Freil, Robert
(2015)
RELATIONAL FLEXIBILITY WITHIN A CONNECTED CULTURE: ELEMENTARY PRINCIPALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL FIT IN TEACHER SELECTION.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
This phenomenological study examined the perceptions public elementary school principals have of environmental fit within the teacher selection process. Environmental fit is a term used to describe congruence between an employee and the work environment. The congruence is measured through five domains of fit type, resulting in employee satisfaction, individual productivity, job competence, organizational withdrawal, or personal adjustment to the environment. The singular fit types have been studied throughout the organizational literature, and moderately within the educational literature. Research on fit congruence shows connections between organizational effectiveness and individual productivity. The possibilities presented because of these connections support the need for research into this area.
In selection studies, existing research has focused on the role, preferences and perceptions of the principal to that process, with only a few connecting a multi-dimensional fit framework to selection. This study draws on transcendental phenomenological methods to examine the perceptions of ten public elementary school principals from the mid-Atlantic region of the United States within the teacher selection process. All ten participants participated in a semi-structured, in-depth interview with opportunities for additional narrative reflections related to the overarching question of the study, “how do public elementary principals perceive the role of environmental fit within the teacher selection process?” Using the methods of phenomenological analysis, the findings convey five precepts capturing a structural essence of the participants’ fit perceptions. Principals view school culture as mutable, valuing teachers who are relational, culturally receptive, and adaptable. These teachers are instructionally competent, but fit into the environment when they contribute to others within the school. For this reason, the principals believe selection does not confirm a teacher’s fit. They utilize components of selection to determine relational dynamics that would lead candidates to integrate easily into the culture as that measure of environmental fit. This conclusion indicates a need for practitioners and school leaders to increase awareness of how relational biases and limited skills specific to salient definitions of fit outcomes influence teacher selection practices.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
21 August 2015 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
7 July 2015 |
| Approval Date: |
21 August 2015 |
| Submission Date: |
28 July 2015 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
150 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Administrative and Policy Studies |
| Degree: |
EdD - Doctor of Education |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
Teacher Selection, Phenomenology, Principal Preferences, Environmental Fit |
| Date Deposited: |
21 Aug 2015 14:02 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 14:29 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25835 |
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