Transcript Document 7870208

“Schoolteacher”
A Sociological
Study
By
Dan Lortie
Problem
Sociological patterns have not been studied in
the occupation of teaching(1975).
How do patterns of the teaching profession
relate to resistance to change in the field of
education?
Variables
Recruitment
Stages of Socialization
Distribution of Career Rewards
Teacher Sentiments
Self-Assessments
Teacher Preferences with other adults
The Design
Five Towns Survey
Dade County Survey
Surveys conducted by the National
Educational Association
Data collection from other independent
researchers
Results
Recruitment
Recruitment “resources consist of the properties
which assist an occupation for competing for
manpower and talent (26).” In the case of
becoming a teacher, operates without deliberate
formulation or control and uses two types of
resources: attractors and facilitators.
Attractors – comparative benefits (5 themes):
Interpersonal, Service, Continuation, Material, Time
Compatibility
Recruitment (con’t)
Facilitators – the sociological factors that broaden the
pool of candidates for the occupation: highly accessible
training, non-elitist admission, wide decision, subjective
warrant, and other special facilitator.
Attractors and Facilitators appear more potent
for women
Stages of Formal Socialization
What do teachers say about their shaping as
members of the occupation?
The Stages of Socialization
Formal Schooling, Mediated Entry
(Apprenticeship), and Learning while doing
General schooling (K-12) serves as
apprenticeship, but restrictions are present42% of the Five Towns teachers compared
their strategies to one of their former teachers
Imagination, observation, and imitation
Stages of Formal Socialization
The Stages of Socialization
Student Teaching – many teachers consider
this brief experience more valuable than their
formal schooling-it directs the aspiring
toward his or her actual goal to teach
Experience – serves as the major means to
learn how to teach
Teachers are largely “Self-Made” and this
creates many effects: constrains the status of
the occupation, subjective cost imposed on
teachers, occupational conservatism
Distribution of Career Rewards
Teaching is essentially career-less
It’s an “unstaged” career with little possibility of
moving up the ladder
The only place to move up is to administration and
then you are no longer a teacher.
Developed system of remuneration in the beginning.
Pay incentives and benefits to attract new teacher
No rewards for teachers already teaching
Pay increases to teachers comes from seniority
and course-taking, not effort or talent in a
classroom
Distribution of Career Rewards
(con’t)
Effects of being “Career-less” and
Remuneration
Men and women see the job differently
Men view teaching as a stepping stone to
administration or to another career
Women view the job as a career until they get
married or if already married until husband can
fully support family.
Distribution of Career Rewards
(con’t)
Men, single women, and married women
differed in job satisfaction and engagement
(time investment)
Single women spent most amount of time on the job,
but were the least satisfied
Men spent the second most amount of time on the
job and were the second most satisfied
Married women spent the least amount of time on the
job, and were the most satisfied.
Distribution of Career Rewards
(con’t)
Men, single women, and married women
differed when asked the question, “Would
they become teachers again?”
Men had the highest percentage that would not
become a teacher again
Single women had the next highest percentages
that would not become a teacher again
Married women had the least percentage that
would not become teachers again
Teacher Sentiments
What teachers want to accomplished
Teaching morals
Instilling love of schools and subject
Reaching all students
Teacher Sentiments
When asked about their good teachers
Produced affection and respect from students
Made students work hard
“Effective in winning student compliance and
discipline
Teacher Sentiments
How teachers feel successful (Craft Pride)
Reaching that one unreachable student
Former student success in education or work
Public events (plays, fairs, field trips, etc.)
Class improvement (PE skills, initial reading)
Student voluntary contribution
Community recognition
Teacher Sentiment
Although most teachers goals were to
reach the whole class they felt more
pride when they reached that one
special student, or when one student
came back to thank them
Self-Assessments
Attainment of Instructional Goals v.
Maintaining an Appropriate Relationship
with Students
Difficulty in Self-Assessment
Unlike typical/tangible fields with concrete
examples of success teachers may not see hard
evidence of success for years
How do we assess attributes such as
responsibility and citizenship?
Attaining goals is also difficult because the
students are obligated to go to school /
students are not volunteers
Self Assessments (con’t)
Maintaining an Appropriate Relationship
3 Special Issues in Relational Aspects
1. Lack of Volunteerism
2. Incomplete Socialization
3. The Grouped Context within which
Instruction Occurs
2 Kinds of Leadership (Bales 1956) / (Lortie p.
152)
Getting Tasks Accomplished by a Group
v.
Attending to Expressive Needs
Self-Assesments (con’t)
“Strategy Counts for Less Than Chance when Mood is
King” (p. 174)
“Classroom Management”
Not really management because teachers are
significantly disadvantaged compared to
managers in other fields
less resources and autonomy
Good Days v. Bad Days (distraction is the enemy)
Teachers want to establish a monopoly over
their student’s attention…they strive for a kind
of privatization
Teachers want to concentrate their efforts of
the core aspects of teaching
Self-Assesments (con’t)
“Strategy Counts for Less Than Chance when Mood is
King” (p. 174)
Teachers claims to want greater autonomy and
more control over their students, but rarely assert
this by challenging the basic order
- Lortie assumes this may be
due to lack of confidence in producing results
Teacher Preferences in
Relationships with other Adults
Parent:
Differ in views about child and socialization
Depend on for child’s participation in school
Majority interaction with problems
Colleagues:
Sharing of ideas, joint teaching, comparisons
Principal:
Mediator
Invincible or Popular
General supervision over school affairs
Conclusions
Through the sociological lens, the history of the
occupation of teaching tilts toward continuity rather
than discontinuity.
Huge distinction between the sociological patterns
between men and women.
Teacher ethos
Teacher Ethos
Conservatism
Teacher Preferences
Tasks
Values
Individualism
Uncertainty
Autonomy
Presentism
Psychic Rewards
Isolation
Recommendations
Greater adaptability
Effective colleague relationships and
responsibilities
Sharing in issues of knowledge and
expertise
Increase technical expertise
Professional values in occupation