Aligning Schools for Student Success: A Network Analysis of Teacher Interactions

• In Event: 29.068 - School Improvement for School Effectiveness and Student Success

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects of collective interactions in a high school and in an elementary school on student standardized test scores. Our premise is that collective dynamics are at least as important as individual motivation or skill in influencing schooling outcomes. We analyze the effects of three matrices (or networks) of relationships (trust/advise, PLCs, and friendship), a matrix of trust/advise for the principal, closeness centrality (a measure of informal leadership), and Simmelian ties (a measure of cliques). Analysis was conducted using MR-QAP, a regression procedure used for analyzing matrices of digital and interdependent data.

Authors

• Russ Marion, Clemson University

• Robert Charles Knoeppel, Clemson University

• Angela Cox, Clemson University

• Sammie Gordon, Clemson University

• Hans W. Klar, Clemson University

• Xiaoyan Jiung, Clemson University

• Denise Savidge, Clemson University