Psychology has traditionally focused on psychological deficits and disability until recently (Carr, 2004). Therefore, psychology has been criticized as primarily dedicated to addressing mental illness rather than mental ‘‘wellness.’’ (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter, & Taris, 2008). However, nowadays positive psychology perspective attracted most of the scholars’ attention such that researchers from different disciplines try to focus and make research on employees' positive emotions and behaviors rather than negative ones. This new branch of psychology is primarily concerned with the scientific study of human strengths and happiness (Carr, 2004; Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Although interest in what is good about humans and their lives has long been a theme of human inquiry, the emergence of positive psychology has provided a conceptual home for researchers and practitioners interested in all aspects of optimal human functioning (Linley & Joseph, 2004).This approach is considered to supplement the traditional focus of psychology on disease, damage, disorder, and disability (Schaufeli, Bakker & Salanova, 2003).

To redress the psychological imbalance and to catalyze a change in psychology, we must bring the building of strength to the forefront in the treatment and prevention of mental illness (Seligman, 2002). For example, if we are willing to make a research on teachers, we should start from the engagement rather than burnout. Burnout can be characterized as a physical, emotional and mental exhaustion which involve such symptoms as physical exhaustion, feeling of despair and hopelessness, emotional deterioration, negative feelings against others (Maslach & Leiter, 1997). On the contrary, work engagement can be defined as “a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption” (Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma & Bakker, 2002, p. 74). Maslach and Leiter (1997) assumes that engagement and burnout constitute the opposite poles of a continuum of work related well-being. According to their point of view while burnout represents the negative pole, engagement represent the positive. Contrary to those who suffer from burnout, engaged employees have a sense of energetic and effective connection with their work, and instead of stressful and demanding they look upon their work as challenging (Bakker, Schaufeli, Leiter, & Taris, 2008). In this regard we assumed that teachers’ work engagement may have a positive effect on their job satisfaction leading a positive effect on their life satisfaction.

The purpose of the study

Therefore the purpose of this research is threefold: first to determine the teachers’ levels of work engagement, and job and life satisfaction, second to investigate whether teachers’ levels of engagement, and job and life satisfaction differ significantly in terms of gender and professional seniority variables, and finally to explore the relationships between work engagement, and job and life satisfaction.  

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