Volume 3 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Research - Page 43

Journal of K-12 Educational Research 41 have shown the positive effects of teacher engagement, yet many teachers are not engaged in their work or the life of the school (Hastings & Agrawal, 2015). School leaders need to focus their attention on what drives teacher engagement and what changes can be made to improve teacher engagement. The current quantitative study explored the relationship between leadership behaviors and teacher engagement. Each of the six leadership behaviors had a significant positive relationship with teacher engagement. Leaders who effectively establish trusting relationships with faculty, create and communicate a vision for the school, share their decision-making with teachers, support teachers’ professional development, provide adequate resources, and reward and recognize their faculty have schools with higher levels of teacher engagement. The role of education should be to provide students with engaging learning activities that prepare them to achieve their future goals. In order to do this, strong, engaged, and motivated teachers are needed in each classroom. It is the responsibility of school leaders to not only hire these teachers, but also to keep them engaged and motivated throughout their teaching careers. In order to do so, school leaders need to hone their leadership skills to create school environments that allow teachers to feel fully engaged. The results of this research study show school leaders can create positive working environments for teachers by focusing on a few skills: building trust; communicating a motivating vision; empowering teachers to participate in the decision-making process; supporting teachers as they grow professionally; ensuring teachers have the resources they need in the classroom; and rewarding and recognizing teachers when they do good work. Students deserve engaged teachers, and teachers deserve leaders willing to focus on improving teacher engagement for all faculty members. References Alberta Teachers' Association. (2013). Teaching in the early years of practice: A five-year longitudinal study. Retrieved from www.teachers.ab.ca/SiteCollectionsDocuments/ATA/ Publications/Research/Teaching_in_the_Early_Years_of_ Practice_(PD-86-19b).pdf Bassett, P. F. (2000). Job descriptions for administrators in independent schools. Retrieved from Independent Schools Association of the Central States: http://www.isacs.org/ uploads/file/ Monographs/Business_Operations/Job_ Descriptions_for_Administrators_in_Independent_Schools. pdf Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (2005). First, break all the rules: What the world's greatest managers do differently. New York, NY: Pocket Books. Cardus, M. (2013, July). The five levers of employee engagement. The Journal for Quality & Participation, 28-31. Retrieved from https://mikecardus.com/app/uploads/2014/12/ the-5-Levers-of-Employee-Engagement-JQP-Cardus.pdf Choochom, O. (2016). A causal relationship model of teachers' work engagement. International Journal of Behavioral Science, 11 (2), 143-152. Retrieved from https://www. researchgate.net/publication/309661973_A_Causal_ Relationship_Model_of_Teachers'_Work_Engagement Christian, M. S., Garza, A. S., & Slaughter, J. E. (2011). Work engagement: A quantitative review and test of it relations with task and contextual performance. Personnel Psychology, 64 , 64-73. Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2010). Teacher credentials and student achievement in high school a cross- subject analysis with student fixed effects. Journal of Human Resources, 45 (3), 655-681. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement: A review of state policy evidence. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8 , 142. Retrieved from https://epaa. asu.edu/ojs/article/view/392 El Badaway, T. A., & Bassiouny, M. (2014). Employee engagement as a mediator between transformational leadership & intention to quit. International Journal of Contemporary Management, 13 (2), 37-50. Retrieved from www.dbu.edu/library Gallup. (2013). State of the global workplace: Employee engagement insights for business leaders worldwide. Retrieved from www.gallup.com Gallup. (2014). State of America's schools: The path to winning again in education. Retrieved from www.gallup.com