UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Teachers, mandates, and site mediation: Influences on satisfaction and dissatisfaction in two elementary schools A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Pamela Yeagley Committee in charge: Professor Mary Betsy Brenner, Chair Professor Sharon Conley Professor Carol Dixon March 2008
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara
Teachers, mandates, and site mediation: Influences on satisfaction and
dissatisfaction in two elementary schools
A Dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the
requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy
in Education
by
Pamela Yeagley
Committee in charge:
Professor Mary Betsy Brenner, Chair
Professor Sharon Conley
Professor Carol Dixon
March 2008
UMI Number: 3297633
32976332008
Copyright 2008 byYeagley, Pamela
UMI MicroformCopyright
All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road
P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346
All rights reserved.
by ProQuest Information and Learning Company.
The dissertation of Pamela Yeagley is approved.
____________________________________________ Carol Dixon
I wish to thank my advisor, Betsy Brenner, for her guidance and
unflagging patience during my time at UCSB. Betsy, you are a true pleasure to
work with and an admirable role model for me. I hope one day to touch the lives
of as many people as you do. Thanks are also due to the other members of my
committee Carol Dixon and Sharon Conley. Thanks Carol for your groundedness
and insights which have done so much to improve my skills and my work.
Thanks Sharon for the research that you have allowed me to build upon and for
your engaging and open interactions. I could not have asked for a better
committee.
None of this would be possible without my family. Thanks for all of your
love, support, and compassion: I only wish that Thurman could share this joy with
us. I especially want to recognize my father. You are always there for me Dad,
and especially so during the trying times while I pursued my advanced degrees.
You always know just what to say and how to make me smile.
I cannot say enough to recognize all of the caring and competent
professionals who work in schools. I am especially appreciative of the teachers
who allowed me to interview them for this dissertation. I owe you much respect
for the job you do so well and gratitude for your time and invaluable insights.
v
Vita of Pamela Yeagley
January 2008 EDUCATION Doctor of Philosophy in Education, Specialty in Qualitative Research Methods,
University of California, Santa Barbara, 2008 Master of Arts in Education, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2004 Cross-cultural, Language and Academic Development (CLAD) Certificate,
California State University, Northridge, 1998 Multiple Subject Credential Program, California State University, Sacramento,
1993 Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies, California State University, Sacramento,
1991
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 2007-present, Research and Evaluation Program Advisor, Northwest Regional
Education Laboratory 2005-2007, Program Evaluator, Instructional Tools in Educational Measurement
and Statistics (ITEMS) 2003-2006, Instructional Associate, University of California, Santa Barbara 2002-2004, Graduate Student Researcher, Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers in
using Technology 1996-2006, Elementary Educator, Oxnard School District
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Abstract
Teachers, mandates, and site mediation: Influences on satisfaction and
dissatisfaction in two elementary schools
by
Pamela Yeagley
This dissertation describes a study of how educational mandates affect
what happens in schools and classrooms and the impact on teacher job
satisfaction. An interview guide was designed incorporating items to include
information on Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession, Teacher Control in
Decision Making and Implementation, and Changes in Teaching Life. A specific
focus is placed in the study on teacher control, the teacher work environment, and
job satisfaction. Interview questions were included to capture differences and
similarities in these areas at the classroom, site, and larger domains, including
state and federal levels. Participants were 12 teachers from 2 Title I elementary
schools, 1 regular and 1 dual immersion charter school, with high minority and
high English language learner populations. The study indicates that teachers find
satisfaction through several aspects concerning students, such as teaching, student
learning, and influencing students (Lortie, 1975). Dissatisfiers were wide ranging
and included lack of professional autonomy, external demands, and pastoral care
(looking after the personal and social wellbeing of children under their care). The
two groups of teachers in different schools related a difference in their influence
vii
as decision makers concerning content taught. The regular school teachers
reported having a much smaller proportion of control when considering the
influence from the larger domain. Teachers reported few areas where they desire
more control but many instances of participation in areas where they had desired
control, suggesting a more action-based schema rather than a theoretical schema.
Analysis of changes in teaching life showed differences between the two groups.
Regular public school teachers talked more about content and assessments while
charter public school teachers talked more about support and development of
profession. This study underlined how the larger societal context influences
2007) to meeting or exceeding regular schools (Lasley et al., 1999; Malloy &
Wohlstetter, 2003).
Role ambiguity and routinization
Although these specific terms were not used in the charter school research
reviewed, some assumptions can be made. It would appear that routinization is
low since innovation was listed as a motivator to enter a charter school (Bulkley
& Fisler, 2003; Lasley et al., 1999). Also, since teachers have the chance to
explore options in charter schools they offer better possibilities for teacher
autonomy (Lasley et al., 1999). None of the studies investigated charter school
teachers’ conceptions of role ambiguity.
Centralization of authority
It would be expected for charter school teachers to have the ability to
make a decision and act on it because of the professional autonomy promised by
the charter school structure. Also because there is teacher choice in working for a
40
charter school, there is greater alignment with teachers’ ideas of good teaching
and the school’s mission or purpose (Lasley et al., 1999; Miron & Applegate,
2007) which can translate into centralization of authority. It is important to note
that charter school teachers report having enough professional autonomy but not
as much as they initially expected (Miron & Applegate, 2007).
Involvement in decision making
Although one study concluded that teachers in regular public schools had
more opportunities to participate in the decision making process than charter
school teachers, (Crawford, 2001) most other research talks about the amount and
type of decision making that charter school teachers engage in. It appears that
there is decision making at the site level of charter schools (Bomotti et al., 1999).
Charter school teachers participate in a variety of decision making including
governance, hiring and peer evaluation, curriculum and instruction (Malloy &
Wohlstetter, 2003). One study reported that of those teachers surveyed, about
17% spent time every week on school governance (Lasley et al., 1999). There is
no indication of how this level of participation in decision making compares to
regular public school teachers.
Little research comparing regular public school teachers and charter public
school teachers exists so comparisons between the two are not well grounded in
research. In order to better understand how the larger domain influences teacher
41
work life in the classroom and site domains a study comparing regular public
school teachers and charter public school teachers is needed. Such a study would
help to uncover the site level differences affect teacher perceptions of control and
satisfaction.
Rationale of Study
Despite the influence of society and social forces on the education system,
little research has focused on how this larger domain affects teacher work life and
job satisfaction in the US. Past research on the influence of a larger domain has
mainly been conducted in other countries experiencing conspicuous change in
their education systems. In addition, US work environment research has
sometimes missed the connection to the larger domain or has overlooked
teachers’ desired control in the domains studied. Also, few studies have employed
teacher interviews containing questions on control and job satisfaction, due in part
to the reform and accountability focus on student academic performance.
This study focuses on teacher control, work environment, and job
satisfaction by finding the similarities and differences between teachers at a
Regular Public School and a Charter Public School in an urban Californian
environment with comparable student populations. It provides insight into
teachers’ perceptions on the challenges and rewards of their job and how external
mandates affect what they do in their classrooms. The study also illuminates
factors contributing to a disconnect between the policy aim of student academic
42
achievement and the outcome of many students not meeting academic goals. This
teacher oriented view is used to identify how external control might inhibit
teachers from doing their job effectively and what teachers need in order to meet
the goals that have been set for them. By contrasting the teachers’ views of their
work environment at a Charter Public School and a Regular Public School,
concrete, specific instances of control and consent in action are revealed. The
study will address the following questions.
Research Questions
1. To what degree do teachers feel a decreased sense of control because of external mandates?
2. In what areas of their professional lives do teachers most feel a shift of
control? 3. How do these changes affect teacher job satisfaction in the workplace? 4. Do site level differences mediate this shift in control and its impact on
teachers?
Prior research has highlighted the importance of job satisfaction and
connected control to job satisfaction. Researchers have also connected external
mandates to lower levels of teacher job satisfaction. But, to what degree do
teachers feel a decreased sense of control because of external mandates? In order
to answer this, knowing where teachers perceive the locus of control in these
mandates and whom they envision as the decision makers has to be established.
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Do teachers see these external decisions as affecting the amount of control they
possess, especially in the classroom, the domain in which teachers traditionally
exercise the most control? Do teachers want to have more control in any area of
decision making and if so, how do they conceptualize this happening? Do
teachers at regular public and charter public schools view these differently?
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Chapter 3
DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Context
This exploratory, qualitative study was conducted at two public schools, a
regular elementary school, and a charter elementary school. The regular public
school site chosen for this study is considered a Title I school. Federal Title I
funds are granted to schools with students in poverty. In addition, because this
school site has an approximately 70 percent minority population, it is considered a
high minority school. This is a large school with approximately 890 students and
40 regular classroom teachers. There are five male teachers making up about 13
percent of total classroom teachers. This school is in a mid size, central city
location. There is one principal and no vice principal at this K-6 school. There are
four tracks that run in this year-round school and three of these tracks are in
session at any given time with the other track being out of session.
The year prior to data collection, the school district adopted a standards
based report card. Two years prior to data collection, the district decided to
withdraw funding for a learning director (vice principal) to schools with fewer
than 900 students. Although this site was close to the cut off number, it was
denied the funding for a learning director. The pseudonym “Sunshine School” is
used in this paper for the Regular Public School.
45
The charter public school is also a Title I school and is located in a mid
size, central city location. There is an approximately 89 percent minority
population and thus is also considered a high minority school. This is a small
school with 220 students and 10 regular classroom teachers. There are four male
teachers comprising 40 percent of total classroom teachers. There is one principal
and no vice principal. Two years prior to data collection, a full-time principal was
hired. Before that, the main leadership duties were handled by a “School Leader”
along with a Lead Teacher. This School Leader was not a teacher at the site and is
no longer involved with the school. The Lead Teacher is still a teacher at the
school.
This charter school is a dual language immersion school founded in 2000.
It follows a 50/50 model, meaning that students learn two languages and they are
educated in both of those languages. The target languages in this charter school
are Spanish and English. The teachers act as the “Spanish Model” or “English
Model” meaning that even though teachers are bilingual, they are responsible for
language instruction in that language. Students elect to attend this charter school
and population is evenly divided between native Spanish speakers and native
English speakers. In its first year, kindergarten and first grade students were
admitted and one grade was added on in each subsequent year. It is now a K-6
school. The pseudonym “Heritage Charter School” is used in this paper for the
46
Charter Public School. More information about teachers’ work lives at both
schools is found in the Results section.
Sample
Teachers from both sites were selected with the assistance of the principal.
Interviewees had at least five years of teaching experience, preferably at the same
grade level. This criterion was employed to facilitate a clearer idea of how
external mandates have changed teachers’ work lives without the extraneous
changes that occur when teachers change schools or grade levels. Because of the
evolution of Heritage Charter School beginning in 2000 and adding one grade
each year, this was not always possible. In addition, because of a higher
percentage of male teachers at Heritage Charter School, more males were
included than in the Sunshine School sample. There is parity of “grade currently
taught” by teachers in both schools. At each school, one kindergarten teacher, one
first grade teacher, two second grade teachers, one fourth grade teacher, and one
fifth/sixth grade teacher or sixth grade teacher were interviewed, for a total of six
teachers at each school.
A short profile of each participant follows using a pseudonym. The
Regular Public School (Sunshine School) participants will be presented first
followed by the Charter Public School (Heritage Charter School) teachers. This
information is summarized in Table 1.
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Rebecca teaches first grade and is Sunshine School Teacher #1. She has
taught for 11 years and has 3 years of experience teaching first grade. Janice
teaches second grade and is Sunshine School Teacher #2. She has taught for 20
years and has 13 years experience teaching second grade. Paula teaches sixth
grade and is Sunshine School Teacher #3. She has taught for 17 years and has 6
years of experience teaching sixth grade. Kristen teaches fourth grade and is
Sunshine School Teacher #4. She has taught for six years, and has four years of
experience teaching fourth grade. Robin teaches kindergarten and is Sunshine
School Teacher #5. She has taught for 15 years, and has 1 year of experience
teaching kindergarten. Carol teachers second grade and is Sunshine School
Teacher #6. She has taught for 13 years, and has 6 years of experience teaching
second grade.
Martin teaches second grade and is Heritage Charter School Teacher #1.
He has taught for five years, and has three years of experience teaching second
grade. Martin is the English Model for both second grade classes. Gabby teaches
second grade and is Heritage Charter School Teacher #2. She has taught for five
years, and has two years of experience teaching second grade. Gabby is the
Spanish Model for both second grade classes. Linda teaches fourth grade and is
Heritage Charter School Teacher #3. She has taught for five years, and has two
years of experience teaching fourth grade. Linda is the English Model and
Spanish Model for fourth grade as there is only one class. Monique teaches
48
kindergarten and is Heritage Charter School Teacher #4. She has taught for over
20 years, and has 6 years of experience teaching kindergarten. Monique is the
English Model for both kindergarten classes. Nicholas teaches a fifth/sixth grade
combination and is Heritage Charter School Teacher #5. He has taught for eight
years, and has five years of experience teaching fifth grade or a fifth/sixth
combination. Nicholas is the English Model and Spanish Model for fifth and sixth
grades as there is only one class. Karl teaches first grade and is Heritage Charter
School Teacher #6. He has taught for five years, and has four years of experience
teaching first grade. Karl is the English Model and for both first grade classes.
Instrument
To help ensure consistency between interviews, an interview guide was
used (see below) (Patton, 2002). The interview questions fall into three main
categories of Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession, Teacher Control in
Decision Making and Implementation, and Changes in Teaching Life.
Item 1 was included to gain background information on the participants
that could be used in analyzing responses. It was also used to put the participants
at ease, as was item 2, an easily answered question. Several items were designed
to give information on the Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession including
Items 5, 11, 12, and 13. Items 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9 were designed to collect
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Table 1 Summary of Sample
Sunshine School Teachers
Teacher Grade taught Years Experience
Years at Grade
Robin K 15 1
Rebecca 1st 11 3
Carol 2nd 13 6
Janice 2nd 20 13
Kristen 4th 6 4
Paula 6th 17 6
Average 13.7 5.5
Heritage Charter School Teachers
Teacher Grade taught Years Experience
Years at Grade
Model Language
Monique K 20 6 English
Karl 1st 5 4 English
Martin 2nd 5 3 English
Gabby 2nd 5 2 Spanish
Linda 4th 5 2 English & Spanish
Nicholas 5th/6th 8 5 English &
Spanish Average 8 3.7
50
information on Teacher Control in Decision Making and Implementation.
Information on Changes in Teaching Life was gathered from Items 4 and 10.
Interview guide 1. Tell me about your background – how long you have been teaching, how
you came to this school and so on. 2. Briefly, what do you do in your classroom day-to-day? 3. What other professional responsibilities do you have, such as head teacher,
union rep, mentor teacher, and so on? 4. Would you tell me about the changes that have happened in your teaching
life over the past several years? 5. Would you say you are satisfied with your experience of being a teacher?
Why/Why not? a. What is the best part of your profession? b. What is your least favorite part of the profession?
6. Can you describe how the following decisions are made a. what students are required to learn. b. how that will be taught. c. which materials are used in the classroom. d. budgeting
7. What could be done to improve the way those decisions are made? 8. Over which decisions would you like more control?
9. How could teachers be given more control over these things?
10. Can you tell me about any (other) state or federal mandates that have changed things in your teaching life?
11. Do these mandates help you meet the needs of your students? Why/Why
not? 12. Which state or federal mandates expect you to do things that are not really
“a fit” for you or your students? a. What are you expected to do?
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b. How do you deal with that?
13. Do you have the resources like materials and training, to meet the goals that you are being given? If not, what do you need?
14. Is there anything else you could add to help me better understand your
perceptions on this subject? Table 2
Major Categories for Interview Questions
Major Categories
Question Number
Background 1, 2,
Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession 5, 11, 12, 13
Teacher Control in Decision Making and Implementation 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Changes in Teaching Life 4, 10
General 14
Procedures
Audio recordings were made of the interviews and field notes were taken.
Each participant was interviewed in person, usually in their classroom, and the
interviews were recorded with both a digital recording device and an analog tape
recorder. The interviews followed an interview guide (see above) and ranged from
55 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes. Questions were asked in the same order for
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each participant. Follow up questions were asked in order to clarify or expand
teachers’ statements. Transcripts were made of each interview. Direct
transcriptions were made adhering to the rules of written Standard English as
much as possible. Sentence structure was variable so punctuation and
capitalization were used at the judgment of the researcher. Quotes that appear in
the final paper were modified to be more accessible to the reader. Repetitions
were removed as well as verbal placeholders, such as “um” and “you know.”
Researcher
The researcher in this study was an experienced classroom teacher. She
had many years’ experience in Title I elementary schools with high English
language learner and minority populations. As part of her negotiation of entrance
with the principals and her pre-interview introduction to participants, the
researcher briefly shared her teaching experience and the goals for this study.
Analysis
Data from recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim without
parameters for use of punctuation and capitalization. Analysis was approached
with Ad Hoc Meaning Generation (Kvale, 1996). Transcripts were first read to get
an overall impression of them. Then the transcripts were reviewed for patterns
and themes, plausibility, and clustering in order to find commonalities (Miles and
53
Huberman, 1994). The existing categories of Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the
Profession, Teacher Control in Decision Making and Implementation, and
Changes in Teaching Life were a starting point. Data were sorted by examining
responses to questions corresponding to these categories (see Instrument above).
Next, differentiation was sought through making contrasts and comparisons and
partitioning variables (Miles and Huberman, 1994). While data were not coded by
two people, parameters for coding and specific inclusion and exclusion decisions
were made by the researcher and her committee chair. For example, the comments
included in the larger theme of dissatisfaction were further analyzed for contrasts
and comparisons. The outcome further divided the larger theme of dissatisfaction
into many smaller categories, the most common of which were Lack of
Professional Autonomy, Lack of Support, Barriers to Collaboration / Community,
Dissatisfaction with Decision Making, Inappropriate External Directives,
Dissatisfaction with District, Lack of Flexibility of External Directives, Pastoral
Care, and Testing. The data was then “culled” (Mostyn, 1985) and data were
reinterpreted and condensed. For example, Dissatisfaction with District (from the
above list of smaller categories) was reevaluated by researcher and committee
chair and then condensed and used in the Teacher Control in Decision Making
and Implementation section rather than the Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the
Profession section.
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Chapter 4
RESULTS
The results are discussed using the categories of Satisfiers and
Dissatisfiers in the Profession, Teacher Control in Decision Making and
Implementation, and Changes in Teaching Life. Additional demographic
information is given for both schools before the results are discussed
As mentioned in the Methods section, the demographics for both schools
are similar. There are also some similarities and differences in teachers’ work life
at these two schools. For both schools in this study, external pressure from
mandates is reality. Standardized tests are given each year to students statewide
beginning in second grade. These test scores are made public, often through the
local newspaper, and are used to place schools on the Academic Performance
Index (API). The API is used to measure academic performance and growth in
California schools and functions as the state accountability component of Public
Schools Accountability Act (PSAA). Schools must achieve a certain score on the
API or show sufficient growth toward that score in order to meet the state
performance standards. If the state performance standards are not met, schools are
subject to interventions and sanctions. In addition, should the charter school fail to
reach the state performance standards, it could be denied a charter renewal and
have to close down.
55
Since both schools have a large percentage of English language learners,
teachers are responsible for teaching English Language Development (ELD) in
addition to the other subject areas. English language learners are to receive 30
minutes of ELD instruction daily at their proficiency level. Teachers could have
students with several different levels of proficiency who each require 30 minutes
of specialized instruction each day in addition to the other required content. While
teachers are providing ELD instruction to the English learners, the English
proficient students have to work independently thus requiring additional planning
and preparation of the teacher.
The two school sites are essentially different in the hierarchical structure
in which they exist. The Sunshine School is one of many schools in a large district
with 20 elementary schools. The district coordinates and dictates many facets that
affect school sites. The district makes decisions about budget, materials, tests and
assessments, training, and guidance of principals. There are no longer district
level committees for the different subject areas as there once was so teachers have
no district level input in this form. The Sunshine School does have site-level
mechanisms in place that allow teacher participation. There are monthly grade
level meetings and track meetings allowing teachers time to collaborate as well as
a regular staff meeting where information is exchanged. The leadership team is
made up of the principal and 8 to 10 teachers nominated by peers and is designed
to facilitate teacher input in decision making about budget, training, and other site
56
concerns. Teachers are encouraged, but not required, to find alternative teaching
arrangements like having one teacher instruct lower achieving students from two
classes while the other teacher instructs the higher achieving students in the same
subject.
In contrast, the Heritage Charter School is affiliated with, but not under
the auspices of, the local school district and most of its decisions are made at the
site level by the teachers or the principal. An exception is the Governance
Council, composed of parents and community members, which makes budget
decisions. There are regular staff meetings where information is exchanged,
trainings are performed, and other site concerns are addressed. The kindergarten
and primary grades use a two-teacher model for language instruction and
regularly work with their partner-teacher’s students.
The teachers at Sunshine School pay dues to the local union and are under
the collective bargaining power of the union. The union assists teachers in
securing pay raises and in settling disputes between the teacher and other teacher,
their school, or their district. Teachers at Heritage Charter School are not under
the collective bargaining power of the local union, however there are other
structures in place. The pay scale is decided on by the Governance Council, which
uses the district pay scale as a guide. In addition, the school charter lays out
procedures to resolve disputes, employee rights and other procedures and
structures that would normally be handled by the local union. It appears that
57
teachers at Heritage Charter School and Sunshine School both have assistance in
resolving disputes and in advocating pay scales.
During the interview, teachers spoke of different aspects of their teaching
life. The results of the interviews cover Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the
Profession, Teacher Control in Decision Making and Implementation and
Changes in Teaching Life.
Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession
All 12 participants replied in the affirmative to being satisfied with their
experience of being a teacher. However, four teachers, two Sunshine School
Teachers and two Heritage Charter School Teachers expressed some reservation.
Carol acknowledged that sometimes she had problems with her job by saying,
“Overall I’m very satisfied. I’m very pleased that I went into teaching. I love
what I do and I don’t have to take my problems home. My husband’s a good
listener, but most of the time I really enjoy what I do.” Karl expressed a similar
sentiment, “Yeah, there’s really not anything I’d rather be doing. I consider
myself blessed to work with kids; the rewards of just being around little people
like that is just great. It can be very frustrating at times, but overall, I’m happy.”
Every participant said that the best part of their profession concerned
students. The Sunshine School Teachers’ answers mainly centered on student
learning and achievement. For example, Carol said, “the progress they [students]
58
make in a year’s time," and Rebecca said, “Also, [students] knowing no letters
and sounds, not being able to spell their names. Leaving, getting their words down
on paper and with a matching picture, with the curiosity of knowing more and
wanting to discover more about language and literacy and life.” The Heritage
Charter School Teachers’ answers mainly centered on teaching and influencing
the students. Karl responded, “I love teaching the kids how to read,” and Nicholas
said, the best part of the profession was “to be an effective part of changing kids’
lives.”
When talking about their least favorite part of the profession, Sunshine
School Teachers’ answers tended to be longer and more wide-ranging than when
talking about the best part of the profession. Responses included lack of support,
pastoral care, lack of time, and external demands (see Table 3). Rebecca
articulated her displeasure about,
The downfall is the push-push, go-go mentality that I have so much time to shove this much stuff into the child, and a lot of it not being developmentally appropriate. So there is definitely an anxiety from the state - with No Child Left Behind, now all children have to be at the same level. And then the paperwork, the constant testing, the constant assessment, and the lack of parent support.
Paula expressed her frustration at the lack of professional autonomy by
saying, “It’s like all of the hoops that you’ve got to jump through because you
want to try something innovative and something a little different.” When talking
about their least favorite part of their profession, Heritage Charter School
59
Teachers gave fewer answers than about the best part of the profession. Their
responses included external demands, and pastoral care (see Table 3). Linda felt
overwhelmed with the external demands including “the constant assessment” and
“too many standards.” Gabby relayed the pressures of pastoral care for her
students saying, “That’s the hardest part. Listening to their stories and how hard
these little people’s little lives can be. And I just try to give them opportunities
where they know that, ‘This too will pass.’ That it won’t always be like this and
they have choices.”
Table 3
Comments Per Category Concerning “Least Favorite” Part of Profession
Category
External demands
Lack of support
Pastoral care
Lack of time
Other Total
Sunshine School
6 4 2 2 4 18
Heritage Charter 6 0 2 1 1 10 School
Teacher Control in Decision Making and Implementation
In accord with the view that the classroom is traditionally where teachers
are thought to have the most control, these teachers discussed decision making for
60
three areas of classroom practice: what is taught, how content is taught, and
materials used to teach. Often, teachers cited multiple sources of decision making
for one of these areas and at times, participants cited the same source but talked
about these sources differently.
Who Decides What is Taught?
All of the 12 participants listed the state or state standards as deciding
what is taught in the classroom (see Table 4). Rebecca noted,
Well, the state standards is the biggest one. State standards. The materials I’m provided to teach the areas, language arts, math, science, social studies, kind of guides instruction. There is some personal choice. I can embellish on some units that maybe I have more background or awareness in, you know, such as music. I know a lot about music and I give the children a lot of experience to draw on, that kind of thing.
Nine of the respondents said teachers decided what is taught but of those
nine, two Sunshine School Teachers stipulated that teachers make the decision in
theory only and not in practice. Carol phrased it this way, “But I often feel, and a
lot of other teachers, I think, feel, that it seems like the district has already made
up their mind before we have a chance to give our professional input.” There were
seven out of twelve participants stating that, in practice, teachers decide what is
taught. None of the Heritage Charter School Teachers included the district in their
response while every Sunshine School Teachers did. Two of the Sunshine School
Teachers listed the district first in their multiple answers. Robin said, “…we’re
61
told by the district what to teach, who is told by the state, who is told by this
group of people sitting on the Board of Education, who may or may not be
educators - most of them are not.… ultimately it’s the teacher who’s deciding
what the students learn.”
Table 4
Comments Per Category Concerning “Who Decides What is Taught”
Category
State/state standards
Teachers District Other Total
Sunshine School
6 5 6 4 21
Heritage Charter School
5 4 0 3 12
Who Decides How Content is Taught?
When talking about who decides how content is taught in the classroom,
10 respondents said the teacher did. Martin stated, “How we teach it is totally up
to us.” The two teachers who did not list the teacher as deciding how content is
taught were from Sunshine School. Paula said the state and district decide now
and contrasted that with what used to be expected. “We had frameworks for each
thing. This is what you need to be teaching, but it wasn’t direct at how you would
62
teach it… But I see now it’s getting to the point where they want to dictate how
you teach it… And to me that’s a little bit frustrating.” Half of the respondents
(six) mentioned the textbook or teacher resource manual for the textbook (see
Table 5). Janice said, “But if you look at the Houghton Mifflin and the Harcourt
math, they do tell us how to teach.”
Table 5
Comments Per Category Concerning “Who Decides How Content is Taught”
Category
Teachers Textbooks District Other Total Sunshine School
4 4 2 3 13
Heritage Charter School
6 2 0 1 9
Who Decides Which Materials Are Used?
There was a difference between the answers given by the Sunshine School
Teachers and the Heritage Charter School Teachers concerning who made the
decision about the materials used in the classroom. First, all of the Sunshine
School Teachers listed the district and three also said state while none of the
Heritage Charter School Teachers listed either. Two Heritage Charter School
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Teachers said they decide on materials with input from the principal while none
of the Sunshine School Teachers mentioned the principal.
Every respondent said teachers decide which materials are used in the
classroom, however the Sunshine School Teachers and Heritage Charter School
Teachers expressed different roles that teachers play in this decision. All six of the
Heritage Charter School Teachers said that the individual teacher chose materials.
Karl replied, “That’s all up to me as well.” Only half (three) of the Sunshine
School Teachers said individual teachers chose materials and respondents
specified that these materials were supplementary, not the main text. Kristen
stated, “And so, as far as those materials, I always use what is adopted by the
district. But any supplementary things, I think the teachers get to pick.” A group
of teachers, either a committee or the staff was listed by six respondents, three
Sunshine School Teachers and three Heritage Charter School Teachers. Nicholas
noted, “[the decision on new textbooks is] totally site based. And being a charter
school, it wasn’t a districtwide thing, we had a choice. Which was nice, very
nice.” Conversely, Robin said, “[new textbook adoption] is decided on
supposedly by the staff at the schools. You vote on the materials you want, but
you’re given a limited choice, so…”
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Table 6
Comments Per Category Concerning “Who Decides Which Materials Are Used”
Category
Teachers State District Other Total Sunshine School
6 3 6 0 15
Heritage Charter School
11 0 0 1 12
In comparing the answers from the two groups of teachers, an interesting
pattern emerges. Both groups noted that teachers make the classroom decisions
about content, approach, and materials roughly the same number of times, as seen
in the Classroom column of Table 7 and Table 8. However, the Sunshine School
Teachers cited entities from the Larger Domain, such as district and state, many
more times than Heritage Charter School, as shown in the Larger domain column
of Table 7 and Table 8. In both groups, teachers were named as decision makers
in roughly the same numbers. For Sunshine School Teachers, the part they play in
the decision making process is proportionally much smaller, accounting for 28
percent of the total as opposed to the Heritage Charter School Teachers’ 56
percent. Sunshine School Teachers report the Larger domain as accounting for 68
percent of the total as opposed to the Heritage Charter School Teachers’ 22
percent.
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Table 7 Sunshine School – Number of Times Teachers Mentioned Themes Related to Domain of Decision Makers
Domain
Classroom Site Larger Total
Content 3 2 14 19
Approach 4 0 9 13
Materials 6 0 9 15
Total 13 2 32 47
Percent of Total 28% 4% 68% 100%
Table 8 Heritage Charter School – Number of Times Teachers Mentioned Themes Related to Domain of Decision Makers
Domain
Classroom Site Larger Total
Content 4 2 6 12
Approach 7 0 1 8
Materials 7 5 0 12
Total 18 7 7 32
Percent of Total 56% 22% 22% 100%
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Who Makes Budgeting Decisions?
While budgeting impacts the classroom, it is traditionally considered a site
or larger domain decision. When speaking about who makes the decisions
concerning budgeting, teachers from Sunshine School and Heritage Charter
School responded differently. All of the Sunshine School Teachers said the
Leadership Team, which is composed of the principal and teachers who have been
voted in by their peers, made budgeting decisions. Rebecca explained it as
They are handled at the district level, you know, through the governor, how much money he filters down to each school. And then we have a Leadership Team here that decides how much is budgeted per area. We’re allocated $150 a year to spend on our classroom materials and programs that we would like to fund. Then we just have PTO to ask to do our fundraiser to give us money for field trips, Artists in the Classroom. And that doesn’t account for our personal money that comes out of our pocket - at least $200 to $500 to $1000 a year. And we’re just talking little things, like pencils, erasers, seeds, whatever.
In contrast, all of the Heritage Charter School Teachers said the
Governance Council, which is composed of community members and parents
made such decisions. Most of the Heritage Charter School Teachers said
something similar to Nicholas’ comment,
Well, we have a Governance Council that signs off on our budgets. They have a treasurer and a little budget committee. We are always welcome to go to those meetings and when I have gone, I have felt that my voice was heard. I feel very, very respected at our school when it comes to budgetary decisions. I think I mentioned earlier in the context of textbooks or materials, they hardly ever say no. And if they do there is an explanation, like it costs this much here’s what we have in the budget. We can set aside
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that for next year. That has always been the case. So our school has been just excellent.
However, Karl voiced his displeasure with the process by saying,
That to me is largely a question mark. I don’t know what our school budget is. I think it is public knowledge; it should be if it isn’t. I’m pretty sure it is. But it’s not given to us – we don’t really know what our classroom budget is, we’ve never been given an allotted amount. Just this year, my partner and I have started to order things, for the first time. We usually have gotten things that the school has ordered on their own or the office personnel has ordered. We get things, but now we are starting to order things. But we don’t really know how much we can order, what our price limit is. So we just put in an order and we see what happens with it. It would be nice to have more awareness in that area of what’s going on and some specifics as to how much we can spend. But we’re kind of shooting in the dark on that.
Four Sunshine School Teachers said the district and three said the state or
the governor although none of the Heritage Charter School Teachers listed any of
these. There were six respondents, three Sunshine School Teachers and three
Heritage Charter School Teachers, who included the principal but with noticeable
differences. The Heritage Charter School teachers tended to speak as if the
principal was acting within her decision making sphere when she made final
budgeting decision. For example, Linda said, “We just ask the office and they
approve it or not, [the principal] approves it or not.” One Sunshine School
Teacher mentioned how the principal overrode the Leadership Team’s decision
and Robin said,
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Well, after being on the Leadership Team for a number of years - I mean,
the leadership team as it stands, the principal basically says these are the
categories that we have money in, and you come to a consensus with the
leadership team of what you think your school needs. And then you take it to the
staff from there, and they take a look at it and voice their concerns. But I think a
lot of it, too, the principals have the final say and are being kind of pushed by the
district in certain areas. Like, you should keep money here. You should spend
money on this type of thing, whatever the district is pushing.
Do Teachers Desire More Control?
An estimate of teachers’ desired control can be gauged by looking at the
ways teachers talk about their desire for more control in specific decisions and
how the decision making process could be improved. Only two Sunshine School
teachers and two Heritage Charter School teachers responded directly about
decisions that they personally would like more control; the answers included
schedule, student behavior, ELD materials and methods, and budget. The other
eight teachers said that they did not want to have more control in decisions. Many
teachers had a reply similar to Linda’s, “Not necessarily, I haven’t felt that pull.”
Monique expressed the divide between what she was interested in doing and what
she wanted someone else to do by saying, “Since we picked a principal, she is
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taking care of the budget and we personally - I don’t want to be involved. You
know, I am a teacher. I don’t want to be a principal. I am very clear on that.”
Although most teachers’ direct response indicated that they did not want
more control, many teachers mentioned something that they had done to engage
in the decision making process, like working on a committee. At the time of the
interviews, four of the Sunshine School teachers were on the newly formed site-
based Behavior Committee. Other Sunshine School Teachers and Heritage
Charter School Teachers had worked on committees, been on Leadership Team,
attended Governance Council meetings, attended PTO meetings, and attended
school board meetings. Paula voiced her disappointment that the district had
stopped having content area committees,
Well, I think we need to go back to the old committees that used to be where teachers - When I first started here every site would send a representative to the district office for math, for language arts, for social studies. And at certain times you would do more if, say if it was an adoption year, then you would get that information, take it back to your staff. Try to get people to pilot the material, all those kinds of things. And I see it’s disappearing over time.
How Can the Decision Making Process Be Improved?
Most participants offered ideas for improving the way decisions are made.
There were 31 comments in total by five Sunshine School respondents and six
Heritage Charter School respondents that mentioned teachers in some capacity.
Of these comments, 5 concerned committees of teachers, 20 comments were
about making the voice of teachers heard in decision making, and there were 6
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comments on collaboration or viewing other classrooms (see Table 9). Nicholas
said, “I think that the teachers should have input; they are the ones in the
classroom. They should have the largest amount of input.” Rebecca commented
on the importance of committees employing a wide range of participants,
With our district being so huge, it really comes down to the committee and how well those teachers are educated. You know, getting first year teachers as well as midyear teachers, and seasoned teachers together from all the different grade levels, English and bilingual, just to really meet and have a session. Table 9
Number of Comments Per Category on How Decision Making Can Be Improved
Teachers
Committee Voice heard Collaboration Total
Comments 5 20 6 31
Not only did these participants state that teachers should be more involved
but most participants gave recommendations about how teachers could be given
more control in decision making. Some of the answers called for new structures to
be put in place such as a new committee or a site advocate working with the
district office. Nicholas suggested,
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But I thought what would be really smart would be to send around a report on the proposed budget a couple of months before any decisions were made and a comment sheet. And you know, a lot of teachers – it’s just going to go right in the recycle bin. But the ones that want their voice to be heard, they have that forum. … And apart from that, also having a budget committee. … a group of people that considers all of those concerns. Other answers concerned structures that were already in place such as the
PTO, staff meetings, and having teachers involved earlier in the decision making
process. Paula said, “I think there’s a frustration that decisions are already made
before they ever get to you. So you more or less spin your wheels.”
Teachers as Street Level Bureaucrats
Teachers talked about various aspects of their professional lives that
uncovered their role as street level bureaucrats and in implementing decisions. A
gauge of how teachers perceived dictates from the larger domain that they are
required to implement emerged when participants talked about whether mandates
help them meet the needs of their students. Their responses on this subject were
mixed. Each Sunshine School teacher mentioned some positive and some
negative aspects to mandates in relation to meeting the needs of their students. For
example, Robin said, “I mean, it’s always good to have some type of set standard
for everyone so we all know what we’re doing. So I think the state needs
standards. I don’t think we necessarily need so many of them.” However, most of
the Heritage Charter School Teachers’ answers were negative. Martin expressed
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his view as, “I think it’s [mandates] mostly a game. I think it’s just mostly
politicians trying to get re-elected, being ill-advised by political advisors that
know what will make people vote for them but don’t necessarily or care to know
what’s going to make the schools better.” The positive aspects of the mandates
were listed as accountability, focus, and continuity. A common sentiment was that
meeting the needs of students is core to the job of teaching. Karl said, “I’m
personally always trying to meet the needs of my students, I think in general that
is what I’m expected to do.” Many teachers said that they were already striving to
meet the needs of their students and sometimes found mandates overly
burdensome or inappropriate. Linda mentioned, “There is too much to teach so I
get overwhelmed by that.”
Another area of implementation that teachers discussed concerns about
was being required to do things that were not a fit for their students and how
teachers dealt with that. Every Sunshine School Teacher had something that they
felt was not a fit for their students but not every teacher had a clearly defined
response to coping with it. Every Sunshine School Teacher mentioned standards
that were inappropriate for their students and three Sunshine School teachers
mentioned high stakes tests or assessments. Four of the Heritage Charter School
teachers mentioned high stakes testing. Martin noted,
Because in our program students start with literacy in their first language. You know that premise in dual immersion education where you get the strong foundation in your first language and slowly transition into the second. In third grade is that transition time. It was 30 minutes a day in
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their second language of literacy. Half and half English and Spanish instruction but the explicit literacy component was only 30 minutes in the second language. But in second, third, and fourth grade, well in all the grades, they were being tested in English and our school being held accountable for the scores. Which really isn’t fair at our school because with the model we have, we really wouldn’t expect them to do well until fifth, sixth grade. So setting them up to fail is completely unfair because anyone who has ever taken a test can tell you that when you don’t understand the questions it is very demeaning, you know, it is very hurtful to your self-image. Some of the coping behaviors listed by respondents were doing what was
mandated (even though the teacher disagreed), anger, complaining, encouraging
students to do their best, and developing as a professional. Linda summed up her
approach as,
Tomorrow I’m going to go in and give my kids the best eight hours I can and teach them the most I can and hope against hope that things will open up. And that there will be access points for some of these students who will always be far below basic in elementary school. So I feel like I’m on this – I need to just give what I can daily and not get caught up in the dark cloud.
Role Ambiguity and Routinization
Having enough information to implement decisions yet not having too
many rules or strictures can impact how teachers feel about implementing
decisions. Throughout the interview, participants talked about areas of their job
which had a lack of clarity (role ambiguity) and areas of their job that were overly
prescribed (routinization). There were 73 comments in total in which teachers
relayed a lack of clarity in doing their job: 33 from Sunshine School teachers and
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40 from Heritage Charter School teachers. The majority of these fit into the three
categories of teaching, mandate implementation, and testing.
There were 25 comments on teaching from 4 Sunshine School teachers
and 5 Sunshine School teachers. Kurt talked about coming to Heritage Charter
School as a newer teacher, “And then when I was put here with no resources and
no colleagues with experience to support me. I really felt like I was just surviving.
And that was really the case my first two years.” All 6 of the Sunshine School
Teachers and 1 of the Heritage Charter School Teachers made a total of 14
comments concerning lack of clarity in mandate implementation. Kristen talked
about the ambiguity in transitioning to standards-based teaching, “Just thinking in
terms of a standard, and how do I set the standard, and what happens if a child
continuously doesn’t meet the standard? What do I do? Do I keep retesting them?
Do I let the parents know?” There were six comments on testing from one
Sunshine School Teacher and three Heritage Charter School Teachers. Martin
talked about his students with lower English reading levels, “And when they do
the STAR test, they are looking at advanced stuff. And they have to sit and look at
it for a couple of hours and there is no point. It’s just breaking them. It’s just
hurting them and I can’t do anything about that and that’s very frustrating.”
Throughout the interviews, teachers also expressed that some areas or
situations were too prescribed and they were expected to do things that were not
in the best interest of their students as a whole. For example, teachers felt some
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standards were developmentally inappropriate for that age of student. Robin
noted,
I think that some of them [standards] are inappropriately placed based on students’ development level. I mean, I’ve gone to some workshops on brain development and stuff, and just, you know, there’s always teachers complaining when you send them into fourth grade, those kids, they don’t know their multiplication facts. Well, it’s been proven that they’re not capable of memorizing that many facts, and those facts, most brains, until they’re like in seventh grade or something. So you’re asking them to do something that really most of them can’t do. Not because they want to, but they just can’t. Often these situations were connected with stress or anxiety for the
teachers because they restricted the teachers’ ability to do their job as they saw fit.
There were 15 comments on Inappropriate External Directives from 4 Sunshine
School teachers, and 37 comments from 6 Heritage Charter School teachers
totaling 52 comments. There were comments included on goals, mandates, or
other directives that teachers viewed as unsuitable or inappropriate such as
assessments, testing, standards, kindergarten entrance age, and NCLB. Rebecca
talked about the inappropriate kindergarten entrance age by saying; “We can’t
have four year old girls and boys in school. They do not learn. They are not ready
to learn in general. You do have those few who are socially outgoing and ready to
learn, but in general, four year olds are not ready to go to school. They need the
extra time in preschool or to be with their parents at home.”
The 12 comments on Lack of Flexibility of External Directives, 6
comments from 4 Sunshine School teachers and 6 comments from 3 Heritage
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Charter School teachers focused on having to do the same testing or teach the
same standards to all of the students within a certain period of time. It was not
that the standards were unreasonable in themselves but that students develop at
different rates and yet were required to learn the same thing at the same time as
their classmates. These situations were also often connected with stress or
frustration for the teacher. Paula stated,
But not everyone is going to be at the same place at the same time. … Because a child walks anywhere from 8 months to 15, 18 months, and nobody gets super concerned, eventually they get up and walk, right? Well, that’s the way I view teaching in the classroom. Okay, some of them are going to get it at the eight month level, and there’s going to be … a larger group that is walking at that [average] time, and we’re not getting that larger group. It looks like we’re only getting a minimal amount of kids at that [average] level. Regardless of whether teachers agree with the external mandates, they
sometimes do not have what they need to implement it. Teachers mentioned a
variety of things they did not feel they had in order to meet the goals they are
being given. Only one teacher said she has what she needs. There were six
comments on materials from four Sunshine School teachers. Robin expressed her
chagrin that the school year begins in August “and this year I got my [ELD]
materials in May.” There were 11 comments on guidance/ training/ professional
development from five Sunshine School teachers. Janice talked about her
aggravation when “I was told by [the principal] that I could not go to
[professional development seminar promoted by the district]. That it was too
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much money, and we didn’t need it because our school had acceptable test scores.
Okay, but I was told by my friends who went that they learned a lot.”
Most of the Heritage Charter School teachers responded in the affirmative
to having what they need. Two of the respondents said that they wanted another
person, like an aide, with them all day (they have aides for part of the day). Two
Heritage Charter School teachers, Gabby and Monique, attributed having what
they need to collaboration or teamwork.
Not all respondents felt that they were able to achieve collaboration or a
professional community with their coworkers, which could be an external goal or
a one the teacher has for herself. Teachers made comments about things that
inhibit efforts to collaborate or form a closer professional community. There were
12 incidents of Barriers to Collaboration / Community from 4 Sunshine School
Teachers and 1 comment from a Heritage Charter School Teacher. Many of the
comments from the Sunshine School Teachers concerned the track system or
teacher attitudes. Rebecca noted, “Well, just with the track system, it’s very hard
to collaborate with the person who is across the hall because they’re only in a
month and out a month.” The comment from the Heritage Charter School
Teacher, Linda, concerned not having a partner with whom she could collaborate.
“I lack a partner. I want a partner so badly. Next year we have a 4/5 teacher
coming in. I am looking forward to that so much. Sometimes I feel just like a
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Lone Ranger decision maker. I always run it by my principal, but she is not in the
classroom working with my population of kids all day.”
Changes in Teaching Life
Teachers discussed changes in their teaching life and their responses fell
into eight categories. They are: What is taught, How it is taught, Materials/
environment, Mandates, Larger, Assessments, Support, and Development of
profession. The categories of What is taught, How it is taught, Materials,
Mandates, and Larger came from the interview guide. These categories cover the
content of what students are taught; how the content is relayed; materials used to
convey the content to students; mandates from state, federal, district, or site
levels; and The Third Domain, respectively. The categories of Assessments,
Support, and Development of Profession and the expansion of Materials to
Materials/ environment emerged from the data. These categories cover any
assessments given in the classroom; feelings about profession or some aspect of
profession; perceived support for teachers, areas in which teachers identify
personal growth in their profession, and materials and physical environment used
to convey the content to students.
There were 28 comments in total from the Sunshine School Teachers and
33 from the Heritage Charter School Teachers. Sunshine School Teachers talked
more about What is Taught and Assessments than did Heritage Charter School
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Teachers. Sunshine School Teachers’ comments about What is Taught were
mainly negative and implied that the changes were out of line with what teachers
see as best for their students. They made comments such as, “a move away from
PE and music and art,” from Rebecca, and “more assessment now because the
whole report card,” from Janice. Heritage Charter School Teachers talked about
Support and Development of Profession more than Sunshine School Teachers did.
The Heritage Charter School Teachers’ comments had more to do with what had
changed that allowed them to better do their job. Karl said, “I think the big one
was having our principal come and be our principal. You know? The last principal
I had, he was out of touch with what needed to be done in our school. He had the
vision of establishing the school but he didn’t know how to run the school.” Linda
noted, “I’ve definitely learned how to get my parents more involved.”
Respondents talked about mandates that have changed things in their
teaching life. Some categories were mentioned by more than one teacher. Four
Sunshine School Teachers mentioned NCLB, three mentioned standards, and two
mentioned ADA funds. Two Sunshine School Teachers spoke of services for
English language learners. Only one category was mentioned by more than one
Heritage Charter School Teacher, which was the API (Academic Performance
Index). Otherwise, each Heritage Charter School Teacher had different responses.
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Summary of Results
A brief summary of the results organized around the Research Questions
follows. Teachers do feel a decreased sense of control in the classroom because of
external mandates, such as state standards. This situation is more apparent with
the regular public school teachers from Sunshine School who report a much
smaller proportion of influence in decisions affecting the classroom. In addition,
Sunshine School Teachers were able to see both positive and negative aspects of
external mandates whereas Heritage Charter School Teachers mainly viewed
mandates as negative.
Teachers reported changes or shifts in control in several areas of their
professional life. The Sunshine School Teachers identified more changes and
tended to talk about changes that had external origins, such as change in mandated
subject matter, while Heritage Charter School Teachers talked more about how
they have changed things, such as organization of their classroom. Heritage
Charter School Teachers cited more instances of role ambiguity and routinization
and Sunshine School Teachers perceived that they did not have what they needed
to meet external goals, including support from the principal and parents.
Every participant stated that they were satisfied with being a teacher and
reservations were expressed by teachers at both sites. A contrast between the sites
is that Sunshine School Teachers expressed more dissatisfaction than Heritage
Charter School Teachers did. Heritage Charter School Teachers faced as much
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pressure, or more, to meet the state mandated standards for student performance
but they expressed much less dissatisfaction than Sunshine School Teachers.
This may possibly be explained by site level factors such as Heritage
Charter School teachers reporting more control in decisions that affect the
classroom and the support they feel from their principal. The higher incidence of
role ambiguity and routinization by the Heritage Charter School Teachers was not
associated with greater dissatisfaction in this case. It does appear that site level
differences mediate teacher perceptions or experience of shifts in control.
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Chapter 5
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to examine how the larger domain impacts
teachers’ perceived and desired control as well as their job satisfaction. Some of
the findings were consistent with previous research and some differed. In this
chapter, findings for Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession, Teacher Control
in Decision Making and Implementation, and Changes in Teaching Life are
discussed.
Satisfiers and Dissatisfiers in the Profession
The results from this study concerning satisfiers indicate that teachers
derive job satisfaction from some relationship with their students. This is
consistent with previous research (Brunetti, 2001; Cruickshank & Callahan,