Democratic Community in Public K-12 Schools in Alabama

Abstract

In many schools today, there is low teacher morale amongst faculty. One way to increase morale is to implement democratic community within schools where teachers can have a sense of belonging and collaborating to educate students. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationships between democratic community, teacher morale, teacher commitment, and teachers’ intent to stay in public schools in Alabama. Data were collected from a sample of public-school teachers in Alabama using an instrument that consisted of four measures: teacher morale, commitment, intent to stay, and WorldBlu School Survey. Data was analyzed via a linear regression model to determine if an association between democratic community and the four measures exist. The findings reveal the association between democratic community and the alignment of variables of teachers’ intent to stay and the commitment of teachers were found to be positive and statistically significant. However, teacher morale was found not as significant in an indirect effect on the association between democratic community and the variables of teachers’ intent to stay and the commitment of teachers. Recommendations for future practice include promoting a democratic community within a school environment. Further, it is suggested that future researchers explore the relationships between democratic community alignment, teaching commitment, and teachers’ intentions, further investigating mediating variables such as school climate, teacher experiences, and leadership styles that may impact teacher commitment and intent to stay.