What working conditions matter (or mattered) to you the most in your current or most recent job? If possible, differentiate between positive, motivating factors (in other words, things that made you happy about and excited to do your job) and negative, de-motivating factors (in other words, things that made you not enjoy going to work and doing your job). Some research suggests that working conditions do not necessarily fit into both categories (for example, money is often a de-motivating factor, and less often a motivating factor).
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Working conditions are why I left teaching in the first place. I felt that support for teachers was lacking to the point I felt unsafe in my job. I had to fight for my job on three seperate occasions simply because the admin was more concerned with keeping the parents happy than what was right. The only glimmer of support at my school was from my department and mentor teacher. I feel that having fellow teachers to lean on and count on is imperative.
Positive, motivating factors in my job as a counselor at Jordan High School include but are not limited to: autonomy, opportunities to lead and create (well beyond what typical counselors are allowed), daily collaboration with teachers from 4 different departments in Freshman Academy teams (common in middle school but very uncommon in high school), supportive relationships with school board members, trust from school leaders/faculty/parents, collegiality in my department and with Academy teachers with whom I worked most closely, student diversity, and my physical space (I had a GREAT office).
Negative factors from the same job included but were not limited to: lack of strength and substance in assistant principals, frustration over principal's inaction with ineffective teachers/staff, lack of respect for school rules/policies shown by students, atmosphere allowed by administrators which promoted that lack of respect, inconsistencies in faculty over enforcement of policies, administrative discipline structure which was divided by building zone/precinct vs. grade level or alphabet which led to tremendous inconsistency of consequences, apathy of faculty toward staff meetings, budget cuts (programs & positions), district meetings/expectations which were wastes of time, and "office politics."
Money was a non-factor. Anyone entering education to get rich has clearly not investigated the career. I never got paid enough for how hard I worked but I never expected to.
My primary motivators in my current working conditions are: autonomy, mastery and purpose. Autonomy in that I have a certain element of self direction. I am able to make design program models, develop strategies and pretty much schedule my day according to my goals, granted these goals are anchored in the district's goals as well.
Mastery in that I want to get better and better at what I do. I never used the same lessons, always revamped and today, every time an issue rises, I take it as a great opportunity to do better. A great example is the simultaneous interpretation we use in our district. A simultaneous interpretation system is exorbitantly expensive. All the market pre -packaged “deals” go for over $1000 for no more than 20 receivers. No wonder why hardly no one can provide simultaneous interpretation for Spanish speaking parents. I did some research on basics of electronics and found out I could, with some tweaking, create a set up with a quarter of the cost. We have a full three sets with over 150 transmitters. Today our district provides simultaneous translation for school and district meetings and our Spanish speaking parents feel included and our non-Spanish speaking parents don't complaint about a meeting taking twice as long due to old fashioned translation.
And purpose in that. . . well, I'll save this one for my last response after I read what you guys think.
I think what conditions matter most to me fall under school leadership. I think it is important for a school to have an atmosphere of trust and respect, for teachers to feel supported, to have professional standards, and have effective teacher evaluation methods. At my previous job, school leaders supported teachers and treated them as professionals. At my school before this, that was not the case. I think what contributes to de-motivating factors in a school is being micromanaged, not having support, and not being valued.
Positive motivating factors in my job as a teacher would include; being treated as a professional, being supported by teachers and administration, empowerment,and having the tools necessary to complete my job.
Negative factors at my job included;being micromanaged, lack of trust amongst administration, inability to collaborate with colleagues, inconsistency in follow through with policies, and inconsistency with what the administration says and what the administration does. For example, if the principal tells the staff to smile and be friendly to the students then the administration should model it as well.
I agree with Susan- very few things frustrated me over the last five years more than administrative inconsistency with policy and practice. Under my school's "precinct discipline" structure, a kid could commit an offense in one zone with one assistant principal and get suspended for a day and the same offense on the same day in another precinct (with a different assistant principal) would get no more than a lecture. It was infuriatingly inconsistent. It was not uncommon for certain administrators to hand a discipline referral back to the teacher unprocessed while telling the teacher what steps they should have taken first prior to the referral. The student could have cursed at the teacher, skipped class, or something equally intolerable but still- let's first look at what the teacher didn't do. Teachers felt unsupported and defeated so many stopped writing referrals at all and there was a growing sense of anarchy.
The principals I have appreciated most in my career have ran a tight ship with students and staff- the whole "when he says jump, you say how high" philosophy. Maybe not the most approachable leaders but students repsected boundaries. Still other leaders have earned my loyalty by providing accessibility-my concerns mattered to them and I could talk to them easily.
Unfortunately, I have yet to work under a leader who offered both characteristics to his stakeholders. Usually it's one or the other- those who promote structure and effective policies are unapproachable and prickly, and those with whom I felt true friendship and connection were usually unable to instill respect from unruly students and usually coddled ineffective, apathetic staff.
One of my main concerns as a future school leader is establishing balanced focus and attention for my stakeholders (students, teachers, other certified/classified staff, parents, and district supervisors). Devoting too much of myself to one priority will most certainly compromise the others. An action I take to support one stakeholder (for example, scheduling a parent conference at the parent's convenience during a teacher's planning period) compromises the satisfaction of another. Finding that balance of service will be critical for us all.
As I considered what conditions made my job satisfying or unsatisfying, I remember what it must have been like for my last school leader with about 150 staff members, 1900 students, and 1900 sets of parents. In the past, I had the luxury of my principal who at different times was a sounding board for me, a dumping ground for my complaints/frustrations, and ultimately an advocate for me. While requesting time to speak with him, I knew beforehand that he had a lot on his plate and that I was adding more to it but with a metaphorical shrug, I thought "that's his job" and proceeded to act as if my problem was the most important in his world. In the future, I will be this person for all of my school's stakeholders. I am beginning to understand better the feelings of isolation and loneliness described by Dr. Schainker in his discussion about principals' own working conditions. After expending all of my effort each day/week/year to increase student achievement, abolish the achievement gap, improve staff working conditions, promote healthy parent communications/partnerships, and appease district officials, who will be my advocate, sounding board, etc?
I definitely have to agree with what Liz and Susan said in regards to being micromanaged as an extraordinarily demotivating factor. Having worked under a principal who was a micromanager, her actions conveyed to others a lack of trust in their ability to do their jobs. I think that this greatly decreased moral and limited autonomy to the point where many people worked in a constant state of fear; fear that they would be reprimanded for making mistakes or exerting any kind of creativity or originality in planning and teaching. This created a toxic environment in which teachers were not performing to their potential. Following this experience, I was grateful to work under a principal who values autonomy and allows individuals to do their jobs as they see fit. This has been a phenomenal change and because of this, I can definitely say that an atmosphere of trust, respect and autonomy are working conditions which can make or break a professional community. At the same time, however, I think it is important for administrators to set clear and consistent expectations of their faculty and staff because there are some people who will take advantage of the freedom that this kind of environment allows.
I've been trying to reflect on school leaders I've seen improve working conditions at a particular school. I can't recall any examples that I've experienced, but I have heard of great examples of school leadership from colleagues. I think when employees feel validated and respected and leaders actually model this, it improves working conditions. I also feel that teachers want to be heard and a school leader needs to show they listen to teachers (whether they agree or disagree).
Motivating factors in my last job: autonomy over curriculum choices, being treated and respected as a professional, having opportunities to be a leader, and being supported by administrators.
Demotivating Factors: not feeling safe, having to collaborate with colleagues who did not share the same vision for students, and frustration over all the meetings/tasks that were mandated but didn't have any purpose
When I was teaching I felt that two things were important to teacher morale. The first was strength and perception of leadership and the second was the validation of the teacher. Unfortunately both of these factors were essentially de-motivating, because it was perceived that the leadership was consistently lost and did not understand the school. The decisions made were not explained nor did they ever seem to meet the need they intended to when they were made. The perception of weak leadership was made after multiple occurrences of ineffectual decision making. In addition to weak leadership, I felt there was never a validation of the roles teacher had within the school. The opinions teachers had were never considered and the ideas they brought to the table were not validated. It is ironic, but the positive motivating factor in this situation was a direct result of not being validated and weak leadership. The ability to control my space and what I did, allowed me to counteract the negative factors I saw in the school. Essentially as the teacher, I decided to focus my attention on what I could immediately control and that was classroom instruction and success of my students.
I think Susan mentioned this earlier, but the effective administrator needs to model the behaviors and values that would be conducive to improving working conditions. If working conditions are to improve, teachers have to feel that administrators are actively trying to improve them. Administrators have to connect what they say to their actions and those actions must be visible. The administrator modeling behaviors essentially is providing the support teachers need to personalize those behaviors and in the end improve the working conditions of the school.
It was always important to me to have a supportive and honest administrative team. Being a teacher in three different schools allowed me to see different degrees of support. In two schools, the administrators had high expectations for teachers and did not take any junk, but I knew that those principals would go to bat for me and support me. I also knew that these principals would let me know when I was wrong and help me correct my mistakes. In the other school, the administrative team would stand back and allow teachers to 'swim in a pool of sharks'. That administrative team was not supportive in professional development, extra-curricular activities, or just plain 'staff fun-stuff'. Because of this, teachers were always unhappy at work and could not wait to leave each day.
I agree with Heidi regarding micromanaging, "This created a toxic environment in which teachers were not performing to their potential."
and yet there is so much potential lost in lack of trust. I think Susan brings a powerful point for us to ponder. When we become "that" ( whatever "that" means to you) Principal, how will our words and actions be perceived? The issue of integrity becomes defining factor in our leadership.
I think one of the most important steps I've seen an effective principal take in making working conditions better was first seeking feedback and input from teachers. Before implementing any change, my former principal talked with as many teachers as possible to hear their concerns first hand. Consequently, his actions were better informed and directed towards what teachers truly wanted to see remedied. This speaks to the validation piece that Trea talked about in his last post.
Positive motivating factors in my experience as a teacher include: being treated as a professional, being supported by teachers and administrators - for supplies, frustration, professional development, etc., letting me take leadership roles and helping me be able to participate in groups within the school, and a general family- like atmosphere where most got along with each other.
Negative factors in my teaching experience include: colleagues who had different beliefs than me, teachers that made up excuses instead of focusing on what we could do for our children and families (negative environment), not having enough time to meet collaboratively, and paperwork (and there is a LOT for HeadStart).
I completely agree with Liz. All of the soft working conditions are the mobst important and they can all be influenced by school leaders and faculty. Most of them come down to school culture.
I also agree with Susan. Positive factors as well as negative factors can be influenced by school leaders. If school leadership is lacking and negativity is allowed to prevail few teachers or students can succeed. I also hate being micromanaged. Teachers should be allowed to be in charge in their classroom.
Agree. A lot of my satisfaction and I believe others within the schools I worked in, boiled down to school culture. It is the job of the school leader, to create the environment and school culture that he/she sees fit; that which aligns best with those teachers that are working there (their values, beliefs, etc) or finding the teachers best for the school culture that is being created.
Aside from seeking feedback from teachers by meeting with them, a principal could also improve working conditions by using data from the TWC survey. Based on that data, he or she would create targeted goals for the next year's TWC survey results and make specific action steps to get there.
I agree with Arpita. It is the job of the administration to mold the school culture. It is difficult to work to the best of your ability in a "toxic" school culture. A toxic school culture is one where negative working conditions outweigh positive working conditions.
I completely agree with what Elena discussed regarding the importance of actually soliciting and listening to feedback and input from teachers. I think that this step, in addition to looking at the teacher working conditions information can be invaluable in giving the principal insight into how teachers are feeling in the school. At the same time, it is not enough just to look at this information. Principals need to use this to inform decisions they make and must also be very transparent about the ways that this information shaped their decisions.
This discussion also brought up the notion of symbolic leadership that we have been talking about in Schainker's class. I can't help but think about how influential every action (or lack of action) taken by an administrator influences teacher working conditions. With this in mind and as others have eluded to in previous posts, all administrative actions must reinforce and convey to others those things that are important to us with regards to teacher working conditions.
I agree with all those that have posted, that it comes down to school culture and the leadership’s guidance of that culture. As potential school administrators, the teachers are our primary employee. If we want teachers to want to enjoy their job, we must validate their role and what they do well; while at the same time uphold specific expectations of accountability. I think we must keep in mind that our actions will never satisfy all the teachers. Although we can shape the school culture through symbolic leadership, there will still be plenty of teachers that do not like decisions that are made. A healthy working environment for teachers in my opinion is one where teachers feel they can do their job and be acknowledged for it and not necessarily an environment where everything is run the way teachers want it to run.
In regards to how an effective principal can improve work conditions in a school, the “Celebrate, Recognize, Reinforce, and Reward” article we read in Dr. Schainker’s class really speaks to my own beliefs and experiences: “Sincere, regular praise, plus recognition and celebration of accomplishment, may be the most overlooked ingredient in results-oriented leadership. Blaise and Kirby found that praise from administration was the most frequently cited source of good feelings and the most teachers have unfulfilled needs for recognition and approval.”
I totally agree with Will. Celebrate, Recognize, Reinforce, and Reward. This can build collegiality, bring relationships that are professional but also can be more than just that (teachers are not just teachers, they have families and lives outside of the workplace that should be celebrated - ex. having baby showers, etc.), as well as recognizing and rewarding those teachers preforming well.
I think along with those four things from the article, the biggest thing I have experienced that created the environment I wanted to work in was the support I felt from the school leader. Knowing that my principal would back me in a heart beat (as long as I kept her posted about things) was really reassuring of her trust in me as a professional. Along with that, providing everything she could to support me in my professional development also made me want to work at her school.
I do agree with you Will, about teachers needing to be praised, rewarded, and recognized. However, as school leaders we need to be careful how we do this. At my previous school, teachers were given "sincere and regular praise" but it became all to common. At some point, the recognition turned into a commonality that all teachers would be recognized regardless of whether they deserved it or not. Teachers stopped listening and caring to the feedback because it didn't mean anything and it certainly didn't improve the perception of the school leaders.
I agree with many statements posted. Elena, I have worked with a principal who solicited feedback from teachers and teachers respected his decisions much more than others I've worked with during my teaching career.
One thing I think about is the organizational structure as a whole. As a new principal, changing the culture at your school is not easy, but doable. If we slip on all reframing lenses- structural, political, symbolic and human resources- we are able to see things from different perspectives and implement the best change for the school. But, what about schools as an institution? Sometimes, regardless of how much we want to change our school, there are bounds around the structure that can't be broken. These bounds come from the 'way we do school' in our country. How can we change these notions? If we think 'outside of the box' do we give away our legitimacy?
I think it is counterintuitive to believe that money is not a motivating factor (as Dr. Graham notes), yet the most comprehensive study on teacher merit pay showed that a financial incentive made “no impact on student achievement.” However, as this article points out, the US Department of Education announced the day after the study was released that they intend to spend $1.2 billion on merit pay programs: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences/merit-pay/.
I am afraid that I am going to jump on the school culture bandwagon. One example of a school leader addressing school culture issues is that of allowing faculty members to be heard during faculty meeting. Although it sounds simple, in my experience, I have attended some faculty meetings which teachers were not allowed to voice their opinion unless there was ample time remaining for comment at the end of the meeting.
I think Trea makes an excellent point about creating an environment where teachers "feel they can do their job and be acknowledged for it and not necessarily an environment where everything is run the way teachers want it to run." I think this is part of the challenge of being a principal; you have to strike a balance between creating positive working conditions and running things in a way that is effective and efficient irregardless of how it may make some individuals feel. I think it is also important to come to terms with the idea that you are never going to make 100% of your employees happy 100% of the time. With that, not all of your teachers are necessarily going to respond positively on an assessment of teacher working conditions. There are so many other confounding factors that can enter into the picture when looking at this kind of data that need to be considered when looking at the data from the teacher working conditions surveys alone.
I've gotten my 'intellectual' thoughts down, but I have to admit that money does play a big factor in my happiness. Spencer, I do know that when I started teaching that I would never become a millionaire in a few years, so I'm good with that. But, when I started teaching, I didn't have to play the mom, dad, nurse, counselor, best friend, etc. role for so many students. As the years went on, my job became much tougher and I questioned was it all worth it in the end. For me, it was not. I stopped teaching for now because I was so fed up with all that I had to do and the small amount of money that I made. Many of you may not agree with me or you may be in silent agreement; I know that it's not good for a teacher to speak out too much (that pushes outside the bounds of rationality in the symbolic frame of our organizational culture), but money was a determining factor for me. I felt that I would rather stay at home and give up a few material goods than work and lose my mind!
Courtnee's comment is in line with a lot of research on employee satisfaction (in a lot of fields): people get unhappy when they don't think they make enough money, but making good money doesn't necessarily make people happy with their jobs.
You can relate this conversation back to our HR class. What types of working conditions are likely to attract high-quality candidates to a specific school, or to education in general?
Dr. G
An issue that my school is currently having is that teachers are generally unhappy. There is an undercurrent of mutiny amongst the teachers against the administration, and even those above the school administration. This tension is the result of an increasingly intolerable work environment. I'm not sure that the faculty even knows what it feels like to be told "you're doing a good job." Undoubtedly, the faculty understands what a good brow beating feels like, because we are constantly reminded of our shortcomings. The only solace that one can find in this sea of anxiety and depression is some veterans teacher that remind everyone that this, like other things in education, will eventually pass. So, I think the lack of affirmation is a big de-motivating factor for teachers.
In terms of motivating factors, I'm going to echo many of the points already made by other people. I think that things like autonomy, respect for time, and support are all keys for motivating teachers. Out of all of these, I think respect for time is probably the most important. I find it intolerable when the powers that be consider it a good idea to force me to attend a profession development seminar on ridiculous stuff like how to grade. Honestly, how effective are most county mandated professional development seminars. What seems to be the consensus at my school is that if you want to teach us something, do so in a way that is efficient and effective--it's called email and attachments. I will not dismount off my soap box.
Courtnee, I agree with you completely. I'm in my third year of teacher and I seem to be gaining new responsibilities without any increase in pay. I, like you, am considering whether or not it's worth all of the stress, anxiety, and long hours. I don't necessarily think that more money will equal more satisfaction, but it may encourage endurance. If you're in a situation where everything seems to be circling the drain and we've all been there (students are underperforming, the administration has perfected lambasting, there have been five fights in your classroom, your projector doesn't work, and you just realized your out of sick days), the one thing that could serve as the life line that keeps a teacher alive is a steady increase in pay. I mean you need extra money to pay for those doctor visits over your newly developed hypertension, right?. In summary, I agree with Courtnee that money can be a determining factor for staying satisfied with the profession. However, I don't think that it's the main factor, but it can definitely serve as the final nail in the coffin.
The part of my job that I enjoyed the most was being provided with effective curricular materials and all of the support that I needed to use them effectively. I enjoyed using data in the context of these curricula to track the results of and inform my instruction.
The other part of the job that I enjoyed the most were the relationships that I had with my peers in the context of helping children. I enjoyed discussing with my TAs and other colleagues academic and behavioral challenges that the children were facing and ways to intervene on their behalf.
I would have to say that the most unenjoyable experiences that I have had as a teacher were in my first year. Not having all the answers that I felt I needed and really not having anyone to talk to about situations that arose in my classroom was a definite challenge. I have also found in recent years that it is demoralizing to see regular ed. teachers go for tons of professional developemnt and then not put it to use in the classroom. I think the breakdown that I was seeing was in the third level of Guskey's hierarchy. There was tons of professional development happening but then when it came to implementation the organizational support was not there to make it happen in the classroom. Although I was not a regular ed. teacher, I found that witnessing this phenomenon was rather demoralizing.
I really appreciated Liz's post about empty compliments coming all to often. This is another reminder to me to stay on message even in the context of recognizing employees for their work. I am very interested in what my teachers do to help those children who are struggling the most. I'll always make a point of recognizing results in this context. The teachers that go above and beyond in making a difference in the academic futures of our children will definitely receive my compliments and recognition. Those that don't take the not so subtle hint will receive plenty of attention as well.
Something else that I found curious in my time as a teacher was the impact that a mercurial administrator could have on working conditions for teachers. I think that a consistently calm, personable, firm demeanor sets a supportive tone for staff. When a leader expresses excessive anger or delight it tends to undermine the confidence of the staff.
In my experience as a teacher, I found that when I was given greater latitude in the design, development, and implementation of my class I felt as though I was contributing to the advancement of the school as an organization, not only as a deliverer of instruction. I knew that my ideas were valued because I was able to take part in the course design and delivery.
Working conditions positively motivated me in my most recent job was the feeling that I was truly making a difference in student's lives, the ability to teach as I wished (taking into account the NC Standard Course of Study), the support of my principal as I attempted to use innovative methods of teaching and carrying out other duties, and receiving all resources needed in a timely manner. Negative factors were the low pay in comparison to some of my friends who had less demanding jobs, the amount of time used towards work outside of the contractual day, lack of support on behalf of the administration as it applied to discipline, and a separation of colleagues/ "cliques".
I really like what Bo said about having a "mercurial leader". A leader that is not able to show self-control over their emotions will undoubtedly impact the working environment. Every job has certain levels of stress. It is important how the leader deals with their stress. I have been in a working environment where the leader was not great at handling their emotions during high stress level times and it creates chaos in the working environment.
Specific examples of steps that i have seen effective principals take to improve working conditions in a school is form personal relationships with teachers who are ALL treated the same, institute a staff lunch once a month, provide incentives for teachers performing duties outside of the contractual day (ex. flex time), give opportunities for leadership, allow teachers to govern themselves within reason, and handle all situation that come across his or her desk in a timely matter.
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