Date of Award

6-11-1997

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Alexander Kelly, Jr. Tyree

Abstract

Rural schools rarely seem to get attention from prestigious sections of the academic community, especially concerning the issues of research, change, and rural teachers. Change in any form must be promptly and positively addressed as to diminish negative influences in the school setting. This study's intentions were twofold: to examine the perceptions that rural North Dakota high school teachers have about the process of change and to assess the extent to which the background factors of teachers contributes to these perceptions.For the purpose of this study, 162 teachers' responses to 14 items in the section of Intentional changes in the school within the last two years and 6 items in the section of Your own involvement in change were analyzed. There were also two groups of background characteristics which were examined for their influence in the change process. The first group, family background characteristics, addressed those traits over which teachers do not have any influence: Gender, Father's education level, Mother's educational level, Your father's occupation, and Your mother's occupation. The second group, individual background characteristics, consisted of the traits over which teachers have some influence: Teacher's years of teaching and Teacher's level of education.The results of this study involved the identification of three dependent variables: Teachers' Perceptions of the Principal as Collaborator, Teachers' Involvement in Change, and Teachers' Perceptions Toward Staff's Support of Change. Each dependent variable was examined for the impact of selected background characteristics that may or may not influence the change process. Of the three dependent variables, only Teachers' Perceptions of the Principal as Collaborator was found to be influenced by two teachers' background characteristics: Gender and Teacher's level of education. None of the other family background characteristics (Father's education level, Mother's educational level, Your father's occupation, and Your mother's occupation) or the individual background characteristic of Teacher's years of teaching influenced the dependent variables of Teacher's Involvement in Change and Teachers' Perceptions Toward Staff's Support of Change.

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