Voices from the field: Factors related to job satisfaction of educational diagnosticians

The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in the current research related to educational diagnostician retention and job satisfaction and provide insight for current leaders of special education programs and campus administrators on ways to attract and retain educational diagnosticians to/in their schools. Educational diagnosticians certified in Texas anonymously completed a survey containing the Job Descriptive Index (Bowling Green State University, 2009) and the Principal Leadership Questionnaire (Jantzi &Leithwood, 1996) along with demographic questions. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine if years of experience, caseload size, or engagement of transformational leadership by campus principals was a predictive factor of educational diagnostician job satisfaction. Results of this survey indicate overall high levels of job satisfaction for educational diagnosticians with transformational leadership style demonstrating a significant relationship and caseload size trending toward significance.