A Study of the Impact of Section 24 A on the Identification, Remediation, and Dismissal of Incompetent Tenured School Teachers in Illinois
McDonald, Mark Andrew
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/71918
Description
Title
A Study of the Impact of Section 24 A on the Identification, Remediation, and Dismissal of Incompetent Tenured School Teachers in Illinois
Author(s)
McDonald, Mark Andrew
Issue Date
1992
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
McGreal, Thomas
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Administration
Abstract
This study examined the following research question: Since the implementation of Section 24 A in 1986, is it now easier for Illinois school districts to identify, remediate, or dismiss incompetent tenured school teachers?
The study used a mail survey of 200 superintendents and personnel directors in Illinois. The response rate for the survey was 83.5 percent. The survey produced factual and perceptual data.
The survey results suggested that an overwhelming number of Illinois school districts evaluated tenured teachers using summative evaluation methods prior to Section 24 A. The results also suggest that the summative evaluation component of Section 24 A has not made it easier for districts to identify incompetent tenured teachers. The results imply, however, that Section 24 A has been used to identify and confront grossly incompetent teachers in some districts. Most of the respondents believed that marginally incompetent teachers will not be affected by Section 24 A.
A major feature of Section 24 A is the one-year remediation requirement following an unsatisfactory evaluation. Many respondents perceived that the requirements of the remediation process discourage some principals from placing incompetent teachers on remediation. Conversely, respondents from districts that had placed a tenured teacher on remediation perceived the process helped teachers improve; they also perceived the process helped their district build a case for dismissal against a truly incompetent teacher.
The results connote there was an increase in teacher dismissals and resignations by incompetent teachers in the districts that have identified an unsatisfactory teacher since 1986. The results also suggest, however, that there has not been an increase in dismissals or resignations by incompetent teachers in Illinois as a whole. Furthermore, the majority of the respondents perceived that Section 24 A has increased due-process protections for incompetent teachers.
Respondents perceived that principals in Illinois are competent evaluators of teachers. The majority of the respondents reported that their negotiated contracts contained language about tenured-teacher evaluation. The overwhelming majority of those respondents perceived contract language does not inhibit the identification of incompetent teachers.
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