Open-Space Schools: The Opportunity to Become Ambitious

Author(s): Elizabeth G. Cohen

Source: Sociology of Education, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Spring, 1973), pp. 143-161
Published by: American Sociological Association
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Open-SpaceSchools:
The Opportunity
to BecomeAmbitious*

ElizabethG. Cohen
StanfordUniversity

Ambition in womeniteachlersis analyzed in relation to opportunitiesavailable in the worksetting.Open-space elementaryschools with team teaching,
in contrastto traditionalschools, provide the teachlerwith greateropportunities for interactiotn,
influenceand informalrewards. These opportunities
are associated withla high frequency of "professional ambition" among
women teachersin the open-space schlooland account for a positiveassociation between "professionalambition" and job saitisfaction
that is found only
among these teachlers."Vcrtical ambition" hlasa consistentnegativerelationship with job satisfactionin bothlsettings;this relationshipis interpretedas
a functionof limited opportunitiesfor women teachersin eithersettingto
gain administrativejobs. Implications of innovations in work organization
and barriersto upward mobilityfor ambitiouswomen teachersare discussed.
THE FUNDAMENTAL PECULIARITY of the occupation

of public ele-

mentaryschool teachingis the flatnessof the reward structure.

Whetherteachersare more or less committedto theirprofession
or more or less skillfulin performancehas little effecton the
rewardstheyreceive.Tenure and salaryrelate mainlyto yearsof
serviceratherthan to skill and commitment.Indeed, evaluation
by organizationalsuperiorsis infrequentforall but probationary
teachers.
There are relativelyfew opportunitiesfor professionaladvancementin elementaryschool teaching.Ambitious classroom
teacherscannotlook forwardto an increasein responsibility
and
influencewithoutsomehowleavingtheclassroom.They mayleave
educationaltogether;theymay returnto schoolsof educationin
searchof creditsor advanced degrees;or theymay move into the
fieldof school administration.At this time,however,the possi* This research is supported by funds from the United States Officcof EducaLioin,Departmcntof Hcalth, Education, and Welfare. The opinions expressed in this
publication do not necessarily reflect the position, policy, or endorsement of the
Officeof Education. (Contract No. OEC 6-10-078, Project No. 5-0252-0307.)

143
Sociology of Education 1973, Vol. 46 (Spring):143-161

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144

Cohen

bilityof moving into administrationappears as a viable alternative

to the small number of male elementary school teachers, but not
to the female teacherswho wish to have a wider impact on education. Examination of state directories of education reveals comparativelyfew women in the field of school administration; and
graduate students in school administration are almost all male;
indeed, very few women apply to such programs.
Lortie (1969) argues that teachers are not powerful figuresin
the organization of the school, being restricted to classrooms as
''small universes of control." Teachers have few participation
rightsin school-wide decisions. Studies (cf. Corey, 1970) show that
the limitsof teachers'responsibilityand influenceare as important
a source of teachers' dissatisfactionwith work as are more obvious
questions of salary.
Informal peer rewards for the elementary school teacher are
as few and weak as are those available within the formal organization of the school. In most elementaryschools, teachers are socially
isolated from their colleagues; they do not see or hear each other
in the act of teaching; theyrarelymeet forthe purposes of planning
or evaluation of teaching tasks. Indeed, there are very few mutual
or common tasks. The traditional isolation of elementary school
teachers is such that there are norms against visiting a fellow
teacher while she is working with the children in the classroom.
Teachers talk to one another, but their conversation rarely occurs
in a formal occupational context where decisions are being made
on school policies, discipline, curriculum, or evaltuation of the
teachingprocess.
The effectof not being able to see and hear each other at work
is profound; teachers have almost no basis for supporting and rewarding each other in the process of instruction. There is no opportunityfor one teacher to tell another that she has carried out a
lesson well, handled a difficultchild with skill, or planned a clever
curriculum unit. There are few opportunities for teachers to earn
professional respect from other teachers on the basis of proven
skill in teaching or skill in planning and evaluation within a collaborative teachergroup.
Little visibility has still furthereffectson opportunities for
teachers to make an impact on anyone but their own group of
students. Without a chance to see and hear each other at work,
teachers cannot form any sensible idea of who is relatively skilled
and should act as a leader and model for other teachers. Even if
teachers have no formal organizational rightsto evaluate and control one another's behavior, theymight still be al)le to function as
highly influential in a colleagtue group. Buit,without a process of
decision-making in collaborative teacher groulps,there is no way
to convince colleagues of the efficacyof one's techniqtuesor cur-

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145

Open-Space-Schools

riculumideas. If one teacheris unusuallysuccessfulin planning

smallgroupworkin classrooms,
thereis no wayforherto influence
otherteachersto plan withher techniques.
In review,the elementaryschool is a formalorganization
givingfewrewardsforcompetenceand loyaltyto theteacher;there
are fewopportunitiesforpromotion;and pay is rarelyrelatedto
competence.In addition,the teacherhas very little power and
authorityoutsideher particularclassroom.The same maybe said
of opportunitiesforplayingan influentialrole or receivingprofessionalrewardsin the informalworkorganization;thereis little
chance to receivepraise,respectand supportfromotherteachers
or forcontrollingthe behaviorof colleaguesthrougha processof
influenceon professional
matters.
The open-spaceschool,an innovativeformof school architecture,representssignificant
change in both the formaland informalorganizationof elementaryschool teaching.This paper
reportspartialresultsof a studyof organizationalinnovationby
theEnvironment
forTeaching program,at theStanfordCenterfor
Researchand Developmentin Teaching.The largerstudy(Meyer,
Cohen, et al., 1971) compared teachersfromteams workingin
open-space elementaryschools with teachersin conventionally
organizedschools.
The "open-space"schoolshouldnot be confusedwiththeconcept of the "open classroom."A relativelyrecent innovationin
school architecture,the "open-spaceschool" lacks interiorpartitions,visual and acoustical separationbetweenteachingstations
and classroomareas is limitedor eliminated.'The mostcommon
practicehas been to createinstructional
areas by forming"pods,"
"classroomclusters,"or "big rooms"thataccommodatea definite
number of teachersand class groups usually rangingfromthe
equivalent of two to nine classrooms.Accordingto a surveyof
43 statedirectorsof school planning,over 50 per cent of all new
schoolsconstructedwithinthe last threeyearshave been of open
design.2

RESEARCH QUESTIONS ON AMBITION

of eleSuspicionthatthe rewardstructureand powerlessness
mentaryschool teachinghelps to drive out some of its most desirable membershas oftenbeen voiced in educational literature
(cf. Bush, 1970:112). A major question of this analysiswas the
relationshipbetweenambitionin teachersand job dissatisfaction.
Was it true thatmore committedteacherswere more dissatisfied
1 School Planning Laboratory,School of Education. Open-Space Schools Project
Bulletin No. 1, March 1970. Stanford,California: StanfordUniversity.
2 Ibid, p. 5.

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146

Cohen

than less committedand ambitiousteachers?At the startof the

largerstudy,we could not knowwhatchangesin formalorganization theseopen-spaceschoolsentailed beyond delegationof decision-making
powersto a teamofteachersand thefactorofincreased
visibilityof a teacher'swork to her colleagues. Nevertheless,we
wishedto examine the effectof workingin open-spaceschoolson
therelationshipof ambitionto dissatisfaction.
Would team teaching in open-spaceschoolsrepresenta major change forambitious
teachers,so thatambitionmightbe positivelyassociatedwithjob
satisfaction
in thenew setting?The thirdquestionwas theoretical:
If therelationshipbetweenambitionand job satisfaction
changed
in the open-spaceschools,what particularfeaturesof the new
settingand organizationof workwereassociatedwiththischange?
"Open-spaceschool" is not a theoreticalconceptbut an architectural term: we need to know how to abstractand characterize
organizationalsourcesofcriticalchangesin the teacher'srole.
As the studyprogressed,it became apparent that the openspaceschoolsin thesampledid not representchangesin theformal
rewardsavailable to competentteachersor increasedopportunities
for promotionto higher paying positionssuch as team leader.
Principals'evaluationsof teacherswere infrequentin both types
of schools.It was truethattheauthoritystructureof the twotypes
of schoolswas different;the power to plan for and to schedule
largegroupsof childrenhad been delegatedto teamsin the openspace schools.But the teamswere,formallyspeaking,equal status
teams,so thatthe increasein decision-making
power was a characteristicof the group ratherthan a competitiveopportunityfor
an ambitiousteacher.
What had changedradicallywas thenatureof the interaction
betweenteachersand theiropportunityto teach in full view of
each other.Unless the portablepartitionswereup, teachersin the
open-spaceschoolscould see and hear each otherat work.Time
was usuallyset aside forteam meetingswhereplanning,decisionmaking and discussionof "problem" children and curriculum
problemstook place. In addition,teachersin open-spaceschools
frequently
conferredduringthe courseof a workingday.
Overall surveyresultsrevealed that interactionon the team
is a necessarybut not sufficient
conditionforan increasedsenseof
influenceand autonomyon the part of team teachers.For some
teachers,the chance to become influentialin a group of peers
appears to lead to a generalincreasein a sense of autonomyand
influence.Teachers in open-spaceschoolswere farmore likelyto
perceivethemselvesas influentialand autonomousthan teachers
in conventionalschools.
Teams in open-spaceschoolsnot only reportincreasedinter-

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147

Open-Space Schools

actionopportunitiesand an increasedsense of influence,observationsrevealed thatthe teachersprovideda source of rewardand

supportto each otherwithinteammeetings.In the teamsituation,
a teacherwho reportsthe successof a classroomtechniqueor the
handlingof a child who is definedby the team as a "problem"
can and does receivethe warmapprobationof teammembers.
In discussionsof curriculumdecisions, the ideas of each
teacheron at least some of the manytasksare likelyto be agreed
upon and favorablyevaluated by peers.There are manychances
for praise and social support.All favorableevaluation does not
flowto one influentialteacher(althoughsometeamsare
necessarily
dominatedby one teacher); interactionpatternsmay vary over
tasks(Molnar, 1971).
meetingsand different
different
For the purposesof the analysesof thispaper, then,the distinctionbetweentheopen-spaceschooland theconventionalschool
in the probabilityof
becomes a rough indicatorof differences
in
receivingpraise and supportfromcolleagues and differences
the probabilityof playingan influentialrole among colleagues.
is not an indicator
The architectural
and worksituationdifference
in the chance of favorableformalevaluationand
of a difference
possible reward based on competence,nor a differencein the
availabilityof upwardmobilitywithintheranksof theschool.
The Ambitious Teacher
Two typesof ambitiousteacherswere conceptualizedforthis
study.One typeof teacherwishesto becomemore influentialand
to receivedifferen'tial
rewardand recognitionforteachingcompewithouthavingto leave the classroom.This is a
tence,preferably
personcommittedto the professionof teaching.We have called
thisattitudeand aspiration,ProfessionalAmbition.
A secondtypeof teacheralso wishesto becomemore influential and to receivegreaterrewardsthan less competentteachers,
but thispersonis willing to leave the classroomto achieve these
rewardsand increasedstatus.This teacherdesiressome formof
post.Such a teacher
promotionin theranks,such as a supervisory
would be willingto leave the classroomfora returnto school if
We have called
thisavenue held some hope forupward'mobility.
thisattitude-aspiration
type,VerticalAmbition.It is entirelypossible thata singlesubjectwould hold both theseattitudessimulsometaneously.Because teachingsupervisorsand administrators
timessee theirrole as "professionalleader,"teacherswho want to
enter supervisory
ranks do not necessarilysee
or administrative
themselvesleaving behind direct professionalconcernwith the
students.

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Cohen

MEASUREMENT OF VARIABLES
Ambition
Two indicesofambitionwereconstructed
fromattitudeitems
includedin theinstrument.
Ambitiousteacherswho wereoriented
towardclinicalskillsand the classroomwere seen as distinctfrom
ambitious teachersinterestedin promotioninto administrative
ranks.The firsttypeof ambitionis measuredby an index called
ProfessionalAmbition,and the second is measuredby an index
calledVerticalAmbition.
ProfessionalAmbition.The itemsof thisindex show a substantiallevel of intercorrelation;
each item is significantly
correlated with everyother item; the correlationcoefficients
range
from.31 to .52. The contentof theseitemscenterson colleague
leadershipbased upon high levels of professionalskill:
ProfessionalAmbition
to help new youngteachQ 26. I would like the opportunity
ers develop classroomskills.
Q 32. I could see myselfhelpingto lead a workshopon teachingtechniques.
Q 34. I would be veryinterestedin showingotherteachers
stylesand techniquesI've developed.
Q 35. I would be competentat makingsupervisoryevaluationsof theotherteachers(Meyer,Cohen,et al., 1970:
97).
VerticalAmbition.Items in this index are more concerned
with the lack of promotionopportunitiesin the hierarchyof the
school. These itemsreflectmore of a desire for upward occupational mobilitythan does the previousindex. Of the itemscomposed forthisdimension,fiveshoweda modestlevel of intercorrelation.These are as follows:
VerticalAmbition
Q 4. In comparisonwith other teachers,I would say that
I am a veryambitiousperson.
Q 6. I personallyreallywishgood teachersgotmorerecognition.
Q 18. If myschoolencouragedme in acquiringa supervisory
certificate
by financingme, I would be extremelyinterested.
Q 22. I have oftenthoughtthat I would like to returnto
school forat least a year to improvemy professional
abilitiesas a classroomteacher.
Q 29. It is veryimportantto me to be in a schoolwithmany
opportunitiesfor advancement for the classroom
teacher(Meyer,Cohen,et al., 1971:101).

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Open-Space Schools

The items of this index show a low but statisticallysignificant

correlationwitheach otherwiththeexceptionof Question4 which
correlatedwith Question 22. The statistically
is not significantly
rangefrom.11 to .38. In a future
correlationcoefficients
significant
is desirable.Questions6, 22,
studysome furtheritem refinement
and 29 do not clearlyimplyupwardmobilityonly,but probably
include some ideas of professionalrewardsfor classroomcompetence.
This dimensionwas measuredby a five-item
Job Satisfaction.
index containingquestionson satisfactionwith presentteaching
job, with the choice of teachingas an occupation,and with the
likelihoodof acceptinga job outsideof education(Meyer,Cohen,
calculatedon the
et al., 1971:50). All the correlationcoefficients
relationshipof each item to everyother item were statistically
rangedfrom.18 to .63.
the size of thecoefficients
significant;
CalculationofScore Groupsin Indices. Scoreswerecalculated
foreach subjectforeach index by simple addition of a score for
responses;and the most
each item.Each itemhad fiveLikert-type
favorableresponsewas given an item score of "five"; the next
mostfavorableresponsewas scored"four,"etc. The distribution
oftheentiresampleon thetotalindexscorewas thentrichotomized
so that approximatelyone-thirdof the sample fell into each of
threecategories:High, Medium,or Low, on the particularindex.
Restrictionof Analysisto Women Teachers.The resultsreportedbelow are forwomenteachersonly.This decisionwas made
forthe followingreasons: (1) Perceptionof opportunitiesforadin women than
vancementundoubtedlyfunctionverydifferently
betweenthesexesand because
in menbecause ofstatusdifferences
of the paucityof women in postsof educationaladministration.
fewmen in our sample: 16 men in
(2) There are comparatively
open-spaceschools and 21 in self-containedclassroomschools.
Since we did not have enough men to analyzerelationshipsseparately,we decided to examine the predictionsand associations
forwomenteachersonly.
RESULTS
School Settingand Job Satisfaction
Because the major researchquestions are in termsof job
it is importantto point out that therewas a sharply
satisfaction,
among open-spaceschool teachincreasedlevel of job satisfaction
ers.Forty-six
per centof the open-spaceschool facultyhad a high
while only 28 per cent of the self-conscore on Job Satisfaction,
tained classroomteachershad such a score.

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Cohen

150

Ambitionand Job Satisfactionin TraditionalSchools

The firstresearch question concerned ambition and job
satisfaction:Would more ambitiousteachersshow more job dissatisfactionin conventionalschoolsthan less ambitiousteachers?
Table 1 showsa clear negativeassociationbetweeneach ambition
classroomteachwiththe self-contained
index and job satisfaction
ers. The higher the score on ambition as measured by either
index,theloweris the probabilityof being highlysatisfiedby the
job.
ProfessionalAmbitionand Job Satisfaction
Would workingin teamsin an open-spaceschool changethis
Findingsof
relationshipbetweenambitionand job satisfaction?
rewardsand
the generalstudyconcerningthe lack of differential
authorityawarded to individual teachersin the new schools,
forcedus to view the two indices of ambition quite differently.
Obviously,teacherswho had high scores on Vertical Ambition
are no morelikelyto be promotedor givenmeritpay in the new
settingthan in the old. On the other hand, teacherswith high
scoreson ProfessionalAmbitionare more likely to receive the
rewardof colleague respectand the chance to influenceother
teachersin the increasedcolleague interactionsituationof the
open-spaceschool.At thisstagein the analysis,we thereforepredicted that job satisfactionwould relate positivelyto ambition,
AmbitionIndex,in theopen-spaceschool.
onlyfortheProfessional
In testingthispredictionof a more favorableresponseof the
ambitiousteachersin theopen-spaceschool,we were
professionally
surprisedto findthat therewere quite a fewmore teacherswith
high scoreson the Index of ProfessionalAmbitionin the openclassrooms.Table 2 shows
space schoolsthan in the self-contained
scores
in percentagedistributionsof trichotomized
the difference
on ProfessionalAmbition.Thirty-twoper cent of the women in
TABLE 1
Two Types of Ambition and Job Satisfaction: Self-Contained Classrooms
PercentageHigh on Job Satisfaction
Type of Ambition

Score

Professional

High
Medium
Low

19
38
42

21%
26
33

Vertical

High
Medium
Low

33
37
29

21%
30
35

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151

Open-Space Schools

TABLE 2
Percentage Distribution of Trichotomized Scores of the Index of Professional
Ambition in Open and Self-ContainedClassroom Schools for Women Only
Self-Contained
Classrooms

Professional
Ambition

Open
Schools

High
Medium
Low

327o
42%
27%

19%
38%
42%

100%
(N=94)

100%
(N=99)

Total

open-spaceschools had high scores,whereasonly 19 per cent of

classroomshad scoresin thiscategory.
thewomenin self-contained
of ambitious
A questionconcerningthe possibleself-selection
teachersinto the open-spaceschoolis immediatelyobvious.It was
thereforeimportantto examine some of the backgroundcharacteristics
of theteachersto determineif open-spaceschoolsattracted
and/orrecruiteda "special" kind of teacher,at least in termsof
age, sex, yearsof teachingexperienceand education.
Teachers in the two kinds of schools are virtuallyindistinguishableon the basis of sex or amount of formaleducation.
In bothsamples,around85 percentof theteachersare femaleand
around 45 per cent have more than a B.A. degree.Probablybecause the open-spaceschoolsare newer schools,thereis a slight
tendencyfora higherproportionof theopen-spaceschoolteachers
to be in the 26-30 yearage bracketand a higherprobabilitythat
theyhave had less than threeyearsexperience.Personneland recruitmentpolicies were quite varied in the open-spaceschools;
some teacherswere selectedby the building principaland others
came throughcentraldistrictofficedecisions.
with
When the scoreson Job Satisfactionare cross-tabulated
scores on ProfessionalAmbition,it becomes clear that women
withhighscoreson ProfessionalAmbitionare moresatisfiedwith
theirjobs thanare womenwithlow scoreson ProfessionalAmbition,in open-spaceschoolsonly(see Table .3). The reverseof this
classrooms.
relationshipholds forself-contained
VerticalAmbitionand Job Satisfaction
The score distributionson VerticalAmbitionwere similar
in thetwoschoolsettings.The positiveassociationof Job Satisfactionand ProfessionalAmbitionseen in Table 3 turnsout to be the
singleexceptionto the moregeneralfindingof a negativeassociaTable 4 showsthatthere
tion betweenambitionand satisfaction.
is a strongnegativerelationshipbetweenscoreson VerticalAmbi-

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152

CohenTABLE 3
ProfessionalAmbition and Job SatisfactionAmong Women:
For Open and Self-Contained Classroom Schools
Percentage High on Job Satisfactiona
Open

Professiona
AmbitioSchools
Professional
Ambition__

__

Self-Contained
Classrooms
_

Score

High
Medium
Low

30
39
25

53
49
40

19
38
42

21
26
33

a
The Index of Job Satisfaction was trichotomizedwith approximately onethird of all the teachers falling into "High," Medium," and "Low" categories.

tion and Job Satisfactionin both school settings.Whether she

classroomschools,the
teachesin open-spaceor in self-contained
moreverticallyambitiousa woman teacherdeclaresherselfto be,
withherjob and the more
themorelikelyshe is to be dissatisfied
likelyshe is to favoracceptinga job outsideeducation.
Althoughthe relationshipbetween Vertical Ambition and
Job Satisfactionin the open-spaceschool remainsan inverseone,
it is nonethelesstrue,in absolute terms,thatverticallyambitious
teachersin open-spaceschools were 10 per cent more likely to
have a High Score on Job Satisfactionthan verticallyambitious
classrooms.The increasedjob satisfaction
womenin self-contained
associatedwith open-spaceschools is much more marked with
teachersscoringLow on VerticalAmbition-61 percentare highly
satisfiedin open-spaceschools compared to 35 per cent in selfcontainedclassroomschools.
TABLE 4
Vertical Ambition and Job Satisfaction in Open and Self-Contained
Classroom Schools
Percentage High on Job Satisfactiona
Self-Contained
Classrooms

Open
Schools

Vertical Ambition
Score

High
Medium
Low

26
37
31

31
49
61

33
37
29

21
30
35

a
The Index of Job Satisfaction was trichotomizedwith approximately onethird of all the teachers falling into "High," Medium," and "Low" categories.

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153

Open-Space Schools
INTERPRETATION

In traditionalschoolsthereis evidenceof job dissatisfaction

among ambitious teachers,regardlessof the index of ambition
used. Althoughan index of job dissatisfaction
does not necessarily
predictdroppingout of teachingaltogether,thisevidenceis consistentwith the supposi;tionthat the structureof teachingis not
particularly
satisfying
forthe morecommitted,ambitiouswoman.
The findingof a much higherproportionof professionally
ambitiouswomen in the open-spaceschool than in the self-contained classroomwas not expected.Insofaras demographiccharacteristicsof teachersmightdifferin the two settings,one might
arguethatthisis theresultofspecialselectionprocedures.Analysis
reveals that the two samples of teachersappear verysimilaron
backgroundcharacteristics.
Another possible interpretationis that the experience of
workingon teams in open-spaceschools actually produces professionallyambitiousresponsesto theseitems.Initially,ambition
was not conceivedof as an effectof thechangein schoolorganization, but as a priorcharacteristic
broughtby the person to the
new work experience.From the wisdomof a post hoc point of
view, it is clear that work in the open-spaceschool does give
women opportunitiesfor activitiessimilarto the ones described
in theitems.It hardlyseemsunreasonable,lookingat theseresults,
to suppose that people mightbecome ambitiouswhen given the
opportunityto tryout new skillsand to achievenew recognition
forcompetence.
CriticalFeaturesof OrganizationalDifference
As a resultof this analysis,thoseof the largerstudy,as well
as observationalstudies of teaching teams,we developed some
theoreticalpropositionsconcerningabstractfeaturesof the work
settingand theireffectson the attitudesof individual workers.
The firstdistinctionis betweentheformalworkorganizationand
the informalwork organization.Relevant concepts within the
formalwork organizationare the differential
evaluation and rewardsgivento workersand the authorityrightsvestedin workers
by virtueof assignmentto a specificpositionor role. We referto
theseaspectsas thechancesforrewardand influencein theformal
workorganization.In manyorganizationsan individualcan look
forwardto promotionin rankwithincreasedpay.With thepromotionusuallycomestherightto superviseand evaluatesubordinates,
and thereforean increasedchance to be influential.Although
theopen-spaceschooldid not increasethe chancesforrewardand
influencefor the individual teacherin competitionwith others,
it did delegateincreaseddecision-making
powersto the team as a

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154

Cohen

whole.Thus one mightargue thatthe group of teachers,called a

team,had experiencedincreasedinfluencein the work organization.If teacherswho desireupwardmobilitydo perceiveteachers
as veryinfluential,
theyshouldshowmorejob satisfaction
than if
theydo not perceiveteachersas influential.
Workingrelationshipsbetweenteammembersare located in
theinformal
workorganization.
The teamis a relativelytemporary
ofequal statusworkers.In thelargerstudyit was found
sub-system
thatunlessteachersreportedincreasedinteraction
withintheteam,
as comparedto the level of interactionin conventionalschools,
theydid not reportincreasedteacherinfluence.We theorizethat
teaminteraction,
in somecases,proveshighlyrewardingto teachers
and allowssomeof themto feelthattheyare beingveryinfluential
on iteamdecision-making.
This increasein chancesof rewardand
influencein the informalwork organizationis the source of the
growthin professionalambitionand itsassociatedincreasein job
satisfaction.
It mustbe noted thatteamsare markedby variability
as to whetheror not theyinteractveryfrequentlyand whether
or not theyreportteachersas influential.
Figure 1 diagramsthe theoreticalpropositionsdeveloped as
a resultof the data analysis.Unfortunately,
it is only possible to
makea partialexplorationin thisbodyofdata forsupportof these
FIGURE 1
The Theoretical Relationship Between Chances for Reward and Influence in
Formal and Informal Work Organizations and Ambition
and Satisfactionof Teachers

WORKORGANIZATION
FORMAL

INFORMAL
WORKORGANIZATION

uU
3

e-'
C

upwr

umti

2. Aspirations
for upward
mobility associated
with job satisfaction.

2.

Ambition
Professional
associated
positively
with job satisfaction.

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155

Open-Space Schools

propositions.The measuresare not uniquely constructedfor the

purposeof measuringsome of the keyconceptsdeveloped above.
For example,we did not include a directmeasureof how influential the individual teacherfelt in decision-making
on the team.
Nor did we measuredirectlythe extentto which the individual
teacherfound work on the team rewarding.Thus we can only
speculatethatthe observedassociationbetweenworkingon teams
in open-spaceschoolsand an increasein job satisfaction
associated
with an increasedprofessionalambitionstemsfromrewardand
influencein theinformalworkorganization.In thestudycurrently
underway,we are measuringinfluenceand rewardin team structureby questionnaireand by observingteam interaction.
We did ask the followingquestion: How much influencedo
individual teachers in this school have over . . . (five specific task

areas)?Responsesto thisquestiondealt withfivetaskareas which

were then combined into an index and dichotomizedas High
PerceivedTeacher Influenceand Low PerceivedTeacher Influence. In termsof the diagramin Figure 1, a high score on this
index could reflecttwo kinds of increasedinfluence:(1) playing
an influentialrole in the informalworkorganizationof the team
sub-system,
or (2) increaseddecision-making
powersof teams in
theformalworkorganization;theynow plan forover 100 children
at a time.If thismeasuredoes reflectincreasedpowerand efficacy
forteachergroupsin the formalorganization,verticallyambitious
teacherswho do perceiveteachersas influentialshould exhibitincreased job satisfactionin comparison to similarlyambitious
teacherswho do not see teachersas influential.
Table 5 shows the relationshipbetween perceived teacher
ambitiousteachers
influenceand job satisfaction,
onlyforvertically
in thetwoschoolsettings.
A stronginteraction
effect
is immediately
visiblein theopen-spaceschool,whereperceivedteacherinfluence
is stronglyassociatedwith job satisfaction,
but weaklyif at all
TABLE 5
Perceptioniof Teaclher Influence atndJob SatisfactionAmong Wometi Teachers
High in Vertical Ambition: For Two School Settings
Percentage High on Job Satisfactiona

Vertical
Ambitionl

Ilighl

Percaption
of Teacher__
a

Self-ContainedI
Classrooms

Open
Schools
_

__

Influencea

High

37

60

30

33

21

29

41

29

Low

"All three indices were dichotomized in order to preserve the number of cases
fallinginto the (lifferenlt
categories.

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156

Cohen

classrooms.If a
associatedwithjob satisfactionin self-contained
verticallyambitious teacherperceivesteachersto be influential
in theopen-spaceschool,she is twiceas likelyto have a highscore
on Job Satisfactionthan if she does not have this perception.
Secondly,verticallyambitiousteachersin open-spaceschoolswho
with
do not perceiveteachersas influentialare quite dissatisfied
theirjobs; as a matterof fact,forthisgroup the generalincrease
in satisfactionof teachersworkingin the open-spaceschools as
compared to self-containedclassroomsdisappears (29 per cent
have High Job Satisfactionin both settings).
In absolute terms,the morale of ambitiouswomen in openspace schoolsappears to be markedlyimprovedif theyperceive
thatteachersin generalare influentialin theirschool.The source
of this improvementin job satisfactionin particularchangesin
formaland informalworkorganizations,
is not clear at thistime;
measuresdesignedpreciselyforthetheoreticalconceptsin Figure1
are necessaryin orderto testthepropositionsof interest.
of Individual Needs
OrganizationalGratification
which an indiInitiallywe saw ambitionas a characteristic
vidual broughtwithherto a worksetting.If thatworksettingprovided gratification
forthatambition,we reasonedthe individual
Contraryto our expectateacherwould showmorejob satisfaction.
tions,teachersin the open-spaceschoolsweremuch morelikelyto
receive a high score on ProfessionalAmbition than teachersin
As theanalysisdocumentedtheincreased
self-contained
classrooms.
professionalinteractionand attendantfeelingsof influenceand
autonomyof the open-spaceschool teachers,we interpretedthis
findingas a functionof the creationof an ambitiousresponseby
thenewworksettingitself.We reasonedthatas teachersconvinced
decisions,
teammembersof the besteducationaland instructional
fortheirteaching,
and as theywererewardedby praiseand suipport
in full view of each other,many teacherswould develop professional ambition.It hardlyseems unreasonable,when looking at
thisworksetting,to supposethatpeople mightbecomeambitious
when given the opportunityto tryout new skillsand to achieve
new recognitionfor competence.Although with cross-sectional
data thereis no way to tell withcertaintywhetheror not the orambitiousresponseovertime,
ganizationcreatedtheprofessionally
a longituidinalstudyis in the planning stage to determinethe
answerto thisamongotherquiestions.
At thistime,the best interpretationis thatorganizationalchange probablycreatedthe proat one and
ambitiouisresponseand the job satisfaction
fessionally
the same time.It wouildnot be too suirprising
to findthatwomen
who like to playthesenew rolesalso are satisfiedwiththeirjobs.

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157

Open-Space Schools

The original predictionwas that more ambitious women

would be more satisfiedwith their jobs in settingsproviding
fortheirgoals. Table 3 confirmedthispredictionfor
gratification
the index of ProfessionalAmbition; women in the open-space
Ambitionare morelikely
schoolswithhigherscoreson Professional
withtheirjobs thanwomenwho have low scoreson
to be satisfied
classProfessionalAmbition.The reverseis trueforself-contained
rooms.
of
classroomsthe greaterjob dissatisfaction
In self-contained
the womenwith higherscoreson ProfessionalAmbitionis a disquietingresult.It certainlylooksas thoughorganizationalarrangementsforteachingcan proveto be discouragingto theverypeople
mosteducatorswould like to encourage.
The results of the Vertical Ambition Index indicate unequivocallythatthe more ambitiousa woman declaresherselfto
she is with her job. And thatholds true
be, the more dissatisfied
Sixty-oneper centof thelow
in bothkindsofschoolorganizations.
withtheirjobs, while
scorersin theopen-spaceschoolsare satisfied
The
only31 percentofthosewho are moreambitiousare satisfied.
ambitiouswomen in the open-spaceschoolsare not much more
classrooms.
in the self-contained
satisfiedthan theircounterparts
as a functionofthefailureofopenThis findingis interpreted
spaceschoolsto provideanymoreopportunitiesforformalpromoclassrooms.And we do speak of thisas a
tion than self-contained
"failure" because it cannot be a desirable state of affairswhen
women with stronglyexpressedcareer orientationsare so likely
to be dissatisfied
withtheirteachingjobs. Whetheror not the job
expressedhere turns into actual "dropout" from
dissatisfaction
the occupationis an unanswerablequestion in thisbody of data,
but is scheduledfor investigationin the longitudinalstudydiscussedabove.
Ambitionand Feelings Toward Children
All these"ambitious"womenmaybe quite unsettlingto the
stereotypeof the female elementaryteacherderivingher major
Some mayarguethatwomen
fromchildrenthemselves.
satisfaction
who are ambitiousto get ahead cannot have the properwarm,
loving attitudetowardchildren.In this view, the nature of the
stemming
rewardand statusstructure
in teachingwithgratification
mainlyfromtheclientis turnedintoa virtuebywhichonlywomen
who are satisfiedwith theserewardsand with this low statusare
definedas suitableforteachingbecause theyare theonlyones who
care in a deep way about children.
The surveydid include questions on the orientationsof
teachersto children.Especiallyrelevantto thisquiestionare indices

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158

Cohen

TABLE 6
Probability of Havinig High Scores in Child and Matcrnal Orientations for Higl
and Low Scorers on Professional Ambition: Women Only
Percentage High Scorc

Professionial
Ambitioni

Child

Maternal

High
Medium
Low

49%
25%
22%

41%
38%
30%

49
77
67

of maternaland child developmentorientations.Women with a

high score on the Maternal OrientationIndex feel so warmly
towardchildrenthat theyreporttheyoften"would like to take
one home with them." Women with a high score on the Child
DevelopmentOrientationIndex are more interestedin watching
theprogress
in thegrowthofeach childand in consciouslybuilding
a good relationshipwith thatchild than theyare in seeing how
much of the required curriculumhe has absorbed. The Child
DevelopmentOrientationindex reflectsa professionalphilosophy
of the child-centeredelementaryschool approach, very much
favoredin schoolsofeducationin therecentperiod(Meyer,Cohen,
etal., 1971,Chapter6).
Table 6 and 7 show thatboth indicesof ambitionare positivelyrelatedto boththe Maternaland Child DevelopmentOrientationIndex. More ambitiouswomenare morelikelyto have high
scoreson the indicesof maternaland child orientationthan are
less ambitiouswomen. This findingofferssome supportfor the
general belief that one has to like childrento want to stay in
teachingand make it a life-longcareer.The findingshould also
quiet the argumentof the school administrator
who mightfeel
that"it was just as well forthe profession"fordissatisfied
ambitiouswomento leave teachingaltogether.
SUMMARY AND SPECULATION
The findingsreportedin thispaper have strongimplications
forthe statusof the femaleelementaryschool teacher.They sugTABLE 7
Probability of Havinig High Scores in Child an(d Maternial Oricntationisfor High
ani(l Low Scorers of Vertical Ambition: Womeni Otnly
Percentage High Score
Vertical Ambitioni

Child

Highi
Me(lium
Low

44%
28%
18%

Maternial
42%
39%
30%

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N
59
74
60

159

Open-Space Schools

gestthatthe low statusof elementary

schoolteachingand the high
dropoutfigures
characterizing
theoccupationuntiltheveryrecent
periodresultnot onlyfromthegenerallylow standingof theoccupation in social prestigebut fromat least three featuresof the
structure
of theoccupation:(1) lack of powerand influenceof the
teachingpositionwithin the organizationof the school, (2) the
lack of rewardsfor competence,and (3) the lack of promotion
in theprofession.
opportunities
The open-spaceschoolhas provideda chance to examine the
relationshipbetweenteachermorale and an increasedperception
of teacherpowerand efficacy.
Under conditionsof organizational
change,thereis a markedrise in the perceptionof teachersas influentialand in the tendencyto see oneselfas autonomous.And
thoseteacherswho respondto thenew settingwithperceptionsof
influenceand autonomyare likelyto be satisfiedwith theirjob.
In otherwords,if teachersare made to feel more powerfulas a
resultofchangesin theorganizationof work,theywill have higher
morale.
The second featureof elementaryschool teaching,lack of
differential
rewardforcompetence,was studied in the responses
of teacherswho felt sufficiently
competentfor demonstration
teachingand supervision.There is a surprisingincreasein the
percentageof professionally
ambitiouswomen in the open-space
schoolsas comparedto the traditionalschools.Moreover,in the
open-spaceschools,professional
ambitionwas positivelyassociated
withjob satisfaction,
while in self-contained
classrooms,the more
ambitiousa womanwas,themoredissatisfied
she was likelyto be.
The increasedoccurrenceof professionalambitionand its associatedimprovement
in teachermoralecould not have occurred
becauseofa formalchangein therewardsand evaluationsystemtherewereno suchchanges.Rather,thesefindingsmayindicatea
growthof ambitionand job satisfaction
in responseto certaininformalrewardsin the group interactionsettingofferedby the
teachingteam.
A finalfeatureof elementaryschool teachingis the lack of
opportunitiesfor promotion into administrationfor women.
Womenwho wereorientedtowardadvancement,recognition,and
supervisory
responsibilities
were markedlymore dissatisfiedthan
unambitiouswomenin both settings.The inferencecan be made
thatthelackofopportuinity
forupwardmobilityis veryfru.strating
to theseambitiousteachersand may well drive themouitof the
profession.If we couildfinda school organizationtrulyoffering
promotionopportuinities
to women,thisrelationshipbetweenambitionand dissatisfaction
shouildchangemarkedly.
Elementaryschool teachingis a traditionalhaven forwomen
who work; rarelyis this occuipationuisedas an example of sex

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160

Cohen

are men. And for

discrimination.
Yet, mostschool administrators
women who have no wish to leave the classroom,but who are
highlyprofessionally
oriented,thereis a lack of rewardand reinforcement
forprofessionalmerit.There are manywomen in this
sample who could be described as "ambitious" in an absolute
sensebyour attitudeindices;theyweretypicallyhighlydissatisfied
with teaching.The structureof elementaryschool teachingmay
well drivesome of thesewomenout of the profession.Even if sex
were eliminated,the didiscriminationin school administration
ambitiousteacherwould notbe solved.
lemmaoftheprofessionally
More fundamentalchangesin the evaluationof teachingand relow
wardsforcompetencewill be necessaryto alterthe uniformly
statusof womenin elementaryschool teaching.
From a practicalpoint of view,thesefindingssuggestthatif
the statusof teachersis raised by means of increasingtheirinfluencewithintheorganizationoftheschool,therewill be an increase
in job satisfaction
amongwomen teachers.Increasedmorale is of
among the
special concernbecause of the markeddissatisfaction
more committedand ambitious teachersin the study,women
likelyto have desirableorientationstowardchildren.Looking to
thefuture,a mostinteresting
questionmaybe the long-rangeoutcome of this kind of innovationwith an attendantincrease in
professionally
ambitiouswomenand an increasingsenseof teacher
Will team activitiescontinueto providegratification
for
efficacy.
thesewomen as the yearspass or will theydesire largerfieldsof
operationsuch as influenceover teachertrainees,sharedpowerin
school-widedecision-making,
and more voice in school districts?
A planned longitudinalstudyof the organizationalinnovations
will examinelonger-range
consequencesof increasedambitionand
efficacy
amongwomenteachers.
References
Bush, R. N.
"The Status of the Career Teacher: Its Effect upon the Teacher
1970
Dropout Problem" in T. M. Stinnett (Ed.), The Teacher Dropout.
Itasca, Ill.: Peacock Publishers.
Corey, A.
1970
"Overview of Factors affectingthe Holding Power of the Teaching
Profession,"in T. M. Stinnett(Ed.), The Teacher Dropout. Itasca, Ill.:
Peacock Publishers.
Lortie, D. C.
1969
"The Balance of Control and Autonomy in ElementarySchool Teaching" in A. Etzioni (Ed.), The Semi-Professionaland Their Organization. New York: The Free Press.
Meyer,J.,E. Cohen, et al.
1971
"The Impact of the Open-Space School upon Teacher Influence and
Autonomy: The Effectsof an Organizational Innovation." Stanford,
California: Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching,Technical Report No. 21,

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161

Open-Space Schools

Molnar, S.
1971

"Teachers in Teams: Interaction,Influence,and Autonomy." Stanford,

California: Stanford Center for Research and Development in Teaching, Technical Report No. 22.
School Planning Laboratory
1970
Open Space Schools. Project Bulletin No. 1, Stanford,California: Stanford University,March.

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Indiana47401.

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