Abstract
The recent wave of reform reports in education promulgated a wide variety of recommendations to address identified concerns. This research explores an issue mostly ignored by the reform reports, the working conditions teachers face. Utilizing ethnographic techniques and multisite analyses of in-depth case studies of six schools in two large urban areas, the authors identify five broad categories of stressors in the work environment, including governance/leadership, budget cuts, security, staff relations, and student issues. In addition, two major themes characterizing working conditions for teachers are specified, the no respect syndrome and barriers to teaching. The need to address these issues before attempting to implement the major reforms in the national reports is highlighted.
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Ginsberg, R., Schwartz, H., Olson, G. et al. Working conditions in urban schools. Urban Rev 19, 3–23 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01108421
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01108421