Understanding teachers’ job satisfaction and flow: the dual process of psychological needs

Drawing from self-determination theory, the current study examined how teachers’ satisfaction or frustration of psychological needs might be related to their job satisfaction, intention to leave, and flow experience during teaching (N = 143, K-12 teachers in the Midwestern U.S.). In support of the Dual Process Model, the current results revealed the different predictive utility of need satisfaction vs. frustration for each of three needs. Specifically, need satisfaction was a stronger predictor of positive outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction and flow) than need frustration while need frustration was a stronger predictor of negative outcomes (e.g. intention to leave) than need satisfaction. Job satisfaction was predicted by all three types of psychological needs (competence, relatedness, and autonomy). Unlike job satisfaction, teachers’ intention to leave was mostly tied to the need for autonomy, and teachers’ enjoyment of teaching (flow experience) was primarily a function of the need for competence. Educational and policy implications are discussed.