School Culture and Leadership: Teacher Perceptions of Title I and Non-Title I Schools

• Main Author: Crum, Krista R
• Format: Others
• Published: Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University 2013
• Subjects: Leadership; Morale; Non-Title I; Poverty; School Culture; Title I; Education
• Online Access: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1153; https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2310&context=etd

This study was conducted to see if teachers perceive a significant difference in school culture and leadership in Title I and non-Title I schools. Specifically, this researcher considered the possibility that teachers working in Title I schools have lower perceptions of their school’s culture and leadership than teachers working in non-Title I schools. A quantitative study was used to find the perceived differences between school culture and leadership in Title I and non-Title I schools. A quasi-experimental design was selected because preexisting data were collected on teachers in an upper East Tennessee region. The data were collected from the TELL Tennessee survey conducted in 2011 by the Tennessee Department of Education. The TDOE contracted with the New Teacher Center (NTC) to conduct the state’s survey. The NTC is a national organization that has administered surveys in several states and is dedicated to developing and supporting a quality teaching force. The TDOE compiled 8 constructs or focus indicator areas for the survey, and 5 of the 8 indicators were used to determine school culture and leadership. School culture indicators were compiled from the focus questions of facilities and resources and community support. Leadership indicators were compiled from focus questions of student conduct, school leadership, and instructional practices and support. The population included teachers who taught in public schools, Pre Kindergarten through 12th grade during the 2010 through 2011 school year. This study showed no significant difference in regard to teacher perceptions of leadership in Title I and non-Title I schools in an upper East Tennessee region. However the study did find a significant difference in regard to teacher perceptions of school culture in Title I and non-Title I schools in the area of facilities and resources. An examination of the group means indicates that Title I schools (M = .845, SD = .120) had a significantly more positive perception of facilities and resources than teachers in non-Title I schools (M = .786, SD = .149).