Continuity or Rupture? Elementary School Teachers' Awareness of the Changing Role of Teachers in Taiwan

Author: Ding-Ying Guo(Dept. of Education, National University of Tainan)

Vol.&No.：Vol. 51, No. 1
Date：April 2006
Pages：41-62
DOI：10.3966/2073753X2006045101003

Abstract：

This study explored elementary school teachers' perception of changing role of teachers in Taiwan. An "Inventory of elementary teachers' perception of changes in teachers' role" was used to survey 1287 subjects, in order to determine their level of awareness of series of factors. The data were statistically analyzed by Frequencies, MANOVA, and Homogeneity tests. The conclusions of this study are as follows:
1.There was a middle-to-high level of awareness of the changing role of elementary school teachers;
2.The highest level of awareness was with regard to the reduced "status and authority" of elementary school teachers;
3.The lowest level of awareness was with regard to the reduced emphasis on the "ethics" of elementary teachers' changing role;
4.There was a consistent (continuous) pattern of awareness for the 4 dimensions of this role change: "instruction," "teachers' features," "status and authority," and "communication and interflow.";
5.There was a discontinuous (ruptured) pattern of awareness for the "ethics" dimension of the changing role of elementary school teachers;
6.There was a significant (but not discontinuous) difference between the degree of awareness of teachers' changing role and the degree of awareness of teachers' professional autonomy and development;
7.Male and female teachers showed a significant difference in the degree of their awareness of teachers' changing role with regard to "instruction" and "ethics."

Keywords：elementary teachers' awareness, changing role of teachers, social change

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