Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

12-1996

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Administration

Major Professor

George W. Harris

Committee Members

Grady Bogu, Katie High, Don Dessart

Abstract

The Knox County School System in Knoxville, Tennessee has attempted to meet the challenge of improving teacher selection by using a specialized teacher interview process called The Urban Teacher Perceiver Interview which was designed and developed by The Gallup Organization. The intent of this study was to compare the perceptions of building principals regarding teachers' effectiveness with the teachers' scores on The Urban Teacher Perceiver Interview. Another purpose was to determine whether the correlation between the two variables differs as a function of gender, race, age, or grade level taught by the teacher.

There were two primary sources of data for this study. First, a total interview score for each teacher was recorded as well as an individual score for each of the eleven life. themes. Second, a questionnaire was sent to the building principals of all subjects. The questionnaire consisted of eleven statements with a Likert-type scale. Each of the questions on the survey was designed to inquire about a teacher's level of effectiveness with regard to the same eleven life themes represented in the perceiver interview. The questionnaire also requested that the principal provide an overall rating of the teacher's effectiveness. The principals were asked to provide demographic information about each teacher including gender, race, age, and the grade level taught by the teacher.

For the purposes of this study, the sample was two hundred thirty-three (233) and was assumed to be a sample from a hypothetical population of present and future teachers in the school district. The data were collected at a 97.4 percent rate of completion with a 100 percent response from sixty-eight (68) principals. The data were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient to determine the correlation between the two variables. The same statistical treatment was used to measure the relation- ships between the teachers' eleven theme scores and the principals' perception of effectiveness in these same areas.

The results indicated an overall correlation for the two variables in the positive direction but not at a level of significance. Eight statistically significant correlations emerged among the themes and categories of teachers in the study.

The researcher recommends additional studies in school systems currently using The Urban Teacher Perceiver Interview. Since the teacher selection process should include a variety of sources of information, continued use of this interview instrument is supported for the purposes of identifying teacher talents but not as the sole determiner for employment.

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