Date of Award

8-2001

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. James R. Sanders

Second Advisor

Dr. Van Cooley

Third Advisor

Dr. Ronald Crowell

Abstract

Satisfaction The public is concerned with school safety because of recent school shootings resulting in multiple deaths. Educators are concerned that perceptions of school safety may affect new teacher attrition.

Three questions were examined in this study: (1) What is the trend of new teachers’ perceptions of discipline-related school problems? (2) Do new teachers’ perceptions of school problems vary by teacher gender, school level, size, location, and percentage of minority students?, and (3) Are new teachers’ perceptions of school problems related to their professional satisfaction?

National data gathered by the National Center for Education Statistics through the Schools and Staffing Survey were extracted for this study. A total of 16,351 teachers in their first three years of teaching were surveyed in 1987-88, 1990-91, and 1993-94 using the Public School Teacher Questionnaire of the Schools and Staffing Survey. One-way analysis of variance and chi-square tests were used to analyze the research data. Effect sizes were also used to determine the practical significance of the findings.

A description of the trend of new teacher perceptions, various school factors that affect new teacher perceptions, and the relationship between teacher perceptions and satisfaction are provided through this study. Statistically significant differences were found, but because of small effect sizes and small actual differences between means and percentages in this study, no strong conclusions can be made regarding new teachers’ perceptions of discipline-related school problems.

The results of this study did not reveal large differences between survey years, school factors, or teacher satisfaction items. It is recommended that future studies using more recent Schools and Staffing Surveys also include the effect sizes as well as means and percentages to determine the practical significance of statistical results. This is important because using large national surveys can result in statistically significant findings simply due to large sample sizes.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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