Date of Award

4-1995

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Educational Leadership

Abstract

Present management theory divides teacher evaluation into two categories, summative evaluation and formative evaluation. Summative evaluation is used for administrative decision making. Formative evaluation is used for shaping the performance of teachers. Traditionally, the evaluation process has been more summative than formative. Therefore, teachers have regarded evaluation with some apprehension.

In the 1960s, Halpin and Croft suggested that the climate of a school is analogous to its personality. School climate can be defined as the perception incumbents have of the organization. Degrees of climate can be organized along a continuum ranging from closed to open. A closed climate is characterized by high degrees of disengagement, hinderance, aloofness, and production emphasis, coupled with low degrees of esprit and consideration. An open climate is marked by high degrees of esprit, trust, and consideration, coupled with low degrees of disengagement and hinderance. Generally, the more open a climate is the more positive teacher attitudes are toward evaluation.

This study was conducted using a stratified random sample of fifteen Michigan public schools from three community types: (1) metropolitan; (2) urban/suburban; and (3) rural. The Organization Climate Description Questionnaire for Elementary Schools (Hoy, Tarter, & Kottkamp, 1991) was administered to the schools’ staff to determine degrees of openness or closedness in each school. Additionally, Piegari’s (1979) Forty Teacher Attitude Statements Toward Evaluation Survey was used to determine the positive and negative attitudes of teachers toward the evaluation process used in the schools. Data from 208 respondents were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment correlations.

Comparisons of demographic data demonstrated that the three areas compared were reasonably similar, with differences attributed to population density.

The findings indicate that correlations of the scores for the various subtests on the OCDQ-RE with the scores of the Forty Teacher’s Attitude Statements Toward Evaluation Survey exist in the direction that supports the hypotheses as stated. However, the correlations were not strong enough to support any definitive statement concerning the relationship of school climate and the attitudes of teachers toward evaluation. The data from this research indicate that further study is warranted.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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