John Davis
Published: 2020
Total Pages: 153
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The purpose of this single instrumental, qualitative case study was to explore teachers' and administrators' perceptions about teacher morale status at Urban Middle School to understand how morale may be affecting retention within the school. This study explored the experiences of 12 middle school teachers and three administrators/facilitators at an urban middle school in southeastern Pennsylvania to understand their perceptions of the sources of low teacher morale, identifying strategies to improve morale, and how low morale affects teacher retention. Data was gathered using in-depth, semi-structured interviews, including individual interviews and focus group interviews. Key findings include four categories explaining factors resulting in low teacher morale. These categories are poor communication skills by administrators, problems with colleagues, high levels of stress, and the lack of appreciation by administration. In addition, these four categories unveiled potential strategies to improve low teacher morale. These strategies included administrators saying thank you, building strong relationships within the building, administrators assisting the staff, and teachers utilizing self-care. Three categories emerged for understanding and explaining teacher retention at Urban Middle School: professional loyalty and commitment, love for students and the belief that things will improve Four guiding principles were developed through analyzing 36 themes and 11 categories based on codes generated during data analysis, and by consulting the relevant literature: 1) building principals must make a conscious effort to create a positive, upbeat atmosphere where students and staff feel welcome, 2) building principals must not exceed a reasonable workload for staff, 3) teachers need to do their part by taking care of themselves (e.g. self-care strategies), and 4) teachers should remember their love for students, and draw on their reservoirs of hope for the future of education, as reasons to remain in the classroom. After synthesizing the literature review with the key findings, the following can be concluded for each research question. Poor communication skills - by both teachers and administrators - are a critical reason for low teacher morale. Along with improving communication, the top potential strategy for improving low teacher morale is showing authentic appreciation. Finally, the overwhelming reason why teachers stay at Urban Middle School is for the students. Recommendations from this research include that central office needs to ensure all teachers and administrators are trained in professionalism and building relationships and, for administrators, to provide encouragement and authentic appreciation.