Self-actualization of teachers, student estimate of teacher concern, and related other variables

One purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the self-actualization of certain selected teachers and their concern for their students as perceived by the students. A second purpose was to examine the relationship of age and years of teaching experience of the teachers and their levels of self-actualization. A third purpose was to determine whether the teachers being studied differed significantly in their self-actualizing levels from other adult groups.The subjects in the study were fifty-six volunteer teachers of grades three through six from one school district in central Indiana. The intact classes of the participating teachers comprised the student sample of 1,234 grades three through six from one school district in central Indiana.For the purpose of measuring self-actualization of teachers the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), consisting of two major scales, Time Competence and Inner Direction, and ten sub-scales, was selected. Only the major scales were used in this study.Student perception of teacher concern was measured by the Student Estimate of Teacher Concern (SETC), Form B. This instrument consists of twenty-eight items designed to measure three major components of concern: recognition of need, understanding of need, and help given to the student.Teachers completed the POI in the Spring, 1975, and their classes were administered the SETC in January, 1976. The SETC was administered orally by the investigator as students recorded their answers. Data about age and years of teaching experience of the teachers were obtained from the teachers themselves.Analyses of the data were carried out by three correlational statistical procedures: multiple regression, canonical correlation, and multivariate analysis of variance, using the Hotelling T2 statistic.According to the levels set for determining concerned teachers in the study, all the teachers were perceived as concerned by their students except one. Out of fifty-six teachers studied, twenty-one met the criteria set for self-actualized teachers, having Time Competence raw scores above 18 and Inner Direction raw scores above 87, and having standard scores above 50. Thirty-five teachers had scores below these criteria, yet all except one received scores on the SETC above 15 in raw scores and above 50 on the standard score. No significant relationship was found between levels of self-actualization of the teachers in this study and their students' perception of their concern. These results indicate that it is not appropriate to use teachers' levels of self-actualization to predict student perception of teacher concern in this study.Approximately 37 ½ % of the teachers were self-actualizing, according to the levels set in this study. Some of the youngest people in this study were the most highly actualized, as measured by the POI, and some of the oldest teachers in this study were the least actualized. No significant relationship was found between the age and years of teaching experience of the teachers in this study and their levels of self-actualization. These results indicate that age and years of teaching experience should not be used to predict the self-actualizing levels of the teachers in this study. An older teacher may not be assumed to be more highly actualized merely because of age. Neither may a younger teacher be presumed to be low in self-actualization. It appears to this writer that other factors not measured in this study are in operation.According to this study, the profession of teaching did not make any significant difference in the self-actualization levels of the teachers, as determined by the POI. There is no reason to suppose that these teachers are different from any other adults in their self-actualization, as measured by the POI. No significant difference was found between the teachers in this study and the adults in the norming population of the POI. These results show that the teachers in this study are typical adults, and that the altruistic nature of their profession does not notably affect their self-actualization, as measured in this study. Self-actualization, according to this study, does not exist more among teachers than in other adult groups.According to the findings of this study, the SETC measure failed to discriminate among teachers on the construct of teacher concern. Sex of teachers and age and sex of students may have been factors, since the SETC was previously used primarily by female junior and senior high school students to rate female home economics teachers. This study was the first to use the SETC with students in elementary school.Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that self-actualization of teachers be further studied with relationship to the age of the teachers, using larger samples than in the present study. It is further recommended that the construct of self-actualization or psychological health be considered an important criterion of future selection of prospective teachers. A third recommendation is that evaluations of teachers be based on peer evaluation, student evaluation, self-evaluation, and administrative evaluation.Thesis (D. Ed.