Award Date

5-1-2020

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Psychology & Higher Education

First Committee Member

Gwen Marchand

Second Committee Member

Lisa Bendixen

Third Committee Member

Michael Nussbaum

Fourth Committee Member

Katrina Liu

Number of Pages

189

Abstract

High quality data that clearly illustrates the dynamic and socially embedded nature of teachers’ roles is critical to the development and implementation of educational policy addressing teacher attrition issues. Study participants are comprised of 161 full-time teachers serving in three elementary schools in a large, urban school district in the southwestern United States. The purpose of the current study is to explore the extent to which the formation of teacher collaboration networks interacts with individual perceptions of motivation. Additionally, collaboration networks are examined across time, specifically at two time points across an academic semester.

This study embeds teachers’ individual behaviors within a pattern of interdependent relationships to capture the multilevel nature of teacher interactions. It is argued that the complex role of teacher relationships may impact perceptions of teachers’ ability to teach, feelings of autonomy, and the extent to which they feel a sense of relatedness with their colleagues and school. A systematic analytic approach is undertaken utilizing social network analysis and multiple regression analysis.

Results indicate that attributes of gender, collaboration, and intentions to remain in the profession are consistently found to induce homophily. A predictive relationship between individual levels of centrality and intentions to remain in the profession was found, drawing a connection between engagement in collaboration, levels of teacher motivation, and intentions to remain in the profession. These findings urge state and local policy makers to reconsider the motivational strategies historically implemented to curb teacher attrition.

Keywords

Self-Determination Theory; Social Network Analysis; Social Networks; Teacher Attrition; Teacher Collaboration; Teacher Motivation

Disciplines

Educational Psychology

File Format

pdf

File Size

9.0 MB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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