Job Satisfaction and Intent to Leave the Profession of Athletic Training
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Aaron B. Terranova (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Jolene Henning
Abstract: The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has experienced a decline in membership in recent years generating much debate about the professional commitment of a new generation of athletic trainers. The purpose of this study therefore was to compare the contributing factors of job satisfaction and intention to leave athletic training in Certified Athletic Trainers (ATs) employed in NCAA Division I, II, and III institutions. A web-based questionnaire was utilized to examine both job satisfaction and intention to leave the profession of athletic training. The Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) consisted of 36 items based on a 6-point Likert scale. The JSS produced 8 subscales of job satisfaction which were used for all data analysis. The Intention to Leave Survey (ITLS) was an original instrument consisting of 7 items. A 4-point Likert scale was designed to determine a respondent's intent to leave and to what degree they have actively pursued such intentions. All NATA certified members in district 3 employed in a college or university job setting were solicited via e-mail for participation in the study. In addition, 60 ATs from each of the remaining nine NATA districts who met the inclusion criteria were also solicited. There was a follow-up solicitation after two weeks for a total of two solicitations over a three week data collection period. Only respondents that were employed in clinical or dual appointment were included in the data analysis. 191 ATs completed all sections of the survey. The subjects represented NCAA division I (n=106, 55.5%), division II (n=37, 19.4%), and division III (n=48, 25.1%). In addition, subjects were also divided by job title into head athletic trainer (n=63, 33.0%), assistant/associate athletic trainer (n=103, 53.9%), and graduate assistant/intern athletic trainer (n=25, 13.1%). Separate factorial ANOVAs compared the mean scores of each of the 8 JSS subscales by NCAA division and job title. A factorial ANOVA was also used to compare the mean scores of the ITLS and NCAA division and job title. A step-wise multiple regression was used to determine the strength of the relationships between the 8 JSS subscales and the total ITLS score. The alpha level was set at .05. The factorial ANOVAs revealed significant differences for job title in the JSS subscales of fringe benefits (p= .001) and operating conditions (p=.000). Significance was also seen in the interaction between NCAA division and job title in the JSS subscale of nature of work (p= .043). The multiple regression revealed the JSS subscales of nature of work (r= -.45), pay/rewards (r= -.43), and promotion (r= -.41) were the most significant indicators of intention to leave. The results of this study suggest there is a strong negative correlation between various facets job satisfaction and intent to leave the profession of athletic training. NCAA division seems to have no impact on an individual's job satisfaction or intention to leave the profession. In addition, only fringe benefits and operating conditions seem to be affected by job title. These results suggest that ATs have similar levels of job satisfaction regardless of NCAA division and their job title is not a major factor in job satisfaction.
Job Satisfaction and Intent to Leave the Profession of Athletic Training
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Created on 9/2/2008
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2008
- Keywords
- National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA), decline, membership, professional commitment, athletic trainers, Certified Athletic Trainers (ATs), NCAA, job satisfaction, Likert scale, job title
- Subjects
- Athletic trainers $x Job satisfaction.
- National Athletic Trainers Association $x Membership.
- National Collegiate Athletic Association.
- Coaches (Athletics) $x Job satisfaction $z United States.