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Abstract
This study had two objectives. The first was to establish 2003 Georgia norms on the Teacher Motivation Diagnostic Questionnaire (TMDQ), an instrument designed to assess four specific aspects of teacher motivation. The second was to determine, if there was a statistically significant difference between the 2003 norms and the 1991 norms for Georgia teachers on the TMDQ. The four aspects of the TMDQ are; 1) Principal Expectations (PE), the teacher's beliefs about the principal's expectations for improved student achievement, 2) Self Concept of Ability (SC), the teacher's self-concepts of ability to improve student achievement, 3) Future Utility (FU), the teacher's beliefs about the future benefits to themselves for improved student achievement, 4) Attitude toward Principal (AP), the attitude of teachers toward their principal. Surveys with letters of introduction and instructions were mailed to all teachers in 300 randomly selected public schools in Georgia (15,000 teachers). Over 100 survey packets were returned, with 100 having 20% or greater usable teacher return rate (2,083 teacher surveys), the criteria for inclusion as a subject school. The teacher scores were converted to mean scores for each school. The subject school scores were converted into normative scores including means, standard deviations, percentile ranks, and Z scores. T-test were performed on each of the four pairs of scores, 2003 and 1991, for the four aspects of the TMDQ, as well as the overall mean, which represented the overall teacher motivation level. The findings showed statistically significant increased levels of teacher motivation for Georgia teachers from 1991 to 2003 in three of the four aspects, as well overall teacher motivation level. The only aspect not showing a statistically significant difference was Attitude toward Principal.