本研究以了解中小學教師的工作滿意度現況為出發點，並與高層專業人員等其他職業類別做比較，除了探討他們之間在工作特質、控制信念及工作滿意度上的差異，以凸顯中小學教師的特性之外，並試圖建立一個因果模型，以探究職業及相關連的教育等的自變項，是如何透過工作特質及制控信念等中介變項對工作滿意度產生影響。本研究以民國八十六年進行調查的三期三次台灣地區社會變遷階層組問卷中的長卷資料（N=2596）做路徑分析，主要的發現如下： 工作特質與制控信念這兩個中介變項對工作滿意度都有顯著影響。工作特質中的專業學識技術層級、舒適度、道德評價、安定性、自主性越高，以及例行性越低，工作滿意度就越高；制控信念中的努力信念、能力信念越強，以及外控信念越低，工作滿意度也會越高。 個人背景變項中的教育程度與服務年資對工作滿意度有顯著的影響力。教育程度越高，工作滿意度就越高；服務年資與工作滿意度之間則可能存有非線性的倒U字型相關。教育程度與服務年資對工作滿意度的影響，主要可透過工作特質與制控信念的中介影響來解釋。 中小學教師的工作滿意度在所有的職業類別中最高，這除了可歸因於中小學教師的教育程度較高之外，還由於中小學教師在專業學識層級、道德評價、安定性及例行性上佔了顯著的優勢，所以工作滿意度較佳；但在舒適度、自主性、努力信念、能力信念及外控信念上，中小學教師並不較佔優勢。

This study is to understand junior high school and elementary school teachers’ job satisfaction and to compare it with high level professions’ and other jobs’ job satisfaction. In additioning to discussing the differences among them in job characteristics, locus of control, and job satisfaction to display clearly junior high school and elementary school teachers’ specialty, we also try to build a causal model to probe into how independent variables, like jobs, education, and so forth, can affect job satisfaction through intervening variables, such as job characteristics and locus of control. The main findings are as follows： Job characteristics and locus of control both notably affect job satisfaction. In job characteristics, the higher the levels of professional knowledge and technique, comfort, moral evaluation, stability, authority, and the less routine there is, the better job satisfaction is. In locus of control, the stronger the belief in effort, and in ability, and the weaker the belief in external control are, the better job satisfaction is, too. In background variables, levels of education and service years have important influence on job satisfaction. The higher the level of education is, the better job satisfaction is. The relation between work years and job satisfaction may exist in an upside-down U that is not linear. Junior high school and elementary school teachers’ job satisfaction is the best in all jobs. That results not only from the higher level of education of junior high school and elementary school teachers, but also from the teachers’ having advantages in levels of professional knowledge and technique, moral evaluation, stability, and routines, so their job satisfaction is better. However, junior high school and elementary school teachers have no advantages in comfort, authority, belief in effort, belief in ability, and belief in external control.