Fatores associados à satisfação docente na educação básica no Brasil: uma análise multinível a partir dos microdados do Saeb 2023

Abstract

This study investigates the individual, institutional, and contextual factors associated with the job satisfaction of Brazilian teachers using microdata from the Sistema de Avaliação da Educação Básica (Saeb) 2023 assessment. The central research question is: which characteristics of teachers, schools, and the average profile of the classes under their responsibility are associated with variations in levels of professional satisfaction in Brazilian teaching? To address this question, a two-level multilevel model (teacher and school) is estimated, incorporating variables related to sociodemographic profile, employment conditions and experience, academic climate indices, infrastructure, school safety, and aggregated classroom measures. The final sample includes 177,939 basic education teachers with complete questionnaires, working in the 5th and 9th grades of Elementary School and in the final years of Upper Secondary Education. The results show that teacher satisfaction is strongly associated with individual factors such as gender, race, experience, and educational attainment. Among institutional dimensions, academic climate, infrastructure, and school safety present the largest positive effects. Aggregated classroom characteristics show less pronounced effects. The proportion of students with Special Educational Needs (SEN) was not statistically significant; however, its inclusion reveals important interpretative possibilities regarding heterogeneity of association and the need for institutional support. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC), which measures the proportion of total variability attributable to differences between schools, is nearly zero, indicating that most variation occurs at the individual level. This finding supports interventions that combine structural improvements with policies of recognition, professional development, and psychosocial support for teachers.