Abstracts Category : Other

Teacher Engagement In Grades 4-8

by Christopher Kirill Sokolov

In a review of previous literature, this study attempted to delineate and define work engagement, generally, and teacher engagement specifically. It aimed to illuminate the importance of identifying and understanding when a teacher is engaged. This study suggested ways school leaders and policy makers could use teacher engagement to improve the teaching and learning that takes place in their schools. This study measured teacher engagement at a small independent K 8 school in two ways: (a) as a personal trait (using the Engaged Teachers Scale or ETS administered once); (b) as a state that may change over time (using an Experience Sampling Method form or ESF multiple times over the course of a work week). The ESF also measured variables on instructional format and levels of interaction with an administrator. The findings of this study described the teacher engagement of the population sampled. It weighed the relationship between trait teacher engagement and state teacher engagement. It found a significant relationship between a teachers engagement when measured as a static trait and that teachers engagement when measured as a dynamic state. The study found a significant relationship between trait teacher engagement and a teachers social interactions with students. It did not find a similarly significant relationship when considering state teacher engagement. This study also considered the relationship between teacher engagement and a teachers last interaction with an administrator. It also considered a teachers social engagement with colleagues. The study explored the relationships between teacher engagement and the mean number of different instructional formats used in each class period. Finally, the study considered the relationships that might be present between teacher engagement and the percentage of time that a teacher uses varying instructional formats.