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Teacher and administrator perceptions of the Committee on Assignments as a teacher assignment option in California

The purposes of this study were to: (1) describe Committee on Assignments (COA) teacher assignment trends for the 1989-92 school years, (2) compare teachers' and administrators' perceptions of local assignment committees, and (3) develop recommendations for enhancing the usefulness of the COA option. Four surveys were distributed to district-level staff, site administrators, and classroom teachers in one hundred and twenty-two randomly-selected California school districts. Teacher assignment data were obtained from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Analysis of the findings revealed that: (1) 62 percent of the school districts in the sample did not utilize the COA option, (2) counties with the greatest number of full-time equivalent teachers had the lowest COA assignment rates, (3) the greatest percentage of COA assignments was reported at the middle and high school levels, (4) the greatest percentage of COA assignments in the elective subjects was authorized at the elementary and middle school levels, (5) the greatest percentage of COA assignments in the core curriculum was authorized at the high school level, (6) school districts that did not utilize the COA perceived the option as unnecessary, (7) school districts that utilized the COA chose the option to provide assignment flexibility and to authorize unique, teaching assignments, (8) respondents perceived that approval prior to the beginning of the semester required change, and (9) teachers and administrators perceived themselves as equal decision-makers who understood their committee responsibilities. Eight recommendations were proposed: (1) provide workshops and technical manuals for school districts, (2) encourage governing boards to adopt policies relating to teacher assignment options, (3) disseminate information to the public regarding teacher assignment options, (4) encourage COA members to use collaborative, decision-making strategies, (5) consider proposing legislation to allow COA approval of teaching assignments at any time during the semester, (6) consider proposing legislation to expand the assignment limit to a greater percentage of a full-time teaching assignment, (7) consider forming an advisory panel of COA participants to review the Committee on Assignments option, and (8) consider establishing formal assistance programs for teachers assigned to out-of-field subjects.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:pacific.edu/oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-3937
Date01 January 1993
CreatorsJensen, Chet
PublisherScholarly Commons
Source SetsUniversity of the Pacific
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceUniversity of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

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