STATUS CONGRUENCE AS IT RELATES TO TEAM TEACHER SATISFACTION
| Pages | 70-78 |
| Published date | 01 January 1976 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009744 |
| Date | 01 January 1976 |
| Author | MARJORIE S. ARIKADO |
| Subject Matter | Education |
THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME XIV, No. 1 May, 1976
STATUS CONGRUENCE AS IT RELATES TO TEAM
TEACHER SATISFACTION
MARJORIE S. ARIKADO
The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study which examined the
relationship between status congruence and teacher satisfaction with the team teaching
situation. Using the Sampson model of status congruence, the degree of correspondence
across two dimensions of status ranking was examined—personal status (as determined by
age,
sex, education and teaching experience) and leadership status (as determined by one's
holding or not holding a position of formal leadership). Since the relationship tested was not
found to be significant, this led to further examination into the dimensions of status ranking
selected for this study which resulted in the elucidation of unpredicted difficulties en-
countered when attempting to operationalise the concept of status congruence in non-
laboratory settings.
INTRODUCTION
The approaches of Weber,1 Parsons,2 and Lenski3 have emphasised that
a given individual may be ranked in many different systems of stratifica-
tion. Such researchers as Adams,4 Exline and Ziller,5 and Brandon,6 have
attempted to discover the consequences of differential placement along
various ranking dimensions related to status, by utilising an index of
dif-
ferential ranking as a major independent variable. The status dimensions
used in these differential ranking systems have been income, occupation,
education, race or ethnic background (Lenski); age, sex, rank (within air
crews),
amount of flight time, education, length of service
(Adams);
voting
power, task ability (Exline and Ziller); and age, sex, job, leadership posi-
tion (Brandon). The dependent variables used in the above mentioned
studies have been liberal attitudes, satisfaction, congeniality, discussion
agreement and attitude toward the group experiment.
In Lenski's model status incongruence was defined simply as a dis-
similarity of ranks. Sampson however, pointed out that differential rank-
ing is "not necessarily" incongruent and undesirable and does not "by
itself'
produce incongruence and tendencies toward congruence. His im-
portant contribution which differed from that offered by the Lenski
model, was the introduction of the concept of expectations. In the
Sampson model, incongruence exists only when
expectations
are violated
by rank inconsistency.
DR. MARJORIE S. ARIKADO is Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Ad-
ministration, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. She holds the degrees of B.A.,
M.Ed. and Ph.D. (Toronto).
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