Teacher attrition has become an increasingly serious issue in Israel during the past few decades (Arviv Elyashiv & Navon, 2021; Yinon & Orland-Barak, 2017). A report from the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS, 2022) revealed that in 2019 there was a 27% increase in the number of teachers who decided to leave the teaching profession, while the recruitment rate declined sharply (around 7%). This crisis has become more severe among novice teachers, with 30% quitting the profession within the first three years (Arviv Elyashiv & Zimmerman, 2015). The cost of the high level of attrition in the Israeli education system is seen in the alarming shortage of teachers (Donitsa-Schmich & Zuzovsky, 2020). Similar concerns were echoed in other Europe, (e.g. Brok et al., 2017; Toropova et al., 2021), as well as in the U.S (Ingersoll et al., 2012). Empirical evidence shows that teacher attrition diminishes when teachers feel satisfied and content with their job (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011).

Job satisfaction refers to employees’ attitudes toward their working conditions and profession (Wang et al., 2020). Job satisfaction within the teaching profession represents positive emotional attitudes toward the teaching role (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011). Extensive research has recognized the contribution of job satisfaction to enhancing positive work-related behaviors, such as retention, attendance, organizational commitment, professional obligation, quality teaching, and accountability (Klassen & Chiu, 2011; Olsen & Huang, 2019; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011). Many studies have investigated the factors predicting teachers' job satisfaction. They have identified student characteristics, teacher backgrounds, teachers' working conditions, and school composition. The current study builds on this literature while elaborating on the school organizational mechanisms that encourage job satisfaction. Previous research has recognized some of the school factors, which ensure quality of teachers’ work: adequate resources, feasible workload, collegial cooperation, opportunities for professional development and leadership support. This study further discussed how such factors contribute to teachers' job satisfaction, while adding to the discussion other main organizational components: organizational autonomy, decision-making opportunities, promotional prospects, and school project involvement openings. The study aimed to explore how teachers' perceptions of school organizational mechanisms with respect to their job routine operates as a determinant of their job satisfaction. The Israeli case is intriguing in this regard. The TALIS 2018 survey indicated that Israeli teachers feel content and satisfied (RAMA, 2019). According to the survey results, most teachers (around 90%) enjoyed their work and ranked their school as highly recommended. At the same time, they experienced high levels of stress, burnout, and attrition (Arviv Elyashiv & Zimmerman, 2015; Shorosh & Berkovich, 2022). Moreover, the Israeli education system is centralized, while teaching offers only a moderate level of autonomy and participation in decision-making (Arviv Elyashiv & Zimmerman, 2015) and the available paths to promotion are limited (Avidov-Ungar & Arviv Elyashiv, 2018). Moreover, teachers work under rigorous regulations, constant supervision, intense parental involvement, and regular examinations of student performance through a high-stakes testing regime (Feniger et al., 2016). In this situation, the TALIS results were quite surprising. Therefore, the study intends to explore the contribution of organizational mechanisms in predicting teachers' job satisfaction in the Israeli education system.

  Research questions:

1. How do teachers perceive school organizational mechanisms which are related to their work routine?
2. To what extant do teachers' perception regarding school organizational mechanisms predict their job satisfaction?

Context: Teaching in Israel is considered a comfortable form of employment with a high level of job security, and which enables a good work-life balance. Most teachers are employed by the state and usually receive tenure after three years; they are then protected and cannot be easily dismissed. At the same time, teaching is considered an unattractive occupation with low status and prestige (Donitsa-Schmich et al., 2021). Low salaries coupled with difficult working conditions are the main reasons for the low status of the teaching profession, and for the high proportion of teacher attrition. Participants: Data was collected among Israeli K-12 teachers in both the Jewish and Arab sectors. Using snowball-sampling methods, teachers were recruited through online professional networks and forums as well as with the assistance of contact persons in various schools. We sent email invitations to approximately 2000 teachers. In total, 718 teachers completed the survey (35% response rate): 502 were women (69.9%). The distribution of the participants approximates that of teachers in the general population. The majority of the participants were employed in the Jewish education system (604 teachers, 84.1%), whereas 114 (15.9%) taught in the minority Arab sector. The average number of years of experience among the participants was 13.01 years (range: 1-42 years, SD=9.26). Research questionnaire: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to the participants. The questionnaire consisted of Likert scale items, ranging from 1= do not agree to 5 = agree completely. Analysis: The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and ANOVA tests. A linear regression was estimated to examine the effect of the explanatory (school organizational mechanisms) on teachers’ job satisfaction (dependent variable).

In the current study we analyzed the relationship between school organizational mechanisms and teachers' job satisfaction, while focusing on the following mechanisms: leadership support and trust, collegial cooperation, decision-making opportunities, organizational autonomy, school project involvement openings and promotional prospects. Preliminary findings show that school organizational mechanisms were perceived as supportive and encouraging by the teachers who have participated in the study (M=3.73, SD=1.07). Leadership support and trust has reached the highest score (M=4.08, SD=1.03). Teacher also admitted that they experienced high level of organizational autonomy (M=4.04, SD=.94) and decision-making opportunities (M=3.85, SD=1.08) as part of their daily work at school. Other schools' mechanisms: collegial cooperation, school project involvement openings and promotional prospects, were provided to the teachers on a moderate extent. The school organizational mechanisms that were examined in the study, were found to positively correlated with teachers' job satisfaction. Only one coefficient had reached non-significant outcome, school project involvement openings. Some differences were found between the Jewish and the Arab sector. These differences imply that school organizational mechanisms that promote inclusive practices, and have a potential to increase teachers' job satisfaction, are more likely to take place in the Jewish sector. Implications of these developments will discussed in the presentation.

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