Teacher Report Part I - Background, School Climate, Prac

Teacher Report -- Part I

Background, School Climate, Practices, and Activities

Teacher Survey

Thank you, in advance, for responding to the following questions. This instrument is being administered as part of a long-term research project by WestEd to examine the impact of the Lessons in Character Program (LIC) — an English language arts-based character education program — on student academic performance, attendance, school motivation, and endorsement of universal values consistent with character education. WestEd, a research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.

This survey is designed for you to provide us with background information and to share with us your perceptions about students and staff in your school. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1850-0826. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 15 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection.  If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4651.  If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Rafael Valdivieso, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Room 506E, Washington, D.C. 20208.

This collection of information is authorized by Public Law 107-279 Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part C, Sec. 151(b) and Sec. 153(a). Participation is voluntary. Your responses are protected from disclosure by federal statute (PL 107-279 Title I, Part C. Sec. 183). All responses that relate to or describe identifiable characteristics of individuals may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose, unless otherwise compelled by law. Data will be combined to produce statistical reports. No individual data that links your name, address, telephone number, or identification number with your responses will be included in the statistical reports.

Please read each question and put an “X” in the box next to your answer.

Example:

			Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Don’t Know	Agree	Strongly Agree
I enjoy teaching Math			1	2	3	4	5

Please contact Dr. Barbara Dietsch with any questions at 562.799.5126 or by email at bdietsc@wested.org.

1.	Are you male or female?
	1 Male
	2 Female
2.	Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin? (Please select only one)
	1 Yes
	2 No
3.	What is your race? (Please select one or more)
	1 American Indian or Alaska Native
	2 Asian
	3 Black or African American
	4 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
	5 White
4.	Including this year, how many years have you been employed as a teacher?
	 Years
5.	Including this year, how many years have you been employed as a teacher at this school?
	 Years
6.	Considering all of the professional development activities in which you participated in the last 12 months (excluding preservice training), how many total hours, if any, have you spent in activities in which the following content areas were a major focus?
		Total hours spent in last 12 months
		0	1-8		9-32	32+
	a. New methods of teaching (such as, cooperative learning	0	1		2	3
	b. Student performance assessment (such as, methods of testing, applying results to modify instruction).	0	1		2	3
	c. Classroom management, including student discipline.	0	1		2	3

Mark your agreement or disagreement with the following.								Strongly Agree
							Agree
The students in this school…						Don’t Know
					Disagree
				Strongly Disagree
7.	Are nice to each other			1	2	3	4	5
8.	Work together on things.			1	2	3	4	5
9.	Make new students feel welcome.			1	2	3	4	5
10.	Get along well together.			1	2	3	4	5
11.	Work out problems without fighting.			1	2	3	4	5
12.	Take good care of school property.			1	2	3	4	5
13.	Take responsibility for what they do.			1	2	3	4	5
14.	Respect their teachers.			1	2	3	4	5
15.	Think it’s important to be a good citizen.			1	2	3	4	5
16.	Treat one another fairly.			1	2	3	4	5
17.	Tell the truth.			1	2	3	4	5
18.	Are treated fairly by the adults in the school.			1	2	3	4	5
19.	Are expected to get along.			1	2	3	4	5

Mark your agreement or disagreement with the following.								Strongly Agree
							Agree
The students in this school…						Don’t Know
					Disagree
				Strongly Disagree
20.	Are expected to be kind and caring.			1	2	3	4	5
21.	Are expected to treat each other fairly.			1	2	3	4	5
22.	Are expected to obey the rules.			1	2	3	4	5
23.	Are expected to tell the truth.			1	2	3	4	5
The school staff…
24.	Cares about the students’ families.			1	2	3	4	5
25.	Treats parents with respect.			1	2	3	4	5
26.	Makes parents f feel welcome at school.			1	2	3	4	5
27.	Values parents’ ides and input.			1	2	3	4	5
28.	Encourages parents to be involved at school.			1	2	3	4	5
29.	Communicates effectively with parents.			1	2	3	4	5
30.	Tells parents about the school’s efforts to develop good character in students.			1	2	3	4	5
31.	Makes conscious effort to develop students’ character.			1	2	3	4	5
32.	Falls into conflicting cliques.			1	2	3	4	5
33.	I supportive of one another.			1	2	3	4	5
34.	Can be counted on to help each other out.			1	2	3	4	5
35.	Shares the same beliefs about what the central mission of the school should be.			1	2	3	4	5
36.	Frequently consults with and helps one another.			1	2	3	4	5
37.	Cooperates with one another.			1	2	3	4	5
38.	Seems like a big family with everyone close and cordial.			1	2	3	4	5
39.	Supports me when I try out new ideas.			1	2	3	4	5
40.	Provides good counsel when I have a teaching problem.			1	2	3	4	5

Mark your agreement or disagreement with the following.								Strongly Agree
							Agree
The school staff…						Don’t Know
					Disagree
				Strongly Disagree
In this school…
41.	Both administrators and teachers take active roles in school activities.			1	2	3	4	5
42.	We have the needed resources to get the job done.			1	2	3	4	5
43.	Things are well organized.			1	2	3	4	5
44.	Staff are recognized for a job well done.			1	2	3	4	5
45.	Staff are involved in decisions which affect them.			1	2	3	4	5
46.	There is interest in innovation and new ideas.			1	2	3	4	5

Teachers’ approaches to classroom management and instruction can differ greatly within a school and between schools. The statements below reflect different approaches teachers might implement in their classrooms. Please rate the extent to which each approach is true in your classroom.

Mark your agreement or disagreement with the following.								Always
							Almost Always
						Often
					Sometimes
				Never
In my classroom…
47.	Students play an active role in classroom governance or rule-setting			1	2	3	4	5
48.	When problems arise, class meetings or group problem-solving strategies are used			1	2	3	4	5
49.	Social and character development themes are integrated into academic topics (such as historical instruction, literature containing particular values, etc.)			1	2	3	4	5
50.	Instructional strategies tend to be student-centered rather than teacher driven			1	2	3	4	5
51.	Discipline strategies focus on social and character development rather than punishment			1	2	3	4	5

Have you marked every item?

ACTIVITIES YOU HAVE IMPLEMENTED IN YOUR CLASSROOM (from SACD Evaluation)

52.

For each of the following, please indicate in column 1 whether you have implemented the activity in your classroom in the last 6 months. If so, write the forma name and description of the activity in column 2. If the activity has no formal name, just describe it. Finally, we would also like to know the frequency and duration of the activity or program in column 3 (for instance, whether it was daily for 6 weeks or 10 sessions over 10 weeks.)?

		(1) Implemented among which students?	(2) Name and/or description of program activity	(3) Duration or frequency of program activity
a.	Character education (promoting positive character traits such as honesty, respect, and cooperation)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
b.	Violence prevention (changing attitudes, values and/or behaviors regarding violence and aggression)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
c.	Tolerance, diversity, cultural awareness, or bias awareness (understanding cultural differences, reducing/preventing prejudice or strained racial relations)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
d.	Civics or citizenship (fostering a sense of belonging and a sense of responsibility to the community)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
e.	Community service or service learning (promoting helping behaviors, “giving back” to the community)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
f.	Targeted risk prevention (changing behaviors related to current or future risk behaviors such as drug/alcohol use)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
g.	Self-management/self-discipline (increasing students’ knowledge of and control over their own behavioral choices)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
h.	Emotional control/anger management (such as managing of intense emotions, relaxation, self-calming techniques)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
i.	Resisting peer pressure (includes refusal skills, avoiding risky situations)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
j.	Perspective-taking/empathy (understanding others’ points of view, understanding how one’s behavior affects others)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
k.	Assertiveness/ communication skills (includes listening skills, successful communication and/or negotiation strategies)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
l.	Conflict resolution/social problem solving (such as managing or avoiding conflict, seeking out a third party to mediate)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
m.	Individual behavior management (such as daily/weekly behavior checklists or report cards, individual point or token reward system)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
n.	Group behavior management (such as daily/weekly behavior checklists or report cards, individual point or token reward system)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
o.	Other activity #1 (please specify)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students
p.	Other activity #2 (please specify)	0  None/Not implemented 1  Some students 2  All students

53.

What types of materials (if any) have you used in conjunction with the above activities? Mark all that apply. 1  Teacher/Instructor guides (curriculum, manual, etc.) 2  Materials for student completion (workbooks, worksheets, etc.) 3  Instructional aids (games, computer software, videos, puppets, etc.) 4  Giveaways (bookmarks, stickers, etc.) 5  Other (please specify) 6  NONE OF THE ABOVE

Permission to use specific items may be required