Examining the Relationship between Grade Configuration and Teachers’ Perceptions of Working Conditions in North Carolina Schools
J. Brent Cooper, Dan R. Saurino, Dustin N. Johnson, Robert Clemente

Abstract
The purpose of our quantitative study was to determine if there were statistically significant differences in teachers’ perceptions of working conditions between public K-8 and middle school teachers in North Carolina. Teacher working conditions subscale scores were calculated for the five teacher working conditions domains (time; facilities and resources; leadership; teacher empowerment; and professional development) within the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey (NCTWCS). Subscale scores were calculated for questions within each teacher working conditions domain with the same Likert scale responses. The sample included 13,433 public K-8 and middle school teachers who were selected from the NCTWCS data set. The results indicated significant differences in teachers’ perceptions of most working conditions by school type. K-8 teachers reported more positive perceptions of all teacher working conditions domains except time and professional development when compared to some aspects of 6-8 middle school teachers and AMS teachers.

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