Date of Graduation

1997

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the relationships between school organizational health, teacher commitment, and student achievement as measured by third and sixth grade CTBS test scores. The purposes of the study were to determine whether relationships existed between school health and achievement, teacher commitment and achievement, and the combined variables of school health and teacher commitment and student achievement. A sample of 504 teachers in 29 identified schools in four counties of southwestern West Virginia was chosen. Each participant was provided a packet which contained a cover letter, a sheet with five demographic questions, the Organizational Health Inventory for Elementary Schools (OHI-E), and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). The return rate was 71%. The data were analyzed using regression analysis to determine if any significant relationships existed. The level of significance was set at {dollar}p<.05.{dollar} The following findings resulted: A statistically significant relationship was found between school health and achievement for sixth graders, but not for third graders. However, on subscales of the OHI-E, a significant relationship was found between collegial leadership and achievement at the third grade level and between academic emphasis and achievement at the sixth grade level. No significant relationships existed between teacher commitment and student achievement at either grade level. A significant relationship was established between the combined measures of health and commitment and achievement at the sixth grade level, but not at the third grade level. The results of this study provided confirmation to the existing literature which suggests the importance of school climate or health on student achievement. The results did not confirm some literature and the hypothesis of the study pertaining to a significant and positive relationship between teacher commitment and achievement. The study concludes that the creation and maintenance of a healthy school climate, especially the presence of principal leadership that emphasizes both consideration and task initiation and an academic climate that creates a press for achievement, will increase student achievement. While commitment and achievement were not significantly related in the study, further investigation is recommended. The study also found a strong relationship between SES and achievement in the identified schools.

Download

Share

COinS