Date of Award

6-2014

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Educational Leadership, Research and Technology

First Advisor

Dr. Patricia L. Reeves

Second Advisor

Dr. Louann Bierlein Palmer

Third Advisor

Dr. Cynthia Hedges

Keywords

Teacher, trust, educational setting, student achievement

Abstract

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has brought accountability to the world of education. The Act’s purpose was to bring a standards-based educational reform process nationally by establishing measurable goals and high academic standards for students and teachers. The mandate to the states from the federal government specified that each state set up incremental assessments of all children, and schools have responded with significant efforts to improve student outcomes. One factor, teacher-to-teacher trust levels, has been shown through research (Bryk & Schneider, 1996) to improve professional working environments and student learning.

This was a comparison study of teacher-to-teacher trust levels in three differing educational settings, which included (a) non-charter public, (b) charter public, and (c) parochial/private. The study used 2012-13 data captured by the survey “Chicago Public Schools: My Voice, My School” created by Bryk and Schneider (1996), and a data set collected in 2013 from the Chicago private/parochial schools using a modified version of the same instrument. Only the data for the items covered in the modified version of the survey were used for the statistical analysis of the study’s three hypotheses.

The study used three levels of regression analysis to test the hypotheses that (1) there will be a relationship between the dependent variable of teacher-to-teacher trust and the independent variables of reflective dialogue, collective responsibilities, use of assessment data, and focus on student learning; (2) there will be a difference in the same five variables between teachers in the three different school settings; and (3) the same five variables can be predicted based on teacher-to-teacher trust and the type of school setting.

Results indicated that (a) there was a positive relationship between teacher-to-teacher trust and the four other constructs; (b) initial analysis showed some differences in teacher-to-teacher trust levels when compared across the three school types; however, after adjusting for differences in sample size, this finding lost statistical significance; and (c) the teacher-to-teacher trust variable is positively affected in differing but significant degrees by the four predictor variables.

Access Setting

Dissertation-Open Access

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