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Abstract
Since the late 1800s, schools, students, and teachers have been considered to be underperforming (Cremin, 1964). Near-constant school reform and improvement efforts since that time are negatively impacting teachers (Berliner & Glass, 2014; Popham, 2004; Varenne, 1998). As a result of these efforts, teachers are feeling burned out (Tsang & Liu, 2016, Uzun, 2018). The purpose of this study was to investigate K-12 teacher perspectives of empowerment across contexts and the factors that influence those perspectives. Three research questions guided this study: (1) What are K-12 teachers’ perspectives of their experiences as instructors in a summer learning program? (2) How do K-12 teachers compare their experiences in a summer learning program to their experiences during the academic year? (3) What factors influence teachers’ perspectives of their experiences across contexts?
The experiences of eight teacher participants teaching in a summer learning program in June 2018 and the subsequent school year were captured across a series of semi-structured interviews and the collection of artifacts. A theoretical framework of Dewey’s experience guided the thematic analysis of this descriptive sociological multi-case study. Findings indicated (1) structures, (2) autonomy, and (3) relationships supersede context and influence teachers’ perspectives of their empowerment. Suggestions to positively affect teacher perspectives of empowerment for teachers, school administrators, and district personnel are explained.