Teachers and principals in CHSRI small schools describe an environment marked by trust, commitment, and strong professional community in year two¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · qualitative r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2004 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2007: local conditions change quickly

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The small-school environment is characterized by trust, commitment, and strong professional community, attributed by participants to small-school features. → Sporte 2004

Evidence¶

Sporte 2004¶

Sporte, S. E., Kahne, J., & Correa, M. (2004). Notes from the Ground: Teachers, principals, and students' perspectives on the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative, year two. Consortium on Chicago School Research. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/notes-ground-teachers-principals-and-students-perspectives-chicago-high-school-redesign

q2 · i? · qualitative · r2

Qualitative interview and focus-group study of 11 CHSRI small schools, 2004. Teachers reported openness with principals and frequent team meetings; one said "they don't let you fall short."

"For teachers and principals, the school environment is predominately characterized by trust, commitment, and strong professional community. This appears to result from the small-school features."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Teacher activities in CHSRI small schools' professional communities were primarily oriented toward supportive rather than developmental practices — related
• Students report fewer violent incidents and a personalized, supportive environment in CHSRI small schools — related
• Teachers in CHSRI schools reported statistically significantly higher perceptions of trust and collaboration than teachers in non-CHSRI schools — related
• CHSRI small schools lack a shared vision of high-quality instruction, and the link between school themes and curriculum remains weak in year two — related
• In schools characterized by high relational trust, educators were more likely to experiment with new practices and work together with parents to advance improvements — related
• School characteristics relate to politics type: Hispanic schools show a marked tendency toward strong democracy and small schools less adversarial politics — related
• Differences favoring CHSRI teachers on facilitators of instructional improvement were small and mostly not statistically significant — related
• Participants reported that the trust-building collaborative environment enabled open and vulnerable sharing — related
• Student reports of instruction were generally similar across school types, with juniors in small schools reporting higher academic press and support — related