Date of Award

1-1-2013

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Leadership and Policies

Sub-Department

Educational Administration

First Advisor

Joseph Flora

Abstract

This quantitative study of South Carolina public school teachers investigated how comfortable educators are raising problems or concerns to their administration. Five variables, including years of experience, trust in administration, mobility aspirations, relationship with principal, and content of message were examined to see their influence on teachers' comfort levels when voicing such problems or concerns. In addition, teachers were asked to identify the reasons for being hesitant about raising organizational concerns. The study concluded by determining if comfort level varied in different public school settings (elementary, middle, and high).

The sample consisted of 595 South Carolina public school teachers and data were collected by using an electronic survey instrument. The findings showed over 67% of teachers indicated a time when they purposefully chose not to voice a problem or concern with their administration. Three predictor variables, including trust in administration, content of message, and relationship with principal were found to be statistically significant predictors of teachers' comfort. Further, analysis showed 52.3% of teachers suggested their hesitation in voicing concerns resulted from a belief that speaking up would not make a difference in how their schools operated.

Rights

© 2013, Daniel Crockett

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