Sherry A. Woosley

Teacher role stress, higher order needs and work outcomes

Educational researchers have long been concerned with role stress among teachers. In education, research on the consequences of such role stress for teachers has largely concerned outcomes valued by individuals such as job satisfaction and reduced stress. Less research has focused on examining the effects of role stress on outcomes valued by the organization, such as employee commitment and employee retention. In examining the role stress‐outcome relationship, research suggests the importance of taking into consideration the work orientations of individuals as possible moderators of the role stress‐outcome relationship. Using a sample of elementary and secondary teachers, this study empirically examined, first whether three role stresses – role ambiguity, role conflict, and role overload – are related to two individually and two organizationally valued states and second, whether teachers’ higher‐order need strength moderates these role stress‐outcome relationships. The study found that role stresses relate to individually‐ and organizationally‐valued outcomes among both elementary and secondary teachers.

Stop-Out or Drop-Out? An Examination of College Withdrawals and Re-Enrollments

The withdrawal policies of many universities are based on the supposition that being able to withdraw without grade point repercussions will encourage students to return to the institution at a later date. This study focused on withdrawing students and examined the differences between those who re-enroll after a withdrawal and those who do not. About one-third of withdrawing students did re-enroll. Although intentions to return were related to re-enrollment behaviors, respondents were not always accurate in their predictions. Numerous differences were also found between those who did re-enroll and those who did not, including educational goals, work commitments, adjustment issues, health-related problems, and participation levels. The results suggest that the distinction between drop-outs and stop-outs may further our understanding of student retention issues.

Survey Response and Its Relationship to Educational Outcomes among First-Year College Students.

This study focused on survey response, which was defined simply as the completion of a survey. It examined connections between survey response and college student characteristics. It also investigated whether survey response predicted educational outcomes, including retention. The study focused on a cohort of first-year students at a mid-size, 4-year public university. Eighty percent of the students responded to a survey administered during their first semester. Survey response was linked with high school percentile rank and sex. Survey response was also a significant predictor of first semester grade point average and retention to the second year. The findings suggest that survey non-response may be an early warning indicator for first-year students. Also, the findings suggest that research based on surveys may be overlooking a sub-population (non-responders) that could affect the validity of those models.