Thinking about the future: A study of teachers' commitment to students in three economically-disadvantaged Connecticut middle schools.

摘要

Although many public schools in Connecticut achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), the majority of those that do not are middle schools. Twice as many middle schools fail and fail longer to achieve AYP than elementary and high schools. Although failure can lead to more focused efforts to succeed, sustained failure can lead to loss of teacher commitment to students. Current literature has failed to examine this gap in accountability between school levels and specifically middle schools where commitment to young adolescents is the most important quality teachers can bring to their classrooms.;I conducted this study to determine what influence, if any, the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) may be having on Connecticut middle school teachers' commitment to teach students in these schools. I wanted to determine if the provisions were going to prompt teachers to work hard, lose commitment or worse, leave their classrooms.;This study examined the commitment of middle school teachers in the poorest city, Union City, in Connecticut, in the wealthiest state with the largest achievement gap in America. I selected for this study three economically-disadvantaged middle schools, two that have consistently failed and one that has not. I interviewed 16 language arts and math teachers, and two special education teachers in grades 6-8. A motivation theory lens, specifically Expectancy Theory, was used to frame the study and guide the data collection and analysis.;My findings were fascinating and inconsistent with what I expected to find and what other researchers consistently found---that many teachers in failing schools were losing commitment and were considering leaving the classroom or teaching altogether. I found that although teachers said they are as committed if not more committed than before NCLB, the data demonstrated that because they knew little about NCLB's provisions, had little value for them for teaching, and had no expectations for 100% proficiency for all students by 2014, their commitment claims were questionable, as were their threats to leave.;This study will have significant implications for stakeholders who wish to understand teacher motivation, commitment and the application of NCLB's mandates to schools.