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Chapte 1

Overview

Since the publication of the Reagan e a education epo t, A Nation at Risk, the United

States has focused attention on education efo m (United States, 1983). This epo t used

compelling language to desc ibe Ame ica’s schools as la gely inadequate and unable to meet

global demands on education, the eby leaving Ame ica’s futu e in jeopa dy. Since that time

school leade s have emb aced va ious education efo m movements such as No Child Left Behind

and Eve y Student Succeeds Act (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2002, Eve y Student Succeeds

Act [ESSA], 2008). Each with thei own measu es of standa dized testing, academic achievement,

and school pe fo mance. Pe haps ove looked is the impo tance of school climate in the ove all

school imp ovement p ocess. Cleveland and Sink (2018) p omote the notion that student

pe spectives on school climate should be included in school imp ovement plans. Othe esea ches

such as Zahid (2014), suggest school climate to be the numbe one conside ation fo student

academic achievement.

Dutta & Sahney (2016) esea ched the elationship between school climate and student

achievement and suggested a positive co elation. School p incipals a e the leade s of thei

building, shaping a compelling vision fo the futu e while p omoting safety, academic

achievement, and a positive climate. Depending on the schools' size, the p incipal's job desc iption

may include cu iculum, discipline, community elations, and fiscal esponsibilities. P incipals a e

equi ed to balance the expectations of state, community, and dist ict leade s to p oduce the highest

possible standa dized testing, pe sonnel, and school climate esults. These esponsibilities make

them one of the most influential school imp ovement figu es.

Background and problem statement

Approaches Expectations

Leade ship p actices utilized by p incipals a e vital to the quality of thei job pe fo mance.

The influence of a p incipal extends to the pe ception of all inte nal and exte nal stakeholde s.

With inc easing esea ch to suggest positive school climates could be an influential component of

school imp ovement, p incipals should conside the extent to which inte nal stakeholde s such as

the teaching faculty pe ceive thei influence ove school climate. The extent to which p incipals

can influence school climate in A kansas’ schools is unknown.

Purpose of the study

The pu pose of this quantitative co elational esea ch was to investigate if and to what

extent p incipal leade ship p actices co elate with school climate as pe ceived by teache s in the in

u al and subu ban schools in A kansas. This study investigated the biva iate co elation between

the teache s' pe ception of the school p incipal's leade ship p actices and the co esponding

school's climate sco es. Twenty-fou schools a e included in the sample size f om six geog aphic

egions of A kansas. In all, 626 teache s pa ticipated, answe ing su veys ega ding thei

pe spective of 24 school p incipals and the co esponding school climates in A kansas. The

leade ship p actices of the p incipal and the school climate we e the va iables fo this study.

Significance of the study

The extant esea ch on school climate in cultu e is limited. P incipals seeking to imp ove

thei schools need guidance on how to p omote the best possible envi onment fo positive student

outcomes. P omoting a positive school climate may p ove beneficial to inc easing student

academic achievement. Unde standing the leade ship p actices as pe ceived that p omote a

positive school climate will benefit p incipals seeking to imp ove thei schools. This study will

ecommend leade ship p actices that may p omote a positive school climate fo ove all school

imp ovement in u al and subu ban schools in A kansas.

Research Questions

RQ1: To what extent does the ove all index of p incipal’s leade ship p actices co elate with

school climate as pe ceived by high school teache s in 24 u al and subu ban schools in A kansas?

Limitations of the Study

The scope of this study measu es the climates and leade ship behavio s of 24 schools and

p incipals. Given that school climates can change elatively quickly and a e subject to facto s

beyond the p incipals’ cont ol, the esults of this c oss-sectional study may only be app op iate fo

implementation fo a sho t time afte wa ds.

Assumptions

This study assumes that the inst uments used will accu ately po t ay leade ship behavio s

of school p incipals and p ope ly assess school climates. Responses eceived f om teache s a e

believed to accu ately eflect thei supe vising p incipal and accu ately measu e the co esponding

school climate.

Definitions

Principal. The head leade ship position in a school. P incipals manage the day-to-day school

ope ations as well as manage discipline, cu iculum, and community engagement.

School culture. The collective beliefs and no ms of a school.

Summary

School climate may be the missing link of past education efo ms. P incipals have the

ability to influence the climate of thei espective schools. Resea ches have suggested a positive

co elation between school climate and student achievement (Dutta & Sahney, 2016). P oviding

school p incipals with best p actices to p omote a positive school climate may aide in ove all

school imp ovement measu es.

References

Cleveland, R. E., & Sink, C. A. (2018). Student happiness, school climate, and school

imp ovement plans. P ofessional School Counseling, 21(1)

doi:http://dx.doi.o g/10.1177/2156759X18761898

Dutta, V. & Sahney, S. (2016), School leade ship and its impact on student achievement: The

mediating ole of school climate and teache job satisfaction, Inte national Jou nal of

Educational Management, 30(6), 941-958. https://doi.o g/10.1108/IJEM-12-2014-0170

Eve y Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Pub. L. No. 114-95 § 114 Stat. 1177 (2015-2016).

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Pub. L. No. 107-110, § 101, Stat. 1425 (2002).

United States. National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at isk : The

impe ative fo educational efo m. Washington, D.C.: The National Commission on

Excellence in Education.

Zahid, G. (2014). Di ect and indi ect impact of pe ceived school climate upon student outcomes.

Asian Social Science, 10(8), 90-102. http://dx.doi.o g/10.5539/ass.v10n8p90

Chapte 1

Int oduction

Ove view

With littl warning in March 2020, T nn ss Gov rnor Bill L ncourag d schools in th

stat to clos for th r maind r of th 2019-2020 school y ar. Although T nn ss r op n d public

schools for th 2020-2021 acad mic y ar, conc rns r main as COVID-19 inf ctions incr as . Th

COVID-19 pand mic has dramatically chang d th way schools can saf ly op rat , and incr as d

th d mands on schools and t ach rs. Th lack of a coh siv f d ral and stat r spons has l ft

individual school districts att mpting to m t th n ds of t ach rs without ad quat r sourc s or

funding.

Each y ar T nn ss ducators compl t a T nn ss Educator Surv y (TES) which

id ntifi s priority ar as for r s arch rs, l gislators, and school r form advocat s. On th 2020 TES,

t ach rs indicat d pr -pand mic workloads almost id ntical to pr vious y ars (42% sp nding mor

than 6 hours p r w k), but thos who r spond d aft r th pand mic r port d incr as d workloads

(53% sp nding mor than 6 hours p r w k) (TDOE, 2020). Th 2020 TES clos d at th b ginning

of May 2020 b for th full impact of managing in-p rson, distanc , hybrid, synchronous, and

asynchronous l arning w r r aliz d by T nn ss ducators.

In this p riod of xpand d xp ctations, th Prof ssional L arning Community (PLC) has

b com int gral to th succ ss of classroom ducators b caus this structur mpow rs p opl to

accomplish mor tog th r than what can b don as individuals (DuFour & Eak r, 1998). Th

focus of this r s arch will b to id ntify if t ach r p rsp ctiv s r garding collaboration within th

PLC has chang d b caus of th COVID-19 pand mic.

Statement of the P oblem

Meets Expectations – HIGH

As of Nov mb r 2020, th T nn ss Stat L gislatur has not waiv d t ach r and school

accountability m asur s, t ach r valuations, or stud nt standardiz d t sting for th 2020-2021

school y ar. School administrators and t ach rs continu to fac xpanding pr ssur to produc

acad mic r sults r gardl ss of th instabiliti s cr at d by th COVID-19 pand mic. Educators ar

stuck in a p rp tual cycl of accountability and growing d mands which disr gard th chall ng s

facing schools right now. Sinc th T nn ss Stat L gislatur will not r conv n until January of

2021, any l gislativ action r sponding to th pand mic will fall short of b ing d fin d as

“proactiv ” in mitigating t ach r workload or str ss ov r m asur s of accountability. School

l ad rs must tak action to h lp th ir t ach rs r spond to incr as d workload by ncouraging

collaboration within th PLC structur .

Pu pose of the Study

Th purpos of this study was to xamin th impact of th COVID-19 pand mic on

t ach r p rsp ctiv s conc rning collaboration within th PLC. Sinc th f d ral and stat r spons

has b n pitifully lacking in support of t ach rs, it is critical to giv districts and schools actionabl

ways to support th ir staff without adding additional burd n or str ss. Sinc th PLC is common

throughout schools, districts, and stat s, it provid s an xisting structur to m asur and xamin

th rol of collaboration for t ach rs r sponding to th COVID-19 pand mic.

Significance of the Study

In mod rn ducation history, th PLC has a long-standing history of addr ssing chall ng s

facing ducators to improv stud nt outcom s from th No Child L ft B hind (NCLB) and Rac to

th Top ducation r forms. School l ad rs must utiliz th xisting PLC collaborativ structur to

addr ss incr as d t ach r workloads r sulting from th COVID-19 pand mic. T ach r shortag s

and burnout conc rn d r s arch rs b for , and incr as d d mands r lat d to pand mic t aching

will xac rbat th s conc rns.

Resea ch Questions

For th purpos of this r s arch study, th focus will conc rn th following r s arch

qu stions:

1. Has th COVID-19 pand mic chang d t ach r p rsp ctiv s on Prof ssional L arning

Communiti s and collaboration?

2. If so, how can school administrators xpand upon this chang d p rsp ctiv as a

transformational mom nt for incr as d collaboration?

Limitations of the Study

Th COVID-19 pand mic may influ nc participation l v ls in surv ys and int rvi ws.

School cal ndars and mod s of instructional d liv ry continu to b fluid as school districts

att mpt to r spond to th spr ad of COVID-19 within th ir communiti s. Unc rtainty about th

r maind r of th 2020-2021 school y ar cr at s possibl futur limitations d p nding on th

progr ssion of th pand mic in closing schools or transitioning stud nts to a hybrid or onlin

structur . T ach rs who ar ov rwork d or str ss d may not prioritiz surv y or int rvi w

participation in r lation to oth r work duti s.

Assumptions

Within th r s arch, participants will tak a surv y asking t ach rs to answ r th sam s t

of qu stions bas d on pr -COVID-19 r coll ction (2019-2020 school y ar b for March 2020

school closur ) and during COVID-19 xp ri nc s (post-March 2020 school closur and 2020-

2021 school y ar). Th r s arch r assum s t ach rs will b abl to r m mb r accurat ly to b for

COVID-19 and will not allow hindsight bias to cloud thos r coll ctions.

Th r s arch r also assum s t ach rs will b hon st and forthcoming conc rning th ir

p rc ptions without allowing ducational “group-think” and “toxic positivity” cultur to influ nc

or sil nc th ir voic . By cr ating a surv y outsid district r sourc s and conducting individual

int rvi ws, th r s arch r has att mpt d to limit l gitimat t ach r f ars conc rning district or

school r taliation.

Definitions

Th following d finitions ar provid d to xplain words and phras s commonly us d

throughout th study:

● COVID-19 pand mic: an ongoing global h alth m rg ncy, as d fin d by th World

H alth Organization, caus d by s v r acut r spiratory syndrom coronavirus 2 (SARS-

CoV-2) (Yu n,Y , Fung, Chan, & Jin, 2020)

● Prof ssional L arning Community (PLC): ducators working collaborativ ly in ongoing

proc ss s of coll ctiv inquiry to improv stud nt achi v m nt (DuFour, DuFour, & Eak r,

2008)

● Collaboration: proc ss in which p opl work tog th r, int rd p nd ntly, to improv r sults

(Dufour, 2004)

Summa y

This chapt r provid d an introduction to th r s arch study, common d finitions, and th

pr ssing natur of xamining th impact of th COVID-19 pand mic on t ach r p rc ption of

PLCs and collaboration. Inst ad of focusing on th n gativ impacts of th pand mic, th

r s arch r hop s th COVID-19 pand mic will facilitat transformational chang in t ach rs'

approach to collaboration. Chapt r 2’s will pr s nt a r vi w of th lit ratur stablishing th

importanc of th PLC as an ducational r form ffort and th rol of collaboration within that

proc ss.

Refe ences

DuFour, R., & Eak r, R. (1998). Prof ssional l arning communiti s at work: B st practic s for

nhancing stud nt achi v m nt. Association for Sup rvision and Curriculum D v lopm nt.

DuFour, R. (2004). What is a "prof ssional l arning community?" Educational L ad rship,

61(8), 6-11

DuFour, R., DuFour, R. B., & Eak r, R. E. (2008). R visiting prof ssional l arning communiti s at

work: N w insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tr .

T nn ss D partm nt of Education (TDOE). (2020). T nn ss ducator surv y 2020 ov rvi w:

A r port from th T nn ss D partm nt of Education.

https://www.tn.gov/cont nt/dam/tn/ ducation/data/2020-surv y/Combin d_Bri fs.pdf

Yu n, K.S., Y , Z.W., Fung, S.Y., Chan, C.P., & Jin, D.Y. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 and

COVID-19: Th most important r s arch qu stions. Cell Bi sci. 10:40. R tri v d

S pt mb r 19, 2020. doi:10.1186/s13578-020-00404-4

Overview

Ameri an s hools began during the early olonial period. Tea hers at that time required no

training to tea h. By the mid-1800s, s hools began to evolve, and formal training for tea hers

started. Formal training soon be ame a ollege edu ation and then morphed into a ertifi ation

pro ess. Today, thousands of individuals earn their ertifi ation to tea h in publi s hools. Though

this ertifi ation varies from state to state, all of them require a preparation program. Although

these programs must meet high standards and expe tations, individuals who omplete the

programs still begin their areers as novi e tea hers (Carr, 2013).

To assist these novi e tea hers in developing their skills, s hools implement a multitude of

professional learning models. Those models in lude professional learning seminars and mentoring.

In re ent years, s hools and s hool systems have moved to ombine these two methods by

employing instru tional oa hes to support all tea hers' growth and development. It is not yet

known whether instru tional oa hes have a signifi ant impa t on new tea hers.

ackground and Problem Statement

In the early 2000s, s

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