Advertisement

Journal of Educational Change

, Volume 14, Issue 4, pp 445–464 | Cite as

Collective responsibility for learning: Effects on interactions between novice teachers and colleagues

  • Hong Qian
  • Peter Youngs
  • Kenneth Frank
Article
First Online:

Abstract

This paper uses theory from sociology of education to explore associations between mentors’ and senior colleagues’ perceptions of schoolwide collective responsibility and the frequency of their interactions with novice teachers. Survey data was collected from novice teachers, their mentors, and their school-based colleagues in 6 Michigan districts and 5 Indiana districts in 2007–2008. The findings suggest that mentors’ perceptions of collective responsibility for learning are strongly associated with their interactions with mentees, and that senior colleagues’ perceptions of schoolwide collective responsibility are also critical to their interactions with novice teachers. This study has implications for principals’ efforts to facilitate interactions between beginning teachers and their mentors and colleagues about core instructional issues.

Keywords

Collective responsibility Teacher interactions Novice teachers Senior colleagues Teacher network 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Allison, P. D. (1990). Change scores as dependent variables in regression analysis. Sociological Methodology, 20, 93–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Bidwell, C. E., Frank, K. A., & Quiroz, P. (1997). Teacher types, workplace controls, and the organization of schools. Sociology of Education, 70(4), 285–307.Google Scholar
  3. Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., & Wyckoff, J. (2009). Teacher preparation and student achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 31(4), 416–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  4. Bryk, A., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
  5. Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S., & Easton, J. O. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
  6. Coburn, C. E. (2001). Collective sensemaking about reading: How teachers mediate reading policy in their professional communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2), 145–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Coburn, C. E., & Russell, J. (2008). District policy and teachers’ social networks. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(3), 203–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Cohen, J., & Cohen, B. (1983). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
  9. Darling-Hammond, L., & McLaughlin, M. (1995). Policies that support professional development in an era of reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 76(8), 597–603.Google Scholar
  10. Fletcher, S., Strong, M., & Villar, A. (2008). An investigation of the effects of variations in mentor-based induction on the performance of students in California. Teachers College Record, 110(10), 2271–2289.Google Scholar
  11. Frank, K. A. (2009). Quasi-ties: Directing resources to members of a collective. American Behavioral Scientist, 52, 1613–1645.Google Scholar
  12. Frank, K. A., & Fahrbach, K. (1999). Organization culture as a complex system: Balance and information in models of influence and selection. Organization Science, 10(3), 253–277.Google Scholar
  13. Frank, K. A., Maroulis, S., Belman, D., & Kaplowitz, M. D. (2011). The social embeddedness of natural resource extraction and use in small fishing communities. In W. W. Taylor, A. J. Lynch, & M. G. Schechter (Eds.), Sustainable fisheries: Multi-level approaches to a global problem (pp. 309–332). Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society.Google Scholar
  14. Fry, S. W. (2009). Characteristics and experiences that contribute to novice elementary teachers’ success and efficacy. Teacher Education Quarterly, 36(2), 95–110.Google Scholar
  15. Glazerman, S., Isenberg, E., Dolfin, S., Bleeker, M., Johnson, A., Grider, M., et al. (2010). Impacts of comprehensive teacher induction: Final results from a randomized controlled study. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.Google Scholar
  16. Goddard, R. D., Hoy, W. K., & Hoy, A. W. (2000). Collective teacher efficacy: Its meaning, measure, and effect on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(2), 479–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Goddard, Y. L., Neumerski, C., Goddard, R. D., Salloum, S. J., & Berebitsky, D. (2010). Amultilevel exploratory study of the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of principals’ instructional support and group norms for instruction in elementary schools. The Elementary School Journal, 111(2), 336–357.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Kapadia, K., Coca, V., & Easton, J. Q. (2007). Keeping new teachers: A first look at the influences of induction in the Chicago Public Schools. Chicago: Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago.Google Scholar
  19. Kardos, S. M., Johnson, S. M., Peske, H. G., Kauffman, D., & Liu, E. (2001). Counting on colleagues: New teachers encounter the professional cultures of their schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 37(2), 250–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Lee, V. E., & Loeb, S. (2000). School size in Chicago elementary schools: Effects on teachers’ attitudes and students’ achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 37(1), 3–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Lee, V. E., & Smith, J. B. (1996). Collective responsibility for learning and its affects on gains in achievement and engagement for early secondary students. American Journal of Education, 104(2), 103–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Macy, M. W. (1990). Chains of cooperation: Threshold effects in collective action. American Sociological Review, 56(6), 730–747.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. McPherson, M., Smith-Lovin, L., & Cook, J. M. (2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 415–444.Google Scholar
  24. Newmann, F. M., & Associates (1996). Authentic achievement: Restructuring schools for intellectual quality. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
  25. Pogodzinski, B., Youngs, P., & Frank, K. (in press). Collegial climate and novice teachers’ intent to remain teaching. American Journal of Education.Google Scholar
  26. Pogodzinski, B., Youngs, P., Frank, K., & Belman, D. (2012). Administrative climate and novice teachers’ intent to remain teaching. Elementary School Journal, 113(2), 252–275.Google Scholar
  27. Rowan, B., Camburn, E., & Correnti, R. (2004a). Using teacher logs to measure the enacted curriculum: A study of literacy teaching in third-grade classrooms. Elementary School Journal, 105(1), 75–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Rowan, B., Harrison, D. M., & Hayes, A. (2004b). Using instructional logs to study mathematics curriculum and teaching in the early grades. Elementary School Journal, 105(1), 103–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Shulman, L. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Smith, T., & Ingersoll, R. (2004). What are the effects of induction and mentoring on beginning teacher turnover? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 681–714.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Steiner, P. M., Cook, T. D., Shadish, W. R., & Clark, M. H. (2010). The importance of covariate selection in controlling for selection bias in observational studies. Psychological Methods, 15(3), 250–267.Google Scholar
  32. Youngs, P. (2007). District induction policy and new teachers’ experiences: An examination of local policy implementation in Connecticut. Teachers College Record, 109(3), 797–837.Google Scholar
  33. Youngs, P., Frank, K. A., Thum, Y. M., & Low, M. (2012). The motivation of teachers to produce human capital and conform to their social contexts. In T. Smith, L. Desimone, & A. C. Porter (Eds.), Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education: Vol. 110. Organization and effectiveness of high-intensity induction programs for new teachers (pp. 248–272). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
  34. Youngs, P., Holdgreve-Resendez, R., & Qian, H. (2011). The role of instructional program coherence in beginning elementary teachers’ induction experiences. Elementary School Journal, 111(3), 455–476.Google Scholar
  35. Zhao, Y., & Frank, K. A. (2003). An ecological analysis of factors affecting technology use in schools. American Educational Research Journal, 40(4), 807–840.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Michigan State UniversityEast LansingUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options