Perceived teacher-principal value consonance and teacher commitment: An exploratory study of K-12 and English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers' values, perceptions of their principals' values, COVID-19, and their impact on teachers' professional commitment

ABSTRACT

Student achievement and teacher morale have been closely linked to teacher retention and of concern for administrators seeking to promote teacher commitment. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to further concerns about teacher commitment for these administrators. To better understand the underlying reasons behind teacher commitment, the current research explored the correlation between value consonance of an individual, their perception of their principal or supervisor's values, and commitment to their occupation and organization. This study further sought to illuminate relationships between value consonance and teacher commitment, how relationships between teachers' value consonance and commitment differ by intention to stay in the occupation and at their current school or organization, to what extent value consonance differs as a function of intent to stay in the teaching profession and the current school or organization, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on values, their perceived supervisors' values, and commitment to the occupation and current school or organization.This exploratory, quantitative study compared responses from self-reported leavers and stayers, and found that among teachers intending to leave, teachers valuing Autonomy and Job Security more than their supervisor expressed more Continuance Commitment to the Occupation. Moreover, those valuing Colleague Relationships more than their supervisors had stronger Affective Commitment to the Organization. For teachers who intended to stay, however, few or no relationships were found between value consonance and commitment. These results were echoed in teachers' open-ended responses to questions about the impact of the pandemic on their values and commitment where comments showed that both leavers and stayers largely reported similar impacts during COVID. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)