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Abstract:
Exploration into the characteristics of how teacher's absenteeism, classroom management and leadership affect's student's performance in school. Teacher's absence has a tremendous internal and external affect in student's performance. Leadership style(s) should be a foremost applicable behavior utilized by all teacher's in the classroom. Teacher's leadership effect classroom management and modified based on student's behavior. Hence, the lack of leadership and classroom management are main causal of negative results in students' performance in the classroom. Multiple styles of leadership are required with classroom management or the results could be detrimental to student's performance. Classroom management techniques are applied using principles of conditioning so rewards and reinforcements are learned through academic stimuli. School administrators and teachers should share their empirical data's to foster a leadership environment that engages and enriches students to improve their learning skills in the classroom and beyond. The qualitative research is a combination of interviewing, collecting empirical data and professional real life experiences to improve the academic quality in our nation's classroom. The 21 st century educational environment required teachers and administrators to be multi-faceted in teaching, leadership and real life experience to embrace multiculturalism with passion. The challenge is here and now, not yesterday or tomorrow in our nations school system!!
TEACHER'S ABSENCE, CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP IN THE CLASSROOM; A TEACHER'S PERSPECTIVE
The author's opinions and beliefs of the qualitative research findings encouraged him to reflect on his tenure as a teacher, administrator and leadership in the classroom. The author believes his experience was very similar to that of other teachers who responded during volunteered conversations in the teacher's faculty room in schools. It was the researchers' experience that when a teacher was absent, it was more customary to split classes and/or combine the class absent the teacher with existing classes rather than hire a substitute teacher. This practice was customary because of the limited supply of qualified substitutes. It was very difficult to manage and teach the class and effectively integrate another group of students who were not familiar with their teaching methods. From the author's perspective, classroom management was ineffective in the over-crowded classroom and the student's motivation to learn was adversely impacted. Maintaining student's behavior and performance were futile and at times became chaotic when a teacher was absent for more than one day. Thus, teacher's would scramble to find/or utilize a leadership style that can effectively manage the large class size and successfully lead in the classroom.
The teacher's perspectives regarding the performance of students when taught by a substitute is also supported by the literature review. They indicated that they believe student's performance does change when taught by a substitute. The study conducted by Darling-Hammond and St. Michel (1995) found that the replacement teacher for the public classroom does not provide the same quality of expertise expected by the students or teachers, but seems to be the only method commonly used. Substitute teachers do not always measure up to the regular classroom teacher's routine and methods to stimulate students to learn (Darling-Hammond, 1995; St. Michel, 1995). The verbatim comments by the teachers also indicate that the students are forced to adjust to someone new and that their behavior and performance suffers and substitute teachers are not able to teach the students as effectively as the regular classroom teacher. The literature review further points to research that found substitute teachers were significantly less effective than regular classroom teachers (Elliot & Manlove, 1977). It suggests that there is a breakdown in organizational structure and that the absence of clear expectations; such as, performance feedback, leadership style, classroom management and disciplinary skills further weaken the effectiveness of substitute teachers.
The author believes that teachers are too often the one expected to be flexible. They are asked to manage over-crowded classes, they are expected to perform without strong support from administration, and they are expected to excel despite the lack of incentives to motivate them to take on the additional responsibilities. The teacher respondents overwhelmingly indicated that stress is the primary cause of teacher absenteeism, lack of leadership and poor classroom management. It is the combination of the day to day emotional, physical and intellectual energy expended that creates the level of stress. Add to these conditions the need to take on another group of students because a colleague is absent. Despite these conditions, a greater understanding of the issues raised by teachers around the nation related to teacher absenteeism. The solution to this problem should not be a decline in quality of education, yet this seems to be the acceptable solution to date.
It has also been the author's experience that the school administration acknowledges that they are aware of the problem with teacher absenteeism, classroom management and leadership; and they are taking steps to correct them. However, little evidence exists that steps are being taken to address teacher absenteeism or improve the substitution process, whether it is an actual replacement teacher or a combined class. Teachers are being forced to take leaves of absence in order to express their dissatisfaction with the administration. Sometimes, they find the situations in the school system so subjective that they take leave of absence, knowing their student's would be placed in another teacher's classroom. Such actions by teachers are deliberate in order for them to have or maintain a sense of sanity and return to work at a later date. Zwieback (1995) indicates that 25% of the nations' 3.5 million teachers regularly continue to abuse their school system's sick leave policy.
Teachers are tired of the promises made by the administration. Administrators blame the board of education for their lack of support, the parents for their lack of involvement, and the budget for its inability to stretch far enough to provide adequate resources in classrooms. Teachers, teach because they love it. It is a passion for us to teach students and watch with anticipation their growth and development. Teachers are expected to perform and should therefore be compensated well for their expertise and contribution. The teacher's position should not be regarded in society as a second or third rated profession and yet be entrusted with the precious young and young adult lives who will be our future leaders. The author often wonders how many of the school administrators forgot that at one time, they too were teachers in a similar position.
As the researcher reflects on his personal professional experience as an administrator, his recollection of the challenges of trying to determine who is the customer is also top of mind. Is it the students or the teachers? Surely, the ultimate customer is the student, as they are the beneficiaries of the education process. However, the fact remains that the education process doesn't exist without the teacher. Administrators have the unenviable task of trying to make everyone happy, the board of education, the teachers, the parents, the students, and the community at large. The administrators are constantly negotiating how to spread the limited resources across all of the demands of the system. They are concerned that the quality of the facilities are maintained, materials, books, technology and supplies are stocked, safety and security is assured, and an adequate number of qualified teachers or substitutes are available to teach. Teachers do not realize the broader range of issues and challenges administrators need to consider.
The author believes that these influences are the basis for the differences in perception and opinion between teachers and administrators. Despite that however, it is not a reason to avoid addressing the causes and potential solutions for teacher absence, classroom management and leadership in schools. This is a 3.3 billion dollar problem. This is also a problem that Malick (1996) believes has a more detrimental and disruptive effect on student achievement than any other factor. Although most of the survey respondents disagreed with this statement, they all believe teacher absenteeism has a negative impact on student performance. If students are the ultimate customers of the education process, optimizing their performance should be the primary motivating factor to fix the problem of teacher absenteeism.
Jacobson's (1989) study also concluded that teacher absenteeism and poor attitude might impede students' academic growth. The author hypothesized that the relationship developed between student and teachers indeed influenced students' performance. Thus, when linked to the quality of instructional time, the frequent absence of a classroom teacher would weaken the student-teacher bond and cause student absences. Students who were frequently absent from school, when asked why they chose not to go to school, responded in the following manner. "If my teacher does not come to school, why should I?" (Jacobson, 1989, p. 289). In support of this, Ehrenberg et al. (1991) stated the following: "higher teacher absentee rates may reduce students' motivation to attend school and further lead to higher student absentee rates" (p. 78). Ironically, national data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (1996) demonstrated that urban teachers did not regard teacher absenteeism as a major problem. The data from this study revealed that only 1.6 percent of all teachers believed that their absences from the classroom presented a serious barrier to student achievement.
In a Nation at Risk (1983), the achievement scores of American students were compared with the scores of students from other industrialized nations. The authors found that the achievement scores of American students were related to the quality and quantity of instructional time. Time lost by students because of the absence of the regular classroom teacher was a significant problem that slowed or halted academic and emotional growth (Darling-Hammond, 1995, A Nation at Risk, 1983). Woods (1990) found that nationally, teacher absence rates were significantly higher in public schools than the absence rates of persons working in private industry. The author was concerned with the dilemma facing schoolteacher's absenteeism, which has become a national crisis when compared to private industry absences. Regardless of the reasons for teacher absenteeism, students were affected (Pitkoff, 1991, 1993; Winkler, 1980). Thus, Leake and Leake (1995) urged urban school districts to examine the linkage between student failure and the frequency of teacher absences. According to St. Michel (1995) student failure can preclude student achievement. "If student achievement is to increase, then instruction must be maximized every day!" (St. Michel, 1995, p. 3). However, teachers cannot maximize instruction if they are not in the classroom. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (1992) found that the effectiveness of the teacher depended on his/her stability as the regular classroom instructor.
The board discovered that the more the teacher was present to deliver instructional information and to also monitor skills, the greater the result of academic growth. Elementary students were even more influenced by the behavior because of their developmental need to be surrounded by familiar people and structured learning activities as compared to middle and high school students (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Ostapczuk, 1994; Jasmin 2008: Pennsylvania School Boards Association, 1992; Woods, 1990). Skidmore (1984) suggested "high absenteeism seriously cheats students out of productive time in class if academic correction is not made" (p. 40). The replacement teacher for the public classroom teacher and/or private classroom teacher does not provide the same quality of expertise expected by the students and teachers, but seem to be the only method commonly used. Substitute teachers do not always measure up to the regular classroom teacher's routine and methods to stimulate students to learn (Darling-Hammond, 1995; St. Michel, 1995). Administrators also expected substitute teachers to perform as effectively as the regular classroom teachers (St. Michel, 1995).
According to Ostapczuk (1994), students were spending five to eight percent of their school year with a substitute teacher, with data showing that these percentages were increasing with each passing year. Considering the increased use of substitute teachers and the decreased effectiveness of instruction, student achievement scores in the urban school settings have continued to decline (Ascher, 1991; Darling-Hammond, 1995).
The problem of teacher absenteeism is an increasing concern among the nation's educators. Norton (1998) conducted a statewide study concerning school administrators, and found that 71 percent of them reported teacher absenteeism as one of the leading problems facing them. The study reported substitute teaching as the third highest-ranked "serious" problem facing school personnel directors and named teacher absenteeism as the number one ranked "general problem" encountered in their work. Not only are the monetary costs of teacher absenteeism escalating, but the difficulty of finding qualified substitute personnel is also a growing problem for many school districts.
Research on teacher absenteeism has centered largely on (a) who is absent from teaching responsibilities and how often, (b) causes for teacher absences, (c) absenteeism and student achievement, (d) the relationship of school climate and the absence of employees and (e) the impact of various incentives on teacher absenteeism. Gender, age levels, and personality traits are among those characteristics most often examined in studies of absenteeism in schools. Differences in absence levels as the age group of teachers varied was not significant, but women and men did reveal different patterns of absenteeism with age. The number of absences claimed by female teachers increased with age. Male teachers, on the other hand, claimed more days in their thirties than at any other age (Unicomb,1992).
Scott and McClellan (1990) supported this finding and noted that there was a significant difference in the occurrence of absence for men between the ages of 21-39. Overall, male teachers had significantly fewer absences than female teachers. Average days-of-absence for females was 5.29 per year; males averaged 3.39 days. Elementary school teachers averaged 6.63 days of absence per year compared to 3.32 days for secondary personnel. The school level taught, elementary or secondary, and the level of teaching license held were the two primary predictors of teacher absence. The higher the degree held by the teacher, the higher the days of absence (Scott & McClellan, 1990). Although several studies have noted higher absenteeism on Mondays and Fridays, this finding is not consistent. Unicomb et al., (1992) disclosed that teachers were absent on Wednesdays more frequently than any other day. November, January, and April were peak months for teacher absences.
Research has not been consistent concerning the rate of absenteeism and the number of years of teaching. Porwoll (1980) reported that teachers with two to four years of teaching experience and those with 23-25 years had the fewest absences. Porwoll (1980) also noted that other researchers were unable to establish any relationship between the number of years of teaching experience and teacher attendance. Jacobson (1989) reported that senior teachers nearing retirement often were absent more frequently than others. However, Ehrenberg (1991) found that the greater the proportion of teachers older than age 55, the lower the usage of sick leave days. These researchers speculated that the fewer absences by this age group were likely due to the expected payoff for their retirement in the near future.
There are also mediating social factors involved in the linkage between stress and illness behavior among urban public school teachers. Dworkin (1990) found a low but statistically significant relationship between job stress and reported stress-induced illness. A second hypothesis of the same study with statistical significance found stress-induced illness is lower among teachers assigned to schools when the principal is seen. However, a third hypothesis related to stress-induced illness and the presence of supportive co-workers was not significant. Unlike the supportive school principal, supportive co-workers did not reduce the level of stress-induced illness reported by teachers.
The rate of teacher absenteeism has been found to be highest in elementary and most middle schools, schools with lower student achievement, schools composed of economically disadvantaged and minority students, and schools that do not require teachers to speak to their immediate supervisor about pending absence, urban schools districts and districts with enrollments in excess of 257,000 (Pitkoff, 1993, p. 39). The importance of this study is very significant relative to student achievement, it states: In schools where students are poorest and failing the most academically, teachers tend to be absent more often. In one study, the percentage of students reading below grade level was found to be the greatest predictor of school employee absenteeism, followed by the percentage of students eligible to receive free lunch (Pitkoff, 1993, p. 57).
In general, studies relating the direct effects of teacher absenteeism on student achievement are limited and tend to differ in their findings. For example, in a study that focused on fourth-grade reading results, it was determined that teacher absenteeism adversely affected student achievement (Summers & Raivetz, 19982). O'Brien (1985) also found negative impacts of teacher absenteeism on student learning. Yet, in contrast Ziomek and Schoenberger (1983) were unable to establish such an association. Madden (1991) and Ehrenberg (1991) also did not support the contention that student academic performance was associated with teacher absence. In view of Pitkoff's (1993) finding that school employees rated as unsatisfactory tend to be absent significantly more days than those rated satisfactory, a reasonable conclusion might be that the absence of a "poor" teacher does not impact as negatively on student learning.
"Teacher absenteeism" is regarded as a vital problem in the education system today. The definition of absenteeism is as complicated and descriptive as human nature (Chadwick-Jone, Nicholson, & Brown, 1982, p. 72). The loss of productivity and profits were the major cause for business and industry to begin developing research on this subject (Moline, 1988; Pitkoff, 1993; Woods, 1990). The private sector has always been sensitive to the relationship between employee absenteeism and fiscal loss (Pennsylvania School Boards Association, 1992). The same research prompted educators to examine the conditions of teacher's absentee rates to determine if this behavior adversely affected student's academic performance.
According to the Reading Today (1998), private school teachers tend to be more satisfied than public school teachers, and elementary school teachers tend to be more satisfied than secondary school teachers, because the private school teachers receive a great deal of parental support as opposed to the public school teachers; the fiduciary responsibility the parent(s) for their child or children education. Through the early 1990's, research continued to support the notion that teachers reacted positively to increased power and autonomy in matters of curriculum and discipline (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Jacobson, et al., 1993; Pitkoff, 1991; Scott & Wimbush, 1991).
Empowered teachers were more successful in actually accomplishing their organizational and individual objectives (i.e., classroom management and leadership styles) (Scott & Wimbush, 1991). The authors suggested that site-based management increased the opportunity for teachers to exercise their option of choice, which was largely the process of selecting their student's daily learning experiences. As teachers became more actively involved in instruction and curriculum procedures, they also became more active as role models, and as a result gave a positive example to students who had bad attendance practices. A positive work environment fostered lower rates of teacher attendance (Scott & Wimbush, 1991). Henceforth, "the perceived ability to attend" was increased in schools where teachers felt they had input (Scott & Wimbush, 1991). The authors mentioned, "The relationship between the employee's motivation to attend and their actual presence on the job could be perceived by the employees as having control of their work environment" (p. 509). As a result, "this perception may have influenced the employee's attendance barriers" (p. 509). Attendance barriers were defined as untimely circumstances for teacher illness, family illness, unexpected personal responsibilities, and transportation problems that prevented employees from going to work. In these parameters, employees may have been motivated to attend work, but, due to involuntary circumstances, were unable to actually do so (Scott & Wimbush, 1991).
Though attendance is a daily part of any school system's structure, no organization should deprive teachers of the ability to be absent from work when needed (Ehrenberg et al., 1991). However, Zwieback (1995) indicates, that the problem still exists whereas 25 percent of the nations' 3.5 million teachers regularly continue to abuse their school system's sick leave policy. This behavior resulted in severely reducing students' academic productivity, as well as a loss of the school system's financial resources (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Leake & Leake, 1995; Pitkoff, 1993; Winkler, 1980; Woods, 1990). Malick (1996) concurred saying, "Teacher absenteeism had a negative impact on the financial resources of a school system, but, more importantly, it had a detrimental and disruptive effect on student achievement" (p. 1). In contrast Ehrenberg (1991) suggested teachers should be able to take days off to improve their mental health and performance.
Substitute Teacher Theories
The study of teacher absenteeism must also include the problem that develops with increased numbers of substitute teachers. "The use of substitute teachers is an unfortunate dilemma and process but a necessary practice in today's educational environment" (Bennett, 1997, p. 1). The New York Metropolitan School Study Council reported that substitute teachers were significantly less effective than regular classroom teachers (Elliott & Manlove, 1977). The school systems that hired poorly trained, uncertified, substitute teachers are adding to the problem of academic lost time (Darling-Hammond, 1995). The temporary status of the substitute teacher impaired the overall "ownership" for students' daily educational development (St. Michel, 1995; Woods, 1990). When substitute instructors were present, students were more likely to experience an incompetent teacher, or, at the very least, a teacher not adequately prepared for the instructional practices of that particular learning environment (Ehrenberg et al., 1991; Winkler, 1980). As a result, substitute teachers were unable to complete their assigned daily tasks (Ehrenberg et al., 1991; Hill, 1982; Woods, 1990).
The instructional guidance of substitute teachers is a continuous process, and the ideal classroom condition for replacement teachers is one in which they are able to continue the regular teachers lesson plans without breaking the students' daily routine, and to consistently produce academic growth (Billman, 1994; St. Michel, 1995). Substitute teachers were known to be one of the weakest instructional resources available to school systems (Billman, 1994). The quality of regular classroom teachers and substitute teachers employed by urban public schools was a major concern (Darling-Hammond, 1995). Galloway and Tharp (1996) also supported and believed that regular classroom teacher absences negatively affected the quality of academic growth for students.
A national survey found that 30 percent of all participating students with regard to substitute teachers are nothing more than babysitters (Ostapczuk, 1994). In part, the reason for this belief could be due to the lack of regular teachers' preparation of well-thought-out lesson plans that reinforced the previous day's lessons (Peterson, 1991). In addition, substitute instructors also taught subjects that did not reflect their knowledge base, education, and interest (Darling-Hammond, 1995).
School administrators and educators report many of the problems associated with substitute teachers, which appeared to be based on anecdotal observations (Ostapczuk, 1994, p. 4). Directly applied to substitute teachers, Ostapczuk, (1994) listed the following as being omitted from most educational organizational structure:
(1) Ambiguous roles for substitutes and unclear expectations, (2) the lack of feedback, and evaluation of substitutes, (3) the lack of collaboration between substitutes and the educational system, (4) the substitute's lack of authority, and (5) poor classroom management, and disciplinary skills on the part of substitute teachers. (pp. 4-5) St. Michel (1995) agreed, and concluded that some school principal's lack of effective leadership and supervisory skills caused the failures in some school systems concerning substitute teacher-training programs.
The other deficiencies in the organizational structure that prohibited substitute teachers effectiveness was the lack of leadership support from regular classroom teachers who failed to provide assistance to substitute teachers in order for them to be effective in the classroom. A national survey reported that 50 percent of the participating substitute teachers indicated that the regular classroom teachers did not provide enough information concerning their lesson plans (Ostapczuk, 1994).
School Systems Organizational Leadership Theory
Olson and Jerald (1998) argued that politics, and the rapid turnover of leadership overwhelmed city school systems. This resulted in inadequate and ill-spent resources and the hiring of teachers whose personal and professional agendas did not match the school's goals. Urban students' failure to achieve was, in part, attributed to school districts with a high frequency of teacher absences, resulting in poor academic performance from its students (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Ehrenberg et al., 1991; Lewis, 1981; Woods, 1990).
Teachers define their motivation in terms of dedication and missionary zeal, and claim success of students as both a driving motivation for sustaining high-level performance and as the ultimate reward for their effort with a sense of community. Regular classroom teachers, as well as private classroom teachers play an important role in the educational development of students. Preschool student classroom performance is affected more when teachers are absent (Snowden, 1990). The evidence of a nurturing teacher each day was more important at the elementary schools than at the secondary schools (Woods, 1990). Norton's (1998) hypothesis highly supported Skidmore's (1984) early writing that states, "High absenteeismseriously cheats students out of productive time, breaks the rhythm of the regular instruction, and lowers student's academic achievement" (p. 40).
Parental Involvement
The failure of the private and public educational system to consistently produce motivated students has resulted in a national educational crisis. School leaders are not taking ownership to the problems contributing to the crisis, instead put the blame on low income parents, single parents, teachers, and substitute teachers. Single parents, and poor families often feel ignored and misunderstood by school personnel because of their circumstances (Ascher, 1990). In order to challenge this parental behavior, a national effort must be taken to educate economically disadvantaged parents (The Challenge of Location and Poverty, 1996). It was concluded that parents spent little or no time assisting their children with homework, and also lacked the ability to schedule quality time for parental and academic discussions (Cross & Reizug, 1995).
Absenteeism Cause and Effect
The reasons for teacher absenteeism were not generally understood. Pitkoff (1993), and Woods (1990) found employee absences were chiefly caused due to the economic impact of absenteeism on the business community. Nationally, all school systems began sharing a concern about managing their financial resources, and providing all students within the community with an educational program mandated by law (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Pitkoff, 1993; Woods, 1990; Peterson, 1991). In addition, the authors agreed that teachers from private and/or public schools should be the nurturers, role models, and friends to encourage student achievement. Elementary, middle and high school administrators who understand their leadership style in relation to their personal style are better equipped to manage the demands, which are placed on them to provide an effective learning environment for all children (Penny, 1996).
Occhino (1987) found that elementary and middle school (i.e., main stream and at-risk) students depended on their teachers as a physical and psychological presence to give emotional order and social structure while involved in the learning process. "Teachers' absences peaked for elementary school teachers in 1989, and have since declined considerably, but inner city schools remained consistently high" (The Metropolitan Life Survey 1995, p. 36). Student achievement scores suffered when teacher absences accumulated to over 13 days during a school year (Lewis, 1981). Urban students at the elementary level depended on classroom teachers to facilitate the process of learning through the planned routines and higher expectations, which were modeled by the classroom teacher (Woods, 1990; The Metropolitan Life Survey, 1995). Elementary and middle school teachers, who demonstrated routine lesson plans, had high expectations, and were absent three days or less per year produced students who exceeded their expectations, compared to students whose teachers were absent more than three days (Woods, 1990).
Woods (1990) research involving, 817 fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth-grade students in two separate school systems found that the grade equivalency in their reading and math scores fell because teacher's absences increased. The author indicated that 455 students, representing 55.6 percent of the total student body, tested at a 1.0 grade equivalency. Twenty-six teachers who taught this group were found to have a 0 to 4-day range of absences. The next group was under the direction of 14 teachers who represented an absence range of 4.5 to 11 days. These teachers delivered a daily academic program to 271 students, representing 33.1 percent of the student body. A grade equivalency gain of .69 resulted from the efforts of both students and teachers. The last group of 91 students was taught by five teachers and produced a teacher absence range if 11.5 to 30 days. These student's scores resulted in a gain of .79 grade equivalency. Specifically, "the data based on teacher attendance had found that when a teacher missed more than four days of school, students' achievement dropped" (Woods, 1990, p. 63). Therefore, one reason to encourage teacher attendance is because of the impact they have by their example. Their role expands beyond instruction to academic "coach" or to use the popular jargon, "facilitator." When the role model consistently failed to show up for class, students begin to lose direction, motivation, and the sense of security.
Teachers are Role Models
Not only do private and/or public elementary school teachers affect student academic achievement, they also alter students' behaviors. As the literature elaborates, because of the frequency and intensity of interaction with students, teachers are idolized and become someone students look up to. Five days per week, students arrive at school with anticipation and expectation to interact with their teacher and classmates. "Teacher," translated in Latin is "Locus Parentis," which means "in place of the parent." Teachers are in a very precarious and unique position, not only as educators, but also as temporary parents during the school year. Just as parents have been known to have an adverse effect on their children by exposing those to inappropriate behaviors, teachers have also adversely affected students' achievement through their absenteeism (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Woods, 1990). Teachers are asked to encourage student academic curiosity, and assist in developing strong work ethics. In order to accomplish these tasks, teachers must demonstrate these values in their professional behavior each day when working with students (Ascher, 1990; Darling-Hammond, 1995).
Jacobson (1989) found students who modeled the behavior of teachers who had poor attendance, poor preparation, and a lack of interest in teaching, were also negatively affected. The academic performance of students depended largely on the teachers being in the classroom and their positive behavior toward students (Siegel & Shanghressy, 1994). Hines (1986) also asserts, that teachers who utilize positive behavior directly influences student achievement. In addition, the authors stated classroom teachers had to unselfishly demonstrate their personal and professional counseling and coaching skills to students from high rate of single-parent homes, youth crime, violence, and the low level of academic success. Teachers are expected to demonstrate exceptional skills, and be effective motivators, but these demands often produced a lack of interest and motivation because of their dissatisfaction with the conditions they were forced to operate within, and perceived the inability to make a difference (Ascher, 1990; Ehrenberg et al., 1991).
Jacobson (1989) also found that teachers who ignored family problems and gave less attention to student's emotional well being often took sick days without consideration for the effect on students. In viewing students' sensitivity to absenteeism, Ehrenberg et al., (1991) determined that students who were looking for acceptable models were negatively influenced by teachers who viewed absences as a given right that was part of their district policy. In a national survey, students often made the following observations about their teachers who were frequently absent: "If my teacher does not come to school, why should I" (Jacobson, 1989, p. 289). This behavior, as suggested by the author, gave students a license to copy the behavior of their teachers. Students who chose to be absent from the classroom were academically disadvantaged because they were behaving like their teachers. "For every three additional days students were absent, the percentage of each student who passed the standardized test fell by about 1.0 to 2.5 percentage points" (Jacobson et al., 1993, p. 91). Their grades were also adversely affected, leaving parts of their entire academic program to suffer (Jacobson et al., 1993).
Other researchers attest that the process of transferring knowledge consisted of the teacher's instructional methodology, establishing daily classroom routines, and utilizing modeling techniques that stimulated the student's curiosity to develop, enjoy and complete their daily work assigned (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Hill, 1982; Peterson, 1991; Jasmin 2008). When teachers were frequently absent, consistent stimulation did not exist. In most studies, teachers who were absent from their classrooms were not able to establish an academic connection with their students (Woods, 1990). Furthermore, Woods (1990) states "The absent teacher from the classroom had an impact on the constant and orderly manner to which the learning theory ascribed. This impact was even greater as the absences for the teacher accumulated throughout the school year" (p. 13).
Teacher's perceptions and opinions
This qualitative research specifically addressed by the open-ended conversations and questions. The teachers responded to how problematic is the issue of teacher absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in the classroom negatively affect students performance. What affects teachers absenteeism specifically has on students and what affects teachers absenteeism specifically has on other teachers are all noticeably similar. The most common theme in responding to how problematic the issue of teacher absenteeism is, all teachers state that it is not a problem in their school, or that they are not often absent. However, when responding to how teacher absenteeism specifically affects teachers, the private school teachers have specific opinions about how it "almost always increases the workload and stress of other teachers" and that "other teachers may "shoulder more responsibility" as "it makes the burden heavier for other teachers at the same grade level who have to watch two classes".
The public school teachers share the same opinions; however, it is expressed with an undertone of a shortage of available substitute teachers. One teacher stated, "When there are no substitutes available, classes must be split up. This of course adds additional students to some already overcrowded classrooms." Other teachers remarked, "Teachers depend on one another. When teachers are absent it puts a strain on teachers that have to take a divided class due to no substitute teachers." "If no sub is available, the class is divided among the teachers in that grade level." "It is a problem only when there are not enough subs and the class must be split among other teachers. This causes stress on those teachers and disrupts the learning process for both classes."
When describing what affects teacher absenteeism has on students, all but one respondent expressed similar sentiments. The most common response relates to a decline in student performance and behavior. One teacher's response captured the essence of all of them, "The student is forced to adjust to someone new in their environment. Children (students) performance and behavior will suffer because students like things that are the same, or familiar to them." Another teacher stated "students also feel they can get away with things they wouldn't try with the regular teacher."
Teacher's perceptions and opinions
The most commonly stated contributing factor is stress and fatigue. The responses that encapsulate all the teacher's opinions point to the occupational hazards' of teaching, they state, "I believe the main contributing factors to teachers absenteeism are physical, emotional, and mental fatigue. This fatigue will eventually take its toll on one's physical health causing absenteeism." "It is a job like no other, more demanding. Many times teachers need a day off to regroup." "Sometimes it is just because the teacher is stressed-out, just sick or personal home problems which is usually unavoidable and would be the same in public or private school."
Teacher's perceptions and opinions
This set of responses was the most intriguing because each teacher stated that a financial incentive or reward is the way to address teacher absenteeism. Only one of them added that "this would not be a cure all but it might be a start." The predominant theme here is that teacher's believe financial incentives and reward could change teacher's performance regarding attendance. There is no mention of reducing classroom size, increasing the availability of substitute teachers, or providing assistance to identify methods for coping with stress as possible solutions to reduce teacher absenteeism. Yet, these are the exact reasons given as the primary causes for teacher absenteeism. It is clear that the disparity of teacher compensation overshadows their ability to point to broader systemic solutions that could in fact improve the working conditions for teachers and presumably reduce the instances of teacher's absenteeism.
Research summary
The private and public school teachers and administrators responses were analyzed against the qualitative research of empirical data to date and professional real life experiences to improve the academic quality in our nation's school system. The data collected was designed to reveal any perceived affects of how teacher's absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in the classroom negatively affect student's performance. The data was recorded and summarized by identifying the specific items in the volunteer questions/responses that were similar or different to represent the research findings. The author also collected the five written essay responses and collapsed them into private and public school teacher's responses. The five written responses were identified with similar opinions and beliefs to further show there is commonality amongst the private and public elementary and middle schools.
Overall, the survey does not reveal any significant differences in the responses of private school teachers and administrators as compared with public school teachers and administrators. The few notable differences that do appear are between the teachers and administrators rather than between private and public school designations. Both groups of teachers and administrators responses indicated that teacher absenteeism has a negative effect on student achievement. Private and public school administrators agree that teacher's absenteeism effects student's motivation to learn, but they disagree that it halts student's academic and emotional growth. On the other hand, while private and public school teachers also agree that teacher's absenteeism effects student's motivation to learn, unlike the administrators, they agree that it halts student's academic and emotional growth. Another area where administrators and teachers responses differ slightly is in response to student performance when taught by substitute teachers. The majority of the administrator's responses indicated that student performance does not change when taught by a substitute teacher. Conversely, 83% of all teacher responses indicate that when taught by a substitute teacher, students' performance changes.
The most notable difference between how teachers absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in classroom negatively affect students. Most teachers only responded to the question related to the increase in use of substitute teachers and their limited knowledge of school curriculum as the major reason for declining student achievement scores. While they both disagree with this statement, the percentage difference is significant as seventy percent of elementary school teachers and thirty-two percent of middle school teachers disagree or strongly disagree. Sixty-two percent of the middle school teachers selected neutral.
This survey reveals how teacher's absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in the classroom are very similar between elementary and middle school teachers and administrators. It appears that the ability to reduce teacher absenteeism and improve student's classroom performance is a difficult problem for both groups. Teacher absenteeism is perceived as a problem within the elementary school system and most importantly, the administrators and teachers believe it is negatively affecting student performance. While there is no easy solution to this problem, this qualitative research points to several areas that can and should be further explored.
Summary of Findings
The results of this study indicate that Hillsborough County and Pinellas County public school teacher's opinions and beliefs were very similar with few differences concerning teacher's absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in the classroom. Some of differences that do appear are between teachers and administrators regardless of their school affiliation. The area where their differences are most evident is when stating their opinions about student or teacher's classroom management and leadership performance in the classroom. The administrator's responses are notably different than the teacher's. These differences are likely based on how close each group is to the learning process. The teacher's responses are consistently similar lending validity to their perceptions as they are engaged in the learning process and observe first hand the development, motivation and emotional growth of the students. They also see the impact of student's growth and development after students are exposed to a substitute teacher. The administrators are not as close to the students and therefore may base their opinions and beliefs from a more distant view. The teacher's opinions further validate these conclusions and research findings. When responding to questions that address their individual actions and behaviors, most if not all state that teacher absenteeism is not a problem in their school and that they are not absent often. However when responding to what they believe to be the main contributing factors to teacher absenteeism, how it negatively affects teacher's classroom management and leadership in the classroom; what can be done about it, their responses are strikingly similar. Among many other items, all of the teachers mentioned stress as a reason for teacher absenteeism. When responding to the affect on students, a common theme in all responses is the negative impact on behavior and performance. All of the teachers indicate the added responsibility and burden of taking on more students in their class when a teacher is absent and substitute teachers are not available. Lastly, when asked what can be done about teacher absenteeism, all teachers responded with the need for recognition and financial incentives as a solution.
Conclusions
The purpose of this qualitative research was to investigate how Teacher's Absenteeism, Classroom Management and Leadership in the Classroom Affect Student's Performance. As stated earlier, there is no significant difference in the perceived affects of teacher absenteeism between elementary and middle schools. In fact, the greatest similarity is among the groups who share the same role. The teachers and administrators both agree that student performance is impacted by teacher absenteeism and classroom management; the teachers believe the student's behavior and performance changes when taught by a substitute teacher. As the research suggests, elementary school and most at-risk students in middle and high schools are even more influenced by the teacher's performance because of the student's developmental needs and their need for familiar people, surroundings and structured learning activities (Darling-Hammond, 1995; Ostapczuk, 1994: Pennsylvania School Boards Association, 1992; Woods, 1990). Teachers simply cannot maximize instruction if they are not in the classroom.
The author's opinions and beliefs of the research findings encouraged him to reflect on his tenure as a teacher, administrator and experience with teacher absenteeism. The author believes his experience was very similar to that of the teachers who responded to the volunteered open-ended questions. It was the researchers' experience that when a teacher was absent, it was more customary to split classes and/or combine the class absent the teacher with existing classes rather than hire a substitute teacher. This practice was customary because of the limited supply of qualified substitutes and budget. It was very difficult to manage and teach the class and effectively integrate another group of students who were not familiar with my teaching methods. From the author's perspective, classroom management was ineffective in the over-crowded classroom and the student's motivation to learn was adversely impacted. Maintaining student's behavior and performance were futile and at times became chaotic when a teacher was absent for more than one day.
The teacher's perspectives regarding the performance of students when taught by a substitute is also supported by the literature review. They indicated that they believe student's performance does change when taught by a substitute. The study conducted by Darling-Hammond and St. Michel (1995) found that the replacement teacher for elementary and middle school do not provide the same quality of expertise expected by the students or teachers, but seems to be the only method commonly used. Substitute teachers do not always measure up to the regular classroom teacher's routine and methods to stimulate students to learn (Darling-Hammond, 1995; St Michel, 1995). The verbatim comments by the teachers also indicate that the students are forced to adjust to someone new and that their behavior and performance suffers and substitute teachers are not able to teach the students as effectively as the regular classroom teacher. The literature review further points to research that found substitute teachers were significantly less effective than regular classroom teachers (Elliot & Manlove, 1977). It suggests that there is a breakdown in organizational structure and that the absence of clear expectations, performance feedback, classroom management and disciplinary skills further weakens the effectiveness of substitute teachers.
The author believes that teachers are too often the one expected to be flexible. They are asked to manage over-crowded classes and they are expected to perform without strong support from administration. They are expected to excel despite the lack of incentives to motivate them to take on the additional responsibilities. The teacher respondents overwhelmingly indicated that stress is the primary cause of teacher absenteeism. It is the combination of the day to day emotional, physical and intellectual energy expended that creates the level of stress. Add to these conditions the need to take on another group of students because a colleague is absent. Despite these conditions, a greater understanding of the issues raised by teachers around the nation related to teacher absenteeism is essential. The solution to this problem should not be a decline in quality of education, yet this seems to be the acceptable solution to date.
It has also been the author's experience that the school administration acknowledges that they are aware of the problem with teacher absenteeism and they are taking steps to correct it. However, little evidence exists that steps are being taken to address teacher absenteeism or improve the substitution process, whether it is an actual replacement teacher or a combined class. Teachers are being forced to take leaves of absence in order to express their dissatisfaction with the administration. Sometimes, they find the situations in the school system so subjective that they take leave of absence toward permanent resignation, knowing their student's would be placed in another teacher's classroom. Such actions by teachers are deliberate in order for them to have or maintain a sense of sanity and return to work at a later date. Zwieback (1995) indicates that 25% of the nations' 3.5 million teachers regularly continue to abuse their school system's sick leave policy.
Teachers are tired of the promises made by the administration. Administrators blame the board of education for their lack of support, the parents for their lack of involvement, and the budget for its inability to stretch far enough to provide adequate resources in classrooms. Teachers, teach because they love it. It is a passion for us to teach students and watch with anticipation their growth and development. Teachers are expected to perform and should therefore be compensated well for their expertise and contribution. The teacher's position should not be regarded in society as a second or third rated profession and yet be entrusted with the precious young lives that will be our future leaders. The author often wonders how many of the school administrators forgot that at one time, they too were teachers in a similar position.
As the researcher reflects on his experience as an administrator, his recollection of the challenge of trying to determine who is the customer is also top of mind. Is it the students or the teachers? Surely, the ultimate customer is the student, as they are the beneficiaries of the education process. However, the fact remains that the education process doesn't exist without the teacher. Administrators have the unenviable task of trying to make everyone happy, the board of education, the teachers, the parents, the students, and the community at large. The administrators are constantly negotiating how to spread the limited resources across all of the demands of the system. They are concerned that the quality of the facilities are maintained, materials, books and supplies are stocked, safety and security is assured, and an adequate number of qualified teachers or substitutes are available to teach. Teachers do not realize the broader range of issues and challenges administrators need to consider.
The author believes that these influences are the basis for the differences in perception and opinion between teachers and administrators. Despite that however, it is not a reason to avoid addressing the causes and potential solutions for teacher absenteeism. This is a 2.3 billion dollar problem. This is also a problem that Malick (1996) believes has a more detrimental and disruptive effect on student achievement than any other factor. An unprecedented amount of educators agreed with this statement, they all believe teacher absenteeism has a negative impact on student performance. If students are the ultimate customers of the education process, optimizing their performance should be the primary motivating factor to fix the problem of teacher absenteeism.
Recommendations for Practice
The finding's of this qualitative research confirms that the teachers and administrators recognize teacher's absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in the classroom affect student's performance have become a major problem in schools. However, we are continuing to facilitate new reformations and designing new curriculum and instructions to specifically address the systemic issue of the 21 st century nation-wide educational dilemma.
Recommendations for Further Research
There are several areas where further research is recommended that could complement and enhance the findings of this study. One area for further research could include providing opportunities for future and currently practicing administrators and teachers to identify strategies to manage teacher's absenteeism. Additional research targeting administrators and obtaining a larger sample of their opinions, beliefs and recommendations for addressing teachers' classroom management would also enhance this study. Henceforth, further research that explores how incentive programs could reduce absenteeism, improve classroom management and leadership could be valuable as well. Teacher's absenteeism, classroom management and leadership in the classroom are a growing problem throughout the nation's school system. The shortage of teachers, substitutes and principals in the school system, further create a need for professional leadership development programs and professional incentive programs that encourage others to pursue public school teaching careers. Recruitment efforts that attract interest in teaching and/or training programs to become an educator should aggressively start among students in junior high school verses high school and college years, or once settled in an established career.
References
Ascher, C. (1991, September 1). Retaining good teachers in urban schools. (Eric/cue
Digest, No. 77, Eric Document Reproduction Service ED341762).
Ascher, C (1991). Testing students in urban schools: Current problems and new
directions. New York : Columbia University Institute for Urban and Minority
Education. (Eric Document Reproduction Service ED322283).
Bennett, F. (1997). Eliminating Substitute Teachers. p. 1. Retrieved from
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