Teachers', parents', and students' perceptions of effective school characteristics of two Texas urban exemplary open-enrollment charter schools

摘要

The primary purpose of this study was to examine how teachers, parents, andstudents viewed their charter school as effective when effectiveness was defined by thefollowing 11 characteristics: (a) instructional leadership, (b) clear mission, (c) safe andorderly environment, (d) positive school climate, (e) high expectations, (f) frequentmonitoring, (g) basic skills, (h) opportunities for learning, (i) parent and communityinvolvement, (j) professional development and (k) teacher involvement.Two exemplary open-enrollment charter schools in Texas were used in thisstudy. All 24 teacher, parent, and student participants completed a questionnaire thataddressed characteristics analyzed for each group. The 72 participants in thisquantitative study were randomly chosen to respond to items on the SchoolEffectiveness Questionnaire developed by Baldwin, Freeman, Coney, Fading, andThomas. Data from the completed questionnaires were reported using descriptivestatistics and frequency data. Major research findings for the study were as follows: 1. There was agreement among teachers, parents, and students regarding 5characteristics. These characteristics were: (a) safe and orderlyenvironment, (b) positive school climate, (c) high student expectations, (d)frequent student assessment, and (e) monitoring of achievement and basicskills.2. Teachers and parents agreed their school demonstrated effectiveinstructional leadership, a clear and focused mission, and a maximizedopportunity for learning. On the other hand, students were uncertain theirschool provided maximum opportunities for learning.3. Only parents and students were in agreement concerning the parentalinvolvement in their school. In contrast, teachers were uncertain theirschool provided parent and community involvement.4. Teachers were also uncertain their school provided strong professionaldevelopment and included them in the decision-making process for theschool.