Teacher Social Networks and Professional Community in Small Autonomous High Schools

Anisah Waite

The expansion of charter schools and other decentralized forms of schooling has gained substantial support across the nation, yet we know little about the social organization of work inside these schools. Emerging research indicates that certain social relations, such as trust in one?s fellow teachers and collective responsibility for student achievement, may contribute to increased student achievement. But do small autonomous high schools host such favorable social-organizational conditions? How do the cohesion and social networks of teachers vary among small schools? And do network features and individual position in networks help to account for between-school and between-teacher variation in teacher trust and collective responsibility? To examine these core questions I draw on survey data from 436 teachers situated in 20 schools, along with in-depth qualitative data on three schools.

About Anisah Waite

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