Date of Award

5-1-2003

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze various data to determine the effectiveness of the Teacher Perceiver Interview (TPI) as a tool to assist administrators in selecting elementary teachers in a mid-sized midwestern public school district. Eight research questions asked whether there were differences (1) among TPI scores assigned by various administrators who conducted and scored the interviews, (2) between TPI scores of applicants hired and not hired, and (3) in the mean TPI scores for all applicants during the time period included in the study as well as whether there were relationships (4) between TPI scores and administrator ratings of teacher performance during the first year of employment in the district, (5) between TPI scores and the teacher’s mean days of absenteeism during tenure in the district, (6) between TPI scores and the undergraduate grade point averages (GPAs) of the teachers who were hired, (7) between TPI scores and the number of credits of graduate work earned by teachers at the time they were hired, and (8) between TPI scores and the number of years of teaching experience at the time the interviews were conducted. Reliability analysis and statistical single factor analysis of variance were used to test questions 1 and 3. A t test was used for question 2. The Pearson product-moment correlation was used for questions 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.

There were very few significant differences in TPI scores assigned by various administrators who conducted the interviews. TPI scores of applicants hired were significantly higher than those not hired. There was no discernible change in TPI scores over the 16 years included in the study. No significant correlations were found between TPI scores and administrator ratings of teacher performance during the first year of employment. There was a small and yet unexplained correlation between higher TPI scores and higher absenteeism. A small but statistically significant correlation was found between TPI scores and undergraduate GPAs. However, there were no significant correlations between TPI scores and credits of graduate work earned or years of teaching experience when interviewed.

Questions remain about the criterion variable used, so the researcher recommended continued cautious use of the TPI in this district along with development of a system to measure teacher effectiveness that would yield quantifiable data for research purposes.

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