Teachers' moral authority: An undervalued resource for school order and safety.
Item
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Title
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Teachers' moral authority: An undervalued resource for school order and safety.
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Identifier
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AAI3159234
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identifier
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3159234
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Creator
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Michalowski, Raymond J., III.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Julia Wrigley
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Date
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2005
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General | Education, Sociology of | Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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Concerns about violence and disorder in U.S. public schools have led to expanded use of security measures and personnel (Devine 1996; Gottfredson et al. 2000; Garcia 2003) as well as renewed interest by researchers in school authority relations and discipline practices (McFarland 2001; Ingersoll 2003; Pace 2003; Arum 2004; Public Agenda 2004). Research has shown that when schools are smaller and function more like communities, student behavior is better and achievement is higher (Coleman and Hoffer 1987; Bryk and Driscoll 1988; Raywid 1993; Battistich et al. 1995; Battistich and Hom 1997). The comparative influence of factors that are associated with levels of school violence or disorder, however, has not been adequately assessed at the national level. This research uses a sample of public schools from the nationally representative 1999--2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (U.S. Department of Education 2004) and Structural Equation Modeling to assess the relative effects that school security measures and violence prevention programs, and two facets of school community, levels of parent involvement and teachers' authority over school discipline practices, have to student misconduct and violent behavior. Results indicate that the benefits of these two facets of school community far outweigh the benefits of increased school security efforts in junior and senior high schools. As evidence of intergenerational closure (Coleman and Hoffer 1987), increased parental involvement in junior high schools is associated with higher levels of teachers' authority and a reduction in the use of security measures. These effects are not present in high schools where parental involvement is lower. These core findings echo the importance sociological theorist Emile Durkheim attached to teachers' moral authority and the functioning of schools as communities early in the twentieth century. School size is, however, associated with both lowered levels of teachers' authority and an increase in the level of student misconduct and violent behavior. Further, an increase in minority concentration is associated with a disproportionate increase in school size and the use of security measures in city schools. The study concludes with the theoretical and policy implications of the findings, along with a discussion of the study's limitations and suggestions for further research.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
