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Abstract
Teachers’ morale has been steadily declining in recent years. Teachers who demonstrate low morale provide inadequate opportunities for students and detrimentally impact a school’s climate and culture. Although significant research has been conducted on teachers’ morale, there is a large gap in the literature to provide school administrators information regarding how their practices could influence their teachers’ morale. Using the Teacher Perception of Administrative Practices survey, this study asked 1,067 K-6 teachers in 16 Southern Indiana School Corporations across 64 schools to convey their perceptions of school principals’ administrative practices and how each practice affects teachers’ morale. The participants shared their perception of how well their administrator performed each practice and listed any morale identifiers not included in the survey. This study aimed to help school administrators recognize their administrative practices’ effects on teachers’ morale and provide information on how school administrators can improve their practices to improve teachers’ morale.
This study’s results indicated that school administrators significantly impact teachers’ morale. All 16 administrative practices listed in this study were considered to have a high or very high impact on teachers’ morale. The data also suggested that principals who performed tasks effectively have statistically significantly higher morale in their school at the á = .01 level. This study found that the most effective administrative practice a principal can utilize to increase morale is supporting the teachers in enforcing student discipline. Administrators can utilize these results by identifying the morale level at their school and reflecting on their practices in each area.