Factor in Public School Settings that Result in Teacher Agency
Location
Guzman 104, Dominican University of California
Start Date
4-20-2017 7:00 PM
End Date
4-20-2017 7:15 PM
Student Type
Graduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Madalienne F. Peters, Ed.D.
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
A quality system for educating a nation’s youth depends upon a teaching force that continually learns and applies the outcome to active problem-solving and development. Many current school and district models minimize a teacher’s ability to engage in meaningful change, ultimately undermining the teacher’s sense of professional agency. The research identified factors in systems of education that both serve to develop and encumber a teacher’s sense of agency in the professional realm. Literature on this topic revealed that internal forms of motivation, as opposed to external forms, are more likely to result in the development of agency via self-determination of one’s actions and behaviors (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The study examined five public schools in a small k-12 district. Data were collected from teachers to determine levels of satisfaction and frustration for autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs; data were collected from administrators to determine levels of self-determination support versus control. Additional qualitative data were collected through an interview process. All data were analyzed through a self-determination theory framework (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Development of teacher agency was analyzed at the individual and classroom level, the collaborative or team level, and with regard to the leadership orientation of site administrators.
Factor in Public School Settings that Result in Teacher Agency
Guzman 104, Dominican University of California
A quality system for educating a nation’s youth depends upon a teaching force that continually learns and applies the outcome to active problem-solving and development. Many current school and district models minimize a teacher’s ability to engage in meaningful change, ultimately undermining the teacher’s sense of professional agency. The research identified factors in systems of education that both serve to develop and encumber a teacher’s sense of agency in the professional realm. Literature on this topic revealed that internal forms of motivation, as opposed to external forms, are more likely to result in the development of agency via self-determination of one’s actions and behaviors (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The study examined five public schools in a small k-12 district. Data were collected from teachers to determine levels of satisfaction and frustration for autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs; data were collected from administrators to determine levels of self-determination support versus control. Additional qualitative data were collected through an interview process. All data were analyzed through a self-determination theory framework (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Development of teacher agency was analyzed at the individual and classroom level, the collaborative or team level, and with regard to the leadership orientation of site administrators.