Abstract:
Despite costly and innovative initiatives, Georgia’s schools have failed to show significant gains in student achievement. According to the Turnaround Eligible Schools produced by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (2017), elementary schools comprise the majority of the historically failing schools in Georgia. The purpose of this study was to determine how teachers in an identified historically low performing Georgia Title I elementary school perceived their ability to do the very best job of which they were capable in regard to the degree they were empowered through access to meaningful information, appropriate resources, and the ability to make meaningful decisions. This basic interpretive study took place in a historically low performing Title I elementary school in central Georgia. The research site fit the criteria of “historically low-performing” based on the last three consecutive years of scores on the College and Career Readiness Index. Purposeful sampling was used to select participants who have the most experience in the teaching profession and the most experience in the school setting. Data were collected through interviews, documents, and memos and analyzed using coding, categorizing, and reflective writing. Although the participants had unique background experiences, they experienced similarities in their backgrounds. All participants had strong influences either at home or in school who were proponents of higher education. Each member of the study had achieved advanced degrees. The participants were efficacious in their ability to impact the lives of their students, and in that context, experienced job satisfaction. However, their perceptions of morale indicate they did not consider themselves equally efficacious to increase student achievement. All of the participants alluded that the most meaningful information they obtained throughout the year was a result of their own research. Thus, the teachers empowered themselves with the information they perceived necessary to reach their teaching goals. The participants perceived themselves unempowered by insufficient instructional resources, limited technology, a lack of funds to purchase consumable supplies, and inadequate support personnel. Each participant had a unique perception of their ability to make meaningful decisions. Some participants perceived themselves empowered to make meaningful decisions while others were not inclined to make decisions or voice their opinions even when given the opportunity to do so. The research site was organized with structures and processes to create a climate of empowerment where teachers had opportunities to share in decision-making and leadership. However, not all teachers in the study experienced empowerment the same, nor did they have the same personal perception of their empowerment.