published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This study was designed to examine the relationship of Locus of Control with Teacher Stress. Research and null hypotheses were formulated and additional information was collected through the use of a subjective survey. The subjects of this study were 100 secondary school teachers who were attending summer school at The University of Arizona in 1981, in the College of Education. The I-E Locus of Control Scale and the Teacher Stress Events Inventory were administered to collect data. Four subgroups were developed from interactions of the two variables. Null hypotheses were created to examine the relationship of high and low Locus of Control with high and low Teacher Stress. A scattergram and Pierson Product Moment Correlation were used to examine each subgroup and their respective null hypotheses for statistical significance and linear directionality. No subgroups yielded statistical significance and all null hypotheses were retained. An analysis of additional information was obtained by cross-tabulations of selected items of demographic data. The analysis, by clusters, revealed that most subjects: (1) Were $25,000 from more than one income and considered themselves under little stress.

This dissertation examines whether the mode of entry into K-12 public school teaching has any implications on teacher retention. Teacher retention is important because it is an important precursor to teacher quality, which has been shown to positively impact student performance. However, teacher turnover can seriously threaten teacher retention. Additionally, teacher turnover is associated with serious economic and non-economic costs. To this end, it may benefit schools and school districts to pay particular attention to hiring and retaining their teachers, especially the quality ones, for the long haul. Current teacher labor markets literature is deficient in serious analytical frameworks for understanding longitudinal cohort retention comparisons of traditional and nontraditional teachers, as well as analysis of quit behaviors that focus on when a teacher is at the greatest risk of quitting. My research endeavors to bridge this gap. Using a large-scale administrative data set comprising cohorts of traditional and nontraditional teachers from the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE), I used discrete-time survival analysis modeling, specifically, the Cox Proportional Hazards (PH) model, to analyze the quit and retention patterns of cohorts of teachers from traditional and nontraditional sources over a six-year period. I found similar retention patterns between the two groups with notable peculiar patterns for the nontraditional group. The data suggests that entry routes into K-12 public school teaching, the year of entry into teaching, individual age, sex, ethnicity, subject taught, and school level can be important predictors of retention.

The purpose of the study was to measure the difference between teacher need fulfillment and desired need fulfillment as related to the teacher evaluation process. The study was designed to (1) measure teachers perceptions of need fulfillment through the evaluation process; (2) measure teachers perceptions of desired need fulfillment through the evaluation process; and (3) examine the relationship of the teacher evaluation process and discrepancies between actual need fulfillment and desired need fulfillment of teachers.A questionnaire was developed for the study. The questionnaire was designed to measure the perceptions of teachers actual and desired need fulfillment through the evaluation process. The questionnaire was adapted from questionnaires developed by Porter and Sergiovanni. The discrepancy between actual and desired need fulfillment provided a Need Deficiency score.The items on the questionnaire were designed to relate to four levels of needs as identified by Maslow: (1) Security; (2) Social; (3) Esteem; and (4) Self-Actualization. The questionnaire was administered to elementary, middle school, and high school teachers in a single school corporation in Northeast Indiana. Mean Need Deficiency scores were used to describe the deficiency of need fulfillment in the need levels of Security, Social, Esteem, and Self-Actualization.The analysis of data indicated the lowest level of need satisfaction was at the Social level for the teachers participating in the study. Elementary teachers had the highest Need Deficiency mean scores. The younger and less experienced teachers were generally the teachers with the highest Need Deficiency scores, and therefore were the least satisfied.

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Educational Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

The problem of the study was: Can teacher personality characteristics be identified which distinguish between the open and non-open teacher? The major purpose of the study was to develop a profile of personality characteristics as measured by the California Psychological Inventory (CPI), the Sixteen Personality Factor (16 PF), and the Teacher Satisfaction/Compatibility Questionnaire, all of which describe the open and non-open classroom teacher. It was a descriptive study which utilized volunteer teachers from a large school district in the Southwest. Two trained observers made two 20-minute observations in the classrooms of teachers who had volunteered to participate in the study. Based on these two observations and using the Walberg-Thomas Observation Rating Scale, each observer independently rated the openness of the learning environment of each of the classrooms visited. The volunteer teachers were administered the CPI, and 16 PF, and the Teacher Satisfaction/Compatibility Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by means of a t-test for two sample tests of independent means for null hypothesis 1 and null hypothesis 2. Data were analyzed by means of a two-way ANOVA for each of the 34 dependent variables for null hypothesis 3 and null hypothesis 4. The level of significance for rejection of all hypotheses was set at the .05 level. Conclusions of the study were as follows: the two open schools differed significantly from the five non-open schools in openness of the learning environment. The open teachers differed significantly from the non-open teachers in satisfaction; however, the open teachers did not differ significantly from the non-open teachers in compatibility. With openness and satisfaction serving as independent variables, and the 18 CPI scales and the 16 16 PF scales serving as dependent variables: (1) open teachers did not differ significantly from non-open teachers on 12 CPI scales and nine 16 PF scales. Open teachers did differ significantly from non-open teachers on six CPI scales and seven 16 PF scales: (2) with one exception, satisfied teachers did not differ significantly from not-satisfied teachers in scale scores on the CPI and the 16 PF; (3) no interaction existed between open teachers and non-open teachers and satisfied teachers and not-satisfied teachers in scale scores on the CPI and the 16 PF. With openness and compatibility serving as independent variables, and the 18 CPI scales and the 16 16 PF scales serving as dependent variables: (1) open teachers did not differ significantly from non-open teachers on 10 CPI scales and eight 16 PF scales. Open teachers did differ significantly from non-open teachers on eight CPI and eight 16 PF scales; (2) with three exceptions, compatible teachers did not differ significantly from not-compatible teachers in scale scores on the CPI and the 16 PF; (3) with three exceptions, no interaction existed between open teachers and non-open teachers and compatible teachers and not-compatible teachers in scale scores on the CPI and the 16 PF. It was possible to identify teacher personality characteristics which distinguished between open and non-open teachers. It was possible to develop profiles of personality characteristics which describe open and non-open teachers. Based on the conclusions of this study, various recommendations were made. Similar studies with additional factors and/or larger number of subjects and wider geographic area were recommended. There should be a continuing search for the personalities and behaviors which characterize open and non-open teachers. Perhaps a major focus in future research on education should be the determination of principal personality characteristics that are best suited to the philosophy and methodology of open and non-open education.

Stress has been a concern all over the world. The study of teacher stress is not a new area of research. However, most of the research studies have been oriented around secondary and high school teachers. Teaching in primary schools differs from secondary and high schools. Therefore, their experiences differ. This project has been conducted with the purpose of investigating teachers' experiences of stress in a primary school and what they think the school is doing to help them cope if it does. The study was conducted in one primary school in Lesotho which was selected because of its accessibility to me as I was a teacher in this school. Twelve teachers were interviewed as participants. The case study methodology based on semi-structured interviews and observations were employed. These methods were used to help me gain understanding of the teachers' experiences of stress and for the validation of the data. Ethical issues were considered in this study as permission was requested from the authorities and informed consent letters for the participants were also sought. Pseudonyms were used for confidentiality. The interview questions were formulated in themes. As a result, data presentation and findings was done in accordance to those themes. The findings of this study revealed that teachers' experiences of stress are: teachers' interaction with the principal; teacher-learner relationships, inadequate resources; workload; role demand. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

The research was aimed at investigating the effects of teacher burnout in community junior secondary schools in the Southern Region of Botswana. The research question focused on investigating the effects of teacher burnout on teacher performance, physical wellbeing and social interaction with colleagues and community. To investigate these effects the researcher started by identifying the causes of teacher burnout and then obtained responses from school teachers on how teacher burnout is affecting them. Some possible remedies and preventative/control measures were also suggested. A sample of l 00 teachers and administrators was chosen at random from both rural and urban-based schools in the Southern District of Botswana. The findings revealed that the majority of teachers (96%) indicated that teacher burnout is caused by poor career opportunities in the teaching field. 92% cited work overload as another cause of teacher burnout. The same proportion blame poor work relations as another cause of teacher burnout. The findings also revealed how teacher burnout can be prevented/controlled. The majority of teachers agreed (92%) that teacher burnout can be prevented/controlled by discussing problems with professional colleagues whist 89% agreed that teacher burnout can be prevented by organizing time and setting priorities. All (100"/o) of respondents agreed that school administrators can assist teachers prevent/control burnout by providing more paraprofessionals/support staff/clerical assistants and 99% agreed that providing more educational opportunities to learn about students with behavioural disorders and program action. 64% of respondents agreed that if left unattended, teacher burnout can lead to low productivity of the teacher. 75% of respondents agreed that if teacher burnout is left unattended it can lead to poor performance in terms of school results. The majority of teachers agreed that parents have a role to play on the issue of teacher burnout. / (M. Ed.) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The purpose of the study was to determine if there were significant differences in the levels of job satisfaction of teachers of the deaf in residential and day school/class programs. Four selected subpopulations of these teachers were also compared.The Purdue Teacher Opinionaire was utilized to obtain teacher perceptions of job satisfaction. A questionnaire was utilized to obtain demographic data. Five major null hypothesis were tested by the multivariate and univariate analysis of variance.Findings1. Day school/class and residential school teachers of the deaf were found to be significantly different in levels of job satisfaction.2. Male and female teachers of the deaf were found to be significantly different in levels of job satisfaction.3. Normal hearing teachers of the deaf and deaf teachers of the deaf were found to be significantly different in levels of job satisfaction.4. Teachers of the deaf in various age groups were found to be significantly different in levels of job satisfaction.5. Teachers of the deaf with daily contact with deaf colleagues and those without daily contact with deaf colleagues were found to be significantly different in levels of job satisfaction.Conclusions1.The type of school (residential or day) does have an influence on job satisfaction levels of teachers of the deaf.2. There are significant differences in levels of job satisfaction between the following subgroups of teachers of the deaf: male and female; hearing and deaf; age ranges 20-25, 26-35, 36-45, and over 45; and teachers with daily contact with deaf colleagues and teachers without daily contact with deaf colleagues.

Extensive research has been conducted to determine the degree of satisfaction among workers in various categories of the working force. Educational researchers have become increasingly interested in determining not only the degree of job satisfaction among teachers, but also the sources of teacher job satisfaction and dissatisfaction.One of the most controversial issues in contemporary education is the increased tendency to construct schools with open-space designs. Of great concern to many people are the effects that architectural changes and resulting conditions have on teachers. Heretofore, studies involving open-space schools have been largely interested in the effects on pupil self concept, personality, and achievement. Few systematic and analytic attempts have been made to assess evaluations by teachers concerning the impact of open-space design on job satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of job satisfaction of teachers in two dissimilar elementary school settings, the open-space and the self-contained.The experimental design involved dissemination of The Purdue Teacher Opinionaire to 76 elementary classroom teachers from four predominantly open-space schools and 85 teachers from four predominantly traditional schools. Each of the eight schools is located in Delaware County, Indiana. Teacher participation was strictly voluntary. Those wishing to participate in the study were given five full school days in which to respond to-the opinionaire.There were two major hypotheses tested. Hypothesis I proposed that there would be no significant difference between the proportion of teachers responding from open-space schools and traditional schools. A formula by Glass and Stanley was used to test the equality of group proportions.Hypothesis II and all of its sub-hypotheses proposed that there would be no significant difference between teachers in open-space and traditional schools regarding the degree of job satisfaction as measured by The Purdue Teacher Opinionaire. Data for these hypotheses were analyzed by means of a One-Way Multivariate Analysis of Variance (Manova).No significant difference was found in the proportion of teachers responding from open-space and traditional schools. The null hypothesis of no significant difference between teachers regarding degree of job satisfaction as measured by The Purdue Teacher Opinionaire was rejected. The only variable contributing to this rejection was that of "Rapport Among Teachers." Data analysis revealed that teachers from traditional schools responded more positively to this variable than did teachers from open-space schools. Although no significant difference was found to exist between the two groups of teachers regarding either of the remaining five factors analyzed, teachers from traditional schools responded more positively to four of the five factors than did teachers from open-space schools. Suggestions for further research include consideration of whether or not teachers are teaching in a school by choice or by chance; consideration of data pertaining to factors such as sex, age, years of teaching experience, and number of years teaching in a particular type of school structure; and a similar study involving a greater number of subjects from a wider geographic area.