Shifting the Gaze
Examining Contextual Factors Influencing Teacher Morale in Suburban Schools
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11366287 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Andrene Castro (0000-0001-7579-5627, Bowdoin College, corresponding author), Andrene J Castro, Elizabeth Edmondson (0000-0002-3324-869X, Bowdoin College), Doris A Santoro (Bowdoin College), Doris Santoro |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 130 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 61-87 |
| Publication date | 2023-11-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0195-6744 • E-ISSN: 1549-6511 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/727008 |
| OpenAlex | W4387343569 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 41 |
Purpose: Despite the sizable research on teacher morale, including related work on teacher motivation, job satisfaction, retention, and attrition, studies have largely focused on morale in urban contexts. It is often assumed that suburban schools employ and maintain teachers with higher morale, but these conclusions are largely unsubstantiated. We explore morale in demographically changing suburban schools and draw on a dynamic view of school contextual dimensions that include their situated, material, professional, and external contexts. Research Methods/Approach: To examine the influence of these dimensions on suburban teachers’ expression of morale, we analyzed 265 open-ended survey response items across 12 case schools within a suburban district. Findings: Findings show that teachers’ perceptions of morale were not explicitly tied to school enrollment and demographic change but reflect challenges within their work environment such as concerns with meeting students’ learning needs, organizational efficiency, and collegiality. Findings also confirm that school leadership and professional value and salary significantly influence notions of morale. Implications: By tracing the relationships between the microlevel everyday school practices and interactions and the macrolevel contexts of broader teacher policy and discourse, we offer a more nuanced lens for understanding the complexities of teacher morale in suburban schools undergoing demographic change
Gaze · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Sociology · Communication in Education and Healthcare · Psychology · Social Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies · Values and Moral Education
Teacher Retention
Teacher- and school-level predictors of teacher efficacy and burnout
Elementary school teacher well-being and supportive measures amid Covid-19
Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Working Conditions
School climate and social–emotional learning
Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools
The Job Demands‐Resources model
Morale and burnout in an Australian public school
“A Vicious Cycle of Disempowerment”
Configuring a Construct Definition of Teacher Working Conditions in the United States
A conceptual framework of teacher turnover
Teacher job satisfaction and motivation to leave the teaching profession
Motivated for teaching? Associations with school goal structure, teacher self-efficacy, job satisfaction and emotional exhaustion
Collegial Climate and Novice Teachers’ Intent to Remain Teaching
How Principal Leadership Seems to Affect Early Career Teacher Turnover
Searching for Satisfaction
But What is Urban Education
Factors Contributing to Teacher Burnout During Covid-19
Reframing Suburbs
Are Principal Background and School Processes Related to Teacher Job Satisfaction? A Multilevel Study Using Schools and Staffing Survey 2003-04
The Influence of School Administrators on Teacher Retention Decisions
School Organizational Contexts, Teacher Turnover, and Student Achievement
Triangulating Principal Effectiveness
Pursuing a “Sense of Success”
Using thematic analysis in psychology
The differential antecedents of self-efficacy beliefs of novice and experienced teachers
Taking context seriously
The New Sociology of Suburbs
Public school accountability, workplace culture, and teacher morale
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |