Ann Weaver Hart

Impacts of the School Social Unit on Teacher Authority During Work Redesign

During a year-long comparative case study, the redesign of teacher work in two schools was examined. A major goal of the redesign effort was teacher empowerment—an increase in the power and authority of the best teachers. The complexities and unanticipated consequences of implementing this general policy are described and explanations grounded in the theoretical and empirical literature on work redesign and social systems are presented. In spite of the expectation that restructured teacher work would improve the appeal of the teaching career and the effectiveness of the work structure in schools, the influence of the school social unit was found to outweigh the strength of individual teachers’ efforts or the formal work structure in its impact on teachers’ assessments of the new structure and on the functions of redesigned work in schools. Implications for educational reform and for structural- and social-systems aspects of work redesign theory are discussed.

A Career Ladder’s Effect on Teacher Career and Work Attitudes:

Interest in teaching career attractiveness and school effectiveness has spawned a variety of incentive packages across the country. Career ladders are part of this move to reform teaching. Though career ladders can be a significant change in the way teaching work and careers are organized, they take a variety of forms. A study of a career ladder designed to affect the work structure and career opportunities of teachers was designed to examine the redesign effect on teacher attitudes about their work and careers. Factors associated with teacher attitudes were examined, as well as differences in attitudes between teachers at various career stages, level of participation in the change, and level of teaching. Teachers were found to differ in their responses to career ladder work efforts, the impact of the reform on the work of schools, peer supervision, career growth opportunities, and the stability of career opportunities. The implications of the research for the future structure and assessment of teacher career ladder job redesign efforts and the target populations they are aimed at are discussed.

Career Ladder Reform: A Multi-Level Analysis of Initial Efforts

Empirical studies of career ladder policymaking at the state, district, and site levels in Utah provide the basis for analyzing the initial impact of this reform on teacher work roles, relationships, and reward structures. The article describes the manner in which the career ladder concept has been interpreted, assimilated, and adjusted at each level of the system and assesses the extent to which these responses reflect fundamental changes in the structure of teacher work. The findings reveal that the distinctive features of a career ladder (promotional positions and differentiated salaries) are being compromised at all levels of the system. With few exceptions, the reform is being converted into familiar practice. Conditions that may have contributed to this conversion to familiar practice are identified and discussed.

The Effects of a Career-Ladder Program on School Organizational Process

Work redesign has recently gained attention as a possible solution for widely perceived deficiencies in the educational system. Two such strategies, reward and work structures, are often suggested as alterations in teachers’ work lives that can have a positive impact on their professionalism and ultimately the lives of children. These concepts are often included in state-sponsored career-ladder plans. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an investigation into the impact of such a career-ladder system on outcome measures widely suggested as intermediate indicators of school effectiveness and teacher satisfaction. Data were collected from 12 schools that had implemented a career-ladder program characterized by alternative reward and work-structure incentives and 12 matching schools where such programs were absent. Survey items tapped teachers’ and students’ opinions about school-process behaviors suggested by school-effectiveness and work-redesign literature as important for overall school and teacher health. Intermediate outcome data—on motivation, self-concept, academic futility, self-reliance, and school norms—were also collected to assess possible effects on students. Two results emerged from the data. First, when widely accepted school organizational processes are measured, the career-ladder program clearly demonstrates a positive impact on teachers and to a lesser extent on schools. Second, the career-ladder program had a differential effect on teachers at various stages of experience. Midcareer and new teachers felt more positive about the measured organizational processes within their schools than their counterparts in non-career-ladder schools. The results of this study support the utility of the work-design concept

Developing Successful School Leaders

In education’s inconstant environment throughout the world, schools are under tremendous pressure to respond to the diverse (and changing) needs of their students and to assure a variety of outcomes demanded by their patrons. School leadership becomes a major focus of attention under these circumstances. School leaders are identified as one important element of successful schools (Leithwood, Begley & Cousins, 1992; Murphy, 1992; Weindling, Earley & Baker, 1991). Securing effective leaders for schools involves many steps, including preparation, recruitment, selection, and ongoing development.

Preservice Socialization for Teacher Career Ladders.

Socialization processes substantially af fect the development of work behaviors, attitudes, and institutional norms. The cur rent efforts to develop career ladders for teachers may suffer serious setbacks if appropriate socialization processes for teacher preservice training and induc tion are not planned carefully. Hart and Adams examine the efforts of a preser vice teaching experience in which two student teachers are paired with a single cooperating teacher. The model pro posed and the study reported empha size the importance of the mentoring and peer review processes to teacher development.