Conflict and Ambiguity among Secondary School Teachers in Kota Setar District

The primary objective of this exploratory study is to investigate the level of role conflict and ambiguity among teachers in secondary school in the district of Kota Setar. This study is undertaken in response to the need to
decrease role conflict and ambiguity and simultaneously increase job satisfaction among Malaysian teachers. Job satisfaction can be used as a strategy to maintain teachers’ commitment and dedication in schools and
thus improve quality of education. Teachers in eleven Government-aided secondary schools in Kota Setar district were the unit in this study. For the purpose of this research, approximately 327 out of 2060 teachers were chosen as sample. Data was collected through a 66-item questionnaire constructed on 7 Likert scale. Simple Multiple Regression Analysis and descriptive statistics were
used to analyze the data. The decision criterion used was 0.95 level of confidence or 5% significant level.
The findings of this thesis indicate that role conflict varies significantly with age, size of school, school authority, goals, superior and peer support, network of communication and teachers’ role. Demographic factors: age and size of school, while organizational practices: school
authority and network of communication were the major factors for role conflict. Ambiguity varies significantly with organizational practices, school authority, goals, superior and peer support, communication and teachers’
role. However, ambiguity is significantly but negatively related to age, goals, network of communication and teachers’ role.