What Matters on Academics’ Job Satisfaction? An Analysis from Taiwan APIKS Survey

Abstract

Various governance and academic performance disadvantages due to changes in social systems have led to increasing competition and teachers` work dissatisfaction among higher education institutions in Taiwan. Building on academic profession in the knowledge-based society (APIKS) survey, this study examines the perspective of university teachers in Taiwan, leaving insights on the perception and approval of teaching, research, university governance, and the correlation between the three constructs with job satisfaction, as well as unearthing whether these constructs foreshadow job satisfaction. SPSS statistics 25.0 and Amos 25.0 were adopted, and 1,224 valid questionnaires collected. Results overall indicate that: (1) policy content influences academics` intentions; (2) crisis awareness acts as the best motivation for universities and teachers to initiate change; (3) institutional characteristics had the highest influence and predictive power on teachers` job satisfaction; and (4) emphasis on the institution`s mission, effective leadership, good communication, and collegiality in the decision-making process will increase job satisfaction. Based on the analyses, several recommendations and further investigation are forwarded.