between perceived social support and job satisfaction was not found to be significant.Keywords: Job Stress, Perceived Social Support, Job Satisfaction, Public Special Education İnstitute, Private Special Education İnstitute.