Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Mayte Mourino

Committee Member

Pedro Hernandez

Committee Member

Maryellen Maher

Keywords

Special Schools/Teacher Morale/Teacher Collaboration/ School Climate/Communities of Practice

Abstract

Teachers at a separate-day special education (SPED) school for students with emotional and behavior disabilities experienced low morale, as evidenced by the annual School Climate Survey. This applied dissertation investigated if teacher morale improved at the SPED school after a 12-week, peer-support program, Critical Friends Groups (CFG). This study was designed to determine (a) what other schools have done to address low teacher morale, (b) how CFG could be implemented at the SPED school, (c) the impact of CFG on teacher morale, and (d) how teachers at this SPED school rated the CFG program’s effectiveness.

A mixed-method, quasi-experimental, parallel design was used. The Professional Quality of Life Scale measuring compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compassion fatigue and secondary trauma was administered to 20 teachers as the pre- and postintervention quantitative measure. Qualitative data included responses on weekly coaches’ logs and postintervention teacher evaluations.

Although the overall means of the scales improved, t tests revealed no significant increase in job satisfaction, no significant reduction in the propensity to burnout, and no significant impact on compassion fatigue or secondary stress at a 95% confidence interval. Qualitative data indicated that CFGs helped increase collaboration among teachers and improve the overall school climate. Teachers maintained, however, that their levels of stress remained unchanged.

Overall, teachers indicated that a structured peer-support program was beneficial and helped reduce teacher isolation and improve staff morale. School staff agreed to continue seeking ways of improving morale and coping with stress. A copy of the study was submitted to the district’s human resources department. Conducting similar studies at other sites may help improve teacher morale or at least promote collaborative inquiry and reflection.

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