Feb. 3, 1998
                                                   Contact: Jim Esposito  
                                                           (804) 924-0801, or 
                                                           jpe3v@virginia.edu

               VIRGINIA TEACHERS GIVE ONLY LUKEWARM ENDORSEMENT 
               TO TENURE PRACTICE, STATEWIDE SURVEY SHOWS

	Virginia teachers show little support for what could be a politically 
sensitive issue this legislative session: the state's tenure system for 
public school teachers.  
	In the first survey of attitudes toward teacher tenure among 
educators in Virginia school districts, University of Virginia researchers 
found that teachers, while generally in favor of tenure, are not avid 
supporters of it.  Public school administrators show less support than 
teachers. 
	"Support for tenure among teachers is lukewarm," said James Esposito, 
an associate professor in U.Va.'s Curry School of Education, who directed 
the statewide study conducted by graduate student Elizabeth Ellen Duckworth.
	Sixty-four percent of the teachers surveyed believe that a tenure 
system for public school teachers should continue, compared to only 34 
percent of administrators who believed the system should stay.  
	Those figures are disturbing in light of the survey responses 
showing that 60 percent of administrators and 52 percent of teachers believe 
that tenure allows incompetent teachers to remain in the teaching profession,  
Esposito noted.
	In Virginia public school teachers who complete three successive 
years of teaching in the same school division and who are offered a contract 
for the fourth year are automatically awarded a "continuing contract," or 
tenure.  Once teachers receive continuing contracts, they may be dismissed, 
suspended or placed on probation, but administrators must prove just cause on 
such grounds as incompetence, immorality or non-compliance with school 
policies.
	"Teachers are directly affected by the advantages of tenure, such as 
security, stability and academic freedom, whereas administrators are directly 
affected by tenure's disadvantages, such as documentation and cost involved 
in ridding the system of a poor teacher," said Esposito.
	"The discrepancy in viewpoints between teachers and administrators 
can harm the education profession, rather than help it," he noted.
	Only 25 percent of those surveyed agreed with the idea that tenure 
benefits students; 39 percent disagreed with that notion.  
	Only 26 percent indicated that they believe tenure improves the 
quality of teaching. Thirty three percent thought that tenure encourages 
professional growth of teachers.
	Teachers and administrators in 12 school districts -- four large, 
four medium and four small -- were selected at random to complete the survey.  
One hundred fourteen responses from administrators and 671 responses from 
teachers were analyzed last year by Duckworth and Esposito.
	Among the differences in attitudes between teachers and 
administrators on tenure that the survey uncovered:
%	Teachers generally agreed, while administrators generally disagreed, 
that tenure protects school boards against charges of unjust dismissal. 
%	Teachers generally agreed, while administrators generally disagreed, 
that tenure preserves academic freedom.
%	Teachers generally agreed, while administrators generally disagreed, 
that tenure protects teachers from political and social attacks.
	"The discrepancy in opinion between teachers and administrators 
could have a great impact on the effectiveness of a teacher tenure process 
and how it is implemented," Esposito said.
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