Voices From the Frontlines: How Rehired Teachers in Turnaround Settings Experience the Reform

Abstract

The 2001 passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) marked the beginning of an increased federal presence in school reform efforts (Dee, 2012; US Department of Education, 2003). While reauthorized in 2015, from 2001-2015, NCLB required all schools and districts receiving Title I funds to track student achievement by measuring the adequate yearly progress (AYP) of students on standardized tests (Mathis, 2009; NCLB, 2001). Failure to make AYP for more than two consecutive years garnered the “school in need of improvement” designation (US Department of Education, 2003); schools with “needs improvement” status for five consecutive years faced the threat of restructuring. To compel aggressive restructuring, the federal government increased the budget for School Improvement Grants (SIGs) to $549 billion, with the caveat that one of four restructuring models (turnaround, transformation, restart, or closure) be used as the reform method (Dragoset et al, 2015; Ed. Gov, 2011). Turnaround, the focus of this study, enacts sweeping changes in curricula, structure, instruction, and staffing, particularly requiring the removal of the principal and allowing no more than 50% of the current teaching staff to be rehired (Dee, 2012; Calkins et al., 2007; Hassel et al, 2006; NCLB, 2001). Educational turnaround research has done very little to catalogue the experiences of these rehired teachers with the federal turnaround model. This dissertation seeks, then, to illuminate the rehired teachers’ experiences with the reform, as well as their impression of the policy as it was enacted in their settings. The study also seeks insight into the role rehired teachers played in the process and areas in which they received or provided support. The findings of an initial pilot study revealed that at different stages of the reform (announcement, process, implementation), teachers experienced a range of emotions, from disappointment to appreciation. In this current study, rehired teachers reported similar experiences including grief, distrust and empowerment. However, this study also unearthed a connection between the participants’ turnaround experiences and psychological contract violation. Notably, the findings suggest that the manner in which reform is enacted, may affect the rehired teachers’ experiences and minimize the effects of contract violation.