Effects of High Perception of School on Teacher Performance: Atha Elementary School - Case Study Example

Effects of High Perception of School on Teacher Performance: A case study of Atha Elementary school Executive Summary Human behavior conforms to trends influenced by perceptions. In reference to teacher performance, it is evident that the perceptions of teachers influence hoe effectively they would aid in the process of information discourse. In this case, the study focuses on Atha elementary school to give an insight into the correlation between teacher performance and the perceptions formed. He two factors that are highlighted as been significant on formation of perceptions in the learning process are the age of the teacher and the level of education of the teacher. Introduction Humans behave in such a way that they tend to form expectations of new places, events and even other people that they are yet to meet. The expectations set would always resonate on how they react to the people, events or even places when they finally get there. This behavior begins at tender age and stays with humans to old age. The anxiety that is built while waiting, especially to get to a new place, makes the wait to get there worthwhile. In adulthood, the behavior still persists and to some extent would be referred to as anxiety. The anxiety most definitely affects performance at work. How much a person likes a place of work largely depends on how much perception he developed for the same. A school teacher graduates from college and has several expectations for the job. When they finally get to the real working environment and meet the situation on the ground, the level of commitment they dedicate to the job would vary depending on how much they might have expected and how much they received. Should the work environment meet the perception, then there is a tendency of the teacher giving the job his best effort. Literature Review Richard, in an effort to study people’s behavior and motivation of human resource, writes that human response to a call is largely dependent on the perception that they had set for the very call. When a person is set to work voluntarily, should he get some payment, then the effect of the payment would not to a larger extent attract him to the job. He claims that after creating an expectation for a given carrier, the expectation would always act as the first motivator to the carrier. Most people switch their college degree programs half way depending on this. The consolation, at times, is that the effects of perception can always be washed away with time and the inclusion of other motivators to the job package. A person expecting a higher salary from the first job and fails to find it can be made to love the job by offering conducive working environment. In such a case, getting a staff bus to transport employees to and from work, getting employees’ lunch at the place of work, and offering vacations for the deserving employees on a regular basis would always boost their moral and make them develop a liking for the job. He, therefore, ascertains that the response one gives to a work place is wholly dependant on the expectations the people build before getting to the place of work. He further states that the elements that help develop the perceptions are such things as social groupings and levels of commitment given to a course. The people one interacts with would always share with them views on a carrier, and the level of commitment includes the level of study and the cost of study. A person who interacts with lawyers will appreciate deadlines and accustom oneself to the tight schedule and, consequently, develop a liking for the profession. A person with a PhD, who has spent millions in the study, will expect more returns from a given career and the work place. The Study In order to understand the correlation between high school perception and teacher performance, a study was carried out on Atha Elementary school. This is a school situated in Monroe, Georgia. The school is a Title I school serving grade level pre-kindergarten to fifth. The school has seven hundred and fifty students. There are 85 full-time teachers, 55 classrooms with the average of 9 students per teacher. With such facilities, the school, therefore, serves as the best bench mark for the effects of teacher perception and performance. The study is carried out on both new teachers who are joining the school for the first time and old teachers who have been in the school for some time. Both categories of teachers had perceptions before joining the facility and, therefore, their responses would be of relevance to the study. The findings of this study are given in the forms of the two tabular summaries and the graphical representations. A brief analysis of the findings is also run after each: The study majored more on the effects the ages and educational level of teachers would have on their perception creation and performance at the place of work. Level of education Summary The higher the level of education of a teacher, the higher the school perception he develops as reflected in the below graphical representations.. Education Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid associates 2 33.3 33.3 33.3 bachelor 1 16.7 16.7 50.0 master 2 33.3 33.3 83.3 specialist 1 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 6 100.0 100.0 Analysis The number one variable that influences the level of perception that teachers build for their places of work is their education level. As one advances his/her knowledge in a given profession, it becomes natural that the very person expects more in terms of pay, promotion and respect. Failure to get this the zeal with which the person in question offers his/her services would be in a grudging manner. The same applies to teachers as well with the specialist expecting and in fact demanding more than those with masters degree and the norm is maintained down the ladder to the associates. Age of an individual teacher Summary: the older a teacher gets the lower school perception he/she develops. Respondents Age Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 27 1 16.7 16.7 16.7 35 1 16.7 16.7 33.3 36 1 16.7 16.7 50.0 38 1 16.7 16.7 66.7 40 1 16.7 16.7 83.3 47 1 16.7 16.7 100.0 Total 6 100.0 100.0 Analysis From the study, aged teachers never had greater perceptions of their places of work. With the progressive gain in ages of the teachers in question, the perception created got progressively lower as well. This is so because the teachers tend to offer their services based on the experience they have collected from their long stay in the industry. The perception they create is largely influenced by their current places of work. Furthermore with age comes wisdom to handle the complexities of a profession. However, with age comes the advancement in educational level and therefore those teachers who use their age to advance their educational level would always anticipate promotion. Their perception however on the place of work stays the same. Conclusion Perceptions formed by a teacher over the school environment bears significance on the teacher performance. This is true especially from the aspect of human psychology. The work environment is normally the aspect that teachers form greatest perception about, and this is directly involved with their daily activities. Administrations and the government should strive to encourage perceptions for the sake of students. Such simple enticements as housing should be given greater considerations as they boost teachers’ morale. In addition, many teachers build perception on the same. Reference Richard, B. (2003). Vocational business training, developing and motivating people. New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More