The Effects of a Career-Ladder Program on School Organizational Process

Abstract

Work redesign has recently gained attention as a possible solution for widely perceived deficiencies in the educational system. Two such strategies, reward and work structures, are often suggested as alterations in teachers’ work lives that can have a positive impact on their professionalism and ultimately the lives of children. These concepts are often included in state-sponsored career-ladder plans. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of an investigation into the impact of such a career-ladder system on outcome measures widely suggested as intermediate indicators of school effectiveness and teacher satisfaction. Data were collected from 12 schools that had implemented a career-ladder program characterized by alternative reward and work-structure incentives and 12 matching schools where such programs were absent. Survey items tapped teachers’ and students’ opinions about school-process behaviors suggested by school-effectiveness and work-redesign literature as important for overall school and teacher health. Intermediate outcome data—on motivation, self-concept, academic futility, self-reliance, and school norms—were also collected to assess possible effects on students. Two results emerged from the data. First, when widely accepted school organizational processes are measured, the career-ladder program clearly demonstrates a positive impact on teachers and to a lesser extent on schools. Second, the career-ladder program had a differential effect on teachers at various stages of experience. Midcareer and new teachers felt more positive about the measured organizational processes within their schools than their counterparts in non-career-ladder schools. The results of this study support the utility of the work-design concept