The moderating role of teacher collaboration in the association between job satisfaction and job performance

Teacher job performance is crucial for school success. Prior research has heavily focused on its positive effects, whilst neglecting the interaction of factors shaping teacher job performance. Drawing on self-determination theory, particularly basic psychological needs satisfaction, this study aimed to explore how teachers’ job satisfaction was associated with their job performance, and how teacher collaboration moderated this association, using the 2018 dataset from the Programme for International Student Assessment. Results of multilevel structural equation modelling and simple slope analysis confirmed that teachers’ job satisfaction served as a positive predictor of job performance, and teacher collaboration moderated the association significantly, but distinctly, at different levels. At the teacher level, job satisfaction positively predicted job performance as being stronger with higher teacher collaboration. However, at the school and cross levels, teacher collaboration moderated the relationship negatively. The findings demonstrate the critical role of teacher collaboration in improving teachers’ job performance through enhancing their job satisfaction in schools.