Date
4-7-2026
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Melinda Carver
Keywords
self-efficacy (SE), social cognitive theory, job satisfaction, acquisition workforce, Defense Acquisition University, Federal Acquisition Institute, job descriptive index
Disciplines
Education
Recommended Citation
Queen, Oliver Jr., "Exploring the Predictors of Job Satisfaction Among Defense Acquisition University Instructors and Federal Acquisition Institute Instructors: A Bivariate Regression Study" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8111.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8111
Abstract
The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and self-efficacy among Defense Acquisition University (DAU) and Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) instructors. This study is important because it addresses workforce management and development issues that are essential to maintaining high standards in federal acquisition training. A total of 200 instructors from DAU and FAI participated in the study. Data were collected using the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), developed by Tschannen-Moran and Hoy, and the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), developed by Spector, with negatively worded JSS items reverse coded to ensure that higher scores reflected greater satisfaction. A quantitative correlational design using bivariate linear regression analysis was employed. Descriptive statistics indicated adequate variability across measures, and all assumptions for linear regression—normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and independence of residuals—were satisfied. Results indicated that teacher self-efficacy was a statistically significant predictor of job satisfaction, F(1, 198) = 89.86, p < .001, with an R² value of .312, indicating that approximately 31.2% of the variance in job satisfaction was explained by teacher self-efficacy; therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. The findings suggest that instructors with higher self-efficacy tend to report greater job satisfaction, underscoring the importance of supporting instructor self-efficacy through professional development, mentoring, and targeted feedback. Strengthening teacher self-efficacy may improve satisfaction, retention, and overall effectiveness in acquisition education programs.
