Latent School-Level Classes of Teacher Working Conditions in Virginia

Many dimensions of teacher working conditions influence both teacher and student outcomes; yet, analyses of schools’ overall working conditions are challenged by high correlations among the dimensions. Our study overcame this challenge by applying latent profile analysis to school-level measures of school leadership, instructional agency, professional growth opportunities, rigorous instruction, managing student behavior, family engagement, physical environment, and safety. We identified four classes of schools: Supportive (61%), Unsupportive (7%), Unstructured (22%), and Structured (11%). The patterns of these classes suggest schools may face tradeoffs between factors such as more teacher autonomy for less instructional rigor or discipline. Teacher satisfaction and their stated career intentions were predicted by their school’s working conditions class, and school contextual factors predicted class membership. By identifying formerly unseen profiles of school-level teacher working conditions and considering the implications of being a teacher in each, decisionmakers can provide schools with targeted supports and investments.