Roxanne M. Mitchell

Student Academic Optimism: a confirmatory factor analysis

Purpose – This research aims to add to the literature on Academic Optimism, a composite measure composed of teacher perceptions of trust in students, academic press, and collective efficacy by exploring a similar set of constructs from the student perceptive. The relationships between student trust in teachers, student perceptions of academic press, and student identification with school were examined as well as how they were individually and collectively related to student achievement in the schools in an urban school district.Design/methodology/approach – This study assessed the perceptions of students in 49 elementary, middle, and high schools in one urban district. The measures used included the Student Trust in Teachers Survey (Adams and Forsyth), the Identification with School Questionnaire (Voelkl), and an adaptation of Academic Press (Hoy, Hannum and Tschannen‐Moran). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to explore whether these three observed variables would form a latent variable called Stu...

The Effects of Academic Optimism on Elementary Reading Achievement.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between academic optimism (AO) and elementary reading achievement (RA).Design/methodology/approach – Using correlation and hierarchical linear regression, the authors examined school‐level effects of AO on fifth grade reading achievement in 29 elementary schools in Alabama.Findings – Correlational analysis revealed that AO was positively correlated with RA (r=0.78, p<0.01), as were all the components of AO, namely: collective efficacy (r=0.70, p<0.01); faculty trust in students and parents (r=0.83, p<0.01); and academic emphasis (r=0.58, p<0.01). Percent free and reduced lunch, which was a proxy for socio‐economic status (SES), was negatively correlated with all the variables in the study. Hierarchical linear regression revealed that academic optimism had a significant effect on RA (b=0.52, p<0.01) and accounted for approximately 18 per cent of the variance in reading achievement above the effects of SES.Research limitations/implications –...

Student trust in teachers and student perceptions of safety: positive predictors of student identification with school

Abstract This study examined the effects of student trust in teacher and student perceptions of safety on identification with school. Data were collected from one large urban district in an eastern state. Participants included 5441 students in 3rd through 12th grades from 49 schools. Students responded to surveys that assessed student trust in teachers, safety and identification with school. Free and Reduced Lunch (a proxy for SES), school level and ethnicity were included as control variables. Two hypotheses guided the study. Hypothesis 1 stated that student trust, safety and identification with school would positively covary. Hypothesis 2 predicted that student trust in teachers and perceptions of safety were school properties that would individually and collectively explain differences among schools in student identification with school. Both hypotheses were confirmed. The results of the hierarchical linear model indicated that student trust in teachers and school safety accounted for 98% of the 22% of variance that exists among schools in student identification. SES, school level and ethnicity were not significant predictors of identification with school. Findings suggest that student trust in teachers and perceptions of safety may significantly contribute to student identification above the effects of SES, ethnicity and school level.

Creating a School Context of Success: The Role of Enabling School Structure & Academic Optimism in an Urban Elementary & Middle School Setting.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use SEM to explore the effects of enabling school structure (ESS) and academic optimism (AO) on school achievement (SA). Design/methodology/approach A sample of 58 urban schools, including 42 elementary schools and 16 middle schools in a southeastern district in the USA were included in this study. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effects of three exogenous predictor variables (ESS, elementary status, and socio-economic status (SES)) on a latent mediating variable (AO) and a latent dependent variable (academic achievement). Findings Findings confirm that three factors; collective efficacy, faculty trust in clients, and academic emphasis come together to create the general latent construct referred to as AO by Hoy et al. (2006). Findings also support the importance of ESS in establishing a culture of AO. Together ESS, AO, elementary school level, and SES explained 77 percent of the variance in SA, with AO having the most significant effect above and beyond the effects of SES. Research limitations/implications This study was based on a sample of schools in the Southern portion of the USA. Findings may not be generalizable to other areas. The lack of availability of individual student achievement data prevented the use of hierarchical linear modeling. Practical implications Findings from this study point to the importance of administrators establishing flexible rules and regulations and engaging in a leadership style that is collaborative. It appears that ESS not only promotes the establishment of AO but contributes to increased SA and is likely to be critical for upper levels of schooling. Social implications Reform efforts need to involve parents and community members. AO may provide an appropriate lens to further explore parent and community perceptions of reform efforts and relationships with administrators and teachers. ESS may assist in creating the structures necessary for increased parent and community involvement as well as increased perceptions of AO. Originality/value This study is one of only three studies known to explore the effects of ESS on AO and is one of the first known studies to explore these effects in a middle school setting.

Mentoring, Trust, and Teacher Efficacy: A Powerful Force for New Teacher Induction

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teacher trust in mentor and teacher efficacy. This study is a mixed method design that used correlation, multiple regression, and qualitative analysis to examine the effect of teacher trust in mentor on teacher efficacy for 103 first year teachers in seven districts on Long Island. The findings suggest that teacher trust in mentor is correlated with and predictive of personal teaching efficacy (r = 0.53, p < 0.01) and together with same subject knowledge explained 25 % of the variance in personal teaching efficacy. Trust was not associated with general teaching efficacy. Significant components of mentoring programs associated with high trust included frequent contact, early assignment, observational time, same subject knowledge, and on-going training and support. The findings of this study are based on the responses of teachers in one geographical region of the US thus limiting our ability to generalize our findings to other areas. However, these findings support the importance of trust between mentor and mentee in facilitating the development of personal teaching efficacy. Results from this study point to the importance of establishing a mentoring program for first year teachers, fostering trust between mentor and mentee, facilitating opportunities for mentor and mentee to interact, and providing on-going professional development.

Enabling School Structure & Transformational School Leadership: Promoting Increased Organizational Citizenship and Professional Teacher Behavior

ABSTRACT This study explored the relationships between enabling school structure (ESS), transformational leadership (TSL), organizational citizenship (OCB), and professional teacher behavior (PTB). Confirmatory factor analysis tested whether the theoretical dimensions of setting directions (SD), developing people (DP), redesigning the organization (RO), and improving the instructional program (IIP) statistically defined the latent variable TSL, in the new Transformational School Leadership Scale. Structural Equation Modeling explored the effects of ESS on TSL, PTB and OCB. Findings confirmed that SD, DP, RO, and IIP, statistically define TSL and confirmed the importance of ESS in predicting TSL, PTB, and OCB.

Effects of Principal Professional Orientation Towards Leadership, Professional Teacher Behavior, and School Academic Optimism on School Reading Achievement

This chapter reports the results of a study testing the effects of the principal’s professional orientation towards leadership/enabling school structure (ESS) on two mediating variables; school academic optimism (SAO) and professional teacher behavior (PTB) on the outcome variable school reading achievement (RA). Data were drawn from a sample of 54 schools (including 45 elementary schools and 9 middle schools); the school was the unit of analysis. Data analysis supported a path to reading achievement in which Enabling School Structures was the immediate antecedent of School Academic Optimism and Professional Teacher Behavior. Two control variables, school level and SES were included in the model. SES had a significant effect on SAO but not on PTB. School level had a negative effect on both PTB and SAO suggesting that both variables were higher in elementary school and declined in middle school. SES paired with SAO in predicting RA. As expected, SAO had a greater effect on RA than SES. The significance of the findings lies in the confirmation of SAO as an important influence on RA and in demonstrating the importance of ESS in establishing a context in which AO and PTB can flourish.