Transgressive acts in an era of accountability: narratives of New Jersey's public school teachers

<p>The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the transgressive responses that have emerged in the wake of AchieveNJ, New Jersey’s new teacher evaluation system. Ten teachers, each with five or more years of teaching experience, all of which had demonstrated manifestations of transgression, were selected from random schools throughout the state based upon surveyed response. Through the use of graphic elicitation and narrative interviews, the teachers in this study revealed a variety of responses ranging from open acts of defiance, to more subtle performances, enacted on the spot, while under the surveillance of inspectors. Findings suggest that the act of creating performances may contest the binary terms of compliance or resistance, as, from one point of view, this action serves to create a sense of teacher agency within a prescriptive context; however, from an alternate point of view, such fabrications may serve to simultaneously advance the self-interest of the teacher through the enterprising use of the instruments of performativity permitted by the new policy landscape. The data from this study gives way to a hybridized view of education within the context of performativity that permits the coexistence of both explanations and suggests the need for researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners to expand their focus of analysis when viewing the consequences of the performative agenda in public schools.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Ed.D. Educational Leadership

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Scavette, Gary Daniel

Contributors dc:contributor

• Johnson, Ane Turner
• Manning, Joann B.
• Isik-Ercan, Zeynep

• managerialism
• marketization
• neoliberalism
• performativity
• resistance
• transgression
• Teachers--Rating of--New Jersey
• Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
• Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration

Repository record dc:identifier

https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/586

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:rdw.rowan.edu:etd-1585