Essay Sample on Evaluating Effects of State Takeover on Teachers & Students

Introduction

Scholars have conducted various researches to evaluate the effect of education reforms advocated by the government. Other scholars determined to understand how these reforms affect teachers and students. The article, Acing the test: an examination of teachers' perceptions of and responses to the threat of state takeover, gives an overview of teachers' perceptions and responses to the threat of state takeover.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The article is an evaluation of the effect of state takes over. The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act brought about various changes and reforms in the education system. According to Welsh, Graham and Williams (2019), the government is more concerned with school improvement and performance. There is a great concern from scholars on how the government is approaching the whole issue of the state takeover. Some scholars suggest that school performance cannot be achieved through state take over. During the state take over the process, less attention is given to how teachers and students perceive the whole process.

The purpose of the research was to understand whether or how teachers' attitudes and attention changes in response to the intimidation of state takeover. The research employed two investigative questions to test its hypothesis (Welsh, Graham and Williams 2019). One, how are teachers' perceptions and classroom practices shaped by the threat of state takeover? Second, to what extent and how are schools and districts affected by changes in teachers' perceptions and practices in response to the threat of the state?

The research used a qualitative interview design method. The research used a purposive sampling technique to draw its participants from teachers, principals and district educational officers. The target population was educational leaders working in urban areas in Georgia. The research selected educational officers that were likely to be affected by the state takeover. Welsh, Graham and Williams (2019), comments that 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted through telephone calls that lasted between one to one and a half hours. The research used coding to interpret the data.

The research found that there is a close correlation between the intimidation of state take over and teachers' negative perception. Teachers reported that the process comes with a lot of pressure, unprofessionalism, and unfairness during the testing process. Teachers' response to the threat of state takeover was categorized into exit, voice, and loyalty

According to Darling (2019), the research failed to investigate other common effects of the reform. For example, it did not explain how the reform affected the performance of students. Was there a change in the way students performed during the test compared to other days? If so, what does this tell us about the real performance of the students?

Conclusion

In summary, the article highlights the effect of state takes over on teachers. The research investigates the perception of the teachers on the reform and how they respond to intimidation. From the research, it is evident that education reform is met with negative perceptions of teachers.

References

Welsh, R., Graham, J., & Williams, S. (2019). Acing the test: an examination of teachers' perceptions of and responses to the threat of state takeover Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 31(3), 315-347.

Darling-Hammond, L., Flook, L., Cook-Harvey, C., Barron, B., & Osher, D. (2019). Implications for the educational practice of the science of learning and development. Applied Developmental Science, 1-44.