An Examination of Relationships Between Conditions of School Facilities and Teacher Satisfaction and Attributes in High Poverty Rural Schools

Abstract

The study examined whether a relationship exist between teachers’ perceptions of the quality of their school facility and their overall satisfaction and attitudes. The study also sought to determine whether perceptual differences between respondents based on gender, years of experience, or grade level taught. Respondents were teachers in rural school systems in a Southern state.

The researcher used a quantitative research approach as the primary method of inquiry. The instrument used was the My Classroom Appraisal Protocol (Earthman & Lemasters, 2009). An additional open-ended question was added to the survey to gather feedback from teachers relative to the condition of their school and classroom facilities. The data sources included survey results from 136 individuals. All respondents were working in schools classified as Rural Distant.

Descriptive statistics were used to analyze quantitative data. Content analysis was applied to the open-ended response question. Findings indicated moderately high levels of overall teacher satisfaction with the condition of their building. Overall Satisfaction, Classroom Assessment, Attitudinal Assessment, and Student Learning means were all above the midpoint of the five-point Likert scale at moderately high levels. Overall, the mean was slightly less for Student Learning in relationship to Classroom Assessment, Attitudinal Assessment, and Overall Satisfaction across all scales. There were no significant differences based on gender, grade level taught, or number of years of teaching experience for any of the areas examined.

Responses to the open-ended question indicated that some respondents were working in unsatisfactory buildings or classrooms. However, the number of respondents was very small. Additionally, a large percent of respondents reported that the conditions of their facility or classroom was not a factor in their decision to stay or to leave their school.

These results are not consistent with previous research findings. The researcher presents possible reasons for this discrepancy. The study concludes with recommendations for further study based upon the findings.