A question of fit: Conceptions of teacher role and conditions of teacher commitment

Case study research in two comprehensive high schools illuminates workplace conditions of teacher commitment by examining the fit between ambitious conceptions of teaching work—an “expanded role” encompassing classroom innovation and leadership responsibilities beyond the classroom—and the organizational environment of the school workplace. More specifically, it examines how teachers' affective stance toward their work arises from the relationship between individual, community and organizational conceptions of the teacher role, and the degree to which teachers perceive those conditions as congruent.; A qualitative multi-level case study design, in two sites over an 18-month period, entailed ongoing observation, much of it audio or video-recorded, multiple interviews, and collection of relevant documents. These data permit analysis at the levels of individual experience, the professional community, and organizational structures and processes. From a larger data set, analysis focuses on eight focal teachers, four from each school.; Teachers at both schools embraced an expanded conception of the teaching role, but experienced very different school environments for sustaining that role. One school embraced the expanded conception in its policies and practices, while the other school's policies and practices reflected a narrower and more traditional teacher role conception. Professional community emerged as an important mediating influence in the relationship between individual teachers and the school organization. Supportive professional community served to reinforce and sustain the expanded role; however, supportive professional community was insufficient to compensate for the lack of certain structural supports, especially as external pressures intensified. Where expectations were incongruent, teachers were vulnerable to stress and the school suffered high teacher attrition.; Cross-case comparisons form the basis for a proposed interactive model of teacher commitment premised on the degree of perceived congruence among the conceptions of teaching held by individual teachers, their meaningful professional communities, and the schools in which they work. The model anticipates that the degree of perceived or experienced congruence in conception among individual teachers, their relevant professional community or communities, and the employing organization will influence teacher work commitment. Implications for policy and practice focus on the need to balance teacher recruitment initiatives with those focused more centrally on teacher retention.