Job sharing : a survey of knowledge and attitudes of superintendents toward partnership teaching arrangements

The purposes of this investigation were to determine the knowledge and attitudes of Tennessee school superintendents toward the concept of job sharing and assess the likelihood of opportunities for job sharing in Tennessee schools.

In order to achieve the purposes of this study, a review of the related literature and research was conducted. A thirty-seven item questionnaire was developed by the investigator which included statements concerning administrative, supervisory, and instructional dimensions of implementing job sharing within school systems. The population used for the study was all public school superintendents in the State of Tennessee (n = 142). The return rate was 65% (n = 92).

Statistical treatment of the data included the generation of descriptive statistics for each item; biserial correlations of the attitudes toward job sharing with age, job experience, and participation of the respondents, t-tests to determine if attitudes toward job sharing differed based on age, job experience and involvement; and two analyses of variance to determine if differences existed in attitudes toward job sharing among the various age and experience as superintendents categories. The .05 level of significance was used.

Analysis of the data revealed that a significant majority, 81.5% of the superintendents answering the questionnaire had a clear understanding of the concept of job sharing. Analysis of the data also revealed that while superintendents favored the flexibility offered to prospective employees by job sharing, they generally did not see job sharing as a viable option in their school systems. Concerns about job sharing centered on financial matters associated with its implementation, supervision of job sharers, and compatibility with the Career Ladder Program.

Additional analyses of the data revealed that no significant correlations existed between the attitudes of the superintendents toward job sharing and age, experience, and previous involvement with job sharing and no significant differences existed in superintendents attitudes with respect to age, experience, or previous involvement with job sharing.