From Supportive to Domineering: How Texas and Massachusetts Teachers Describe School Administrators' Attitudes About Teaching

• In Event: 18.033 - This I Believe: Educators' Attitudes About Students and the Work

Abstract

According to international survey data, two-thirds of U.S. teachers believe that their work is not valued by society. Perceiving disrespectful attitudes toward one’s occupation has been shown to increase the likelihood one will leave a job; yet, little attention has been given to teachers’ perceptions of others’ attitudes toward teachers/the teaching profession (AtT). Here, as part of a larger qualitative inquiry into teachers’ perceptions of AtT, I explored teachers’ perceptions of school administrators’ AtT and how they differ between Texas and Massachusetts, states with markedly different approaches to public education. Analyses of interviews with 18 teachers revealed that overall, teachers in Texas reported perceiving more trusting, supportive AtT in administrators, whereas teachers in Massachusetts perceived more authoritarian, managerial attitudes.

Author

• Rachel E. Gaines, Kennesaw State University