A school had a traditional practice of placing new teachers with student groups that were the most difficult to manage and in comparison to age-mates the lowest achievers. These students also had similar S.E.S. (socioeconomic status) backgrounds which were lower than the average of the school. This tradition existed for several years. As a result most new teachers resigned early in their career or secured a transfer. The tradition was to provide veteran teachers more choices in their assignments and they typically chose assignments advantageous to them.
The school had a mission statement but it was not widely shared and rarely discussed or referenced in making decisions. The school primarily acted on tradition and had not confronted these practices nor the beliefs/values that supported its method of operation. When faced with the low achievement of groups of students and the behavioral concerns of many, the veteran staff blamed it on the students and their backgrounds. They essentially externalized causation and did not consider possible internal school factors.
This school continued the traditional practices as identified two years earlier and two years later—same results. The students of low socioeconomic status had the lowest achievement and were the most difficult to manage. Also, most of the new teachers continued to resign or seek transfers and those staff gaining seniority chose other assignments when they became available and many times placed higher achieving students in their classes for the following school year.
Conclusion
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