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School Ethnicity and Governance Influences on Work Absence of Teachers and School Administrators

Faculty of Education, University of Haifa, Israel.

Arie Shirom

Faculty of Management, Tel Aviv University, Israel.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to examine the extent to which school ethnic affiliation (Jewish vs. Arab) and site-based management affected the absence of teachers and school administrators.

Research Design: Background individual and organization-level data on the population of elementary and middle-school teachers (52, 056 teachers at 2, 145 schools) in the Israeli public education system were studied by means of multi-level analysis (HLM).

Findings: Controlling for individual workload, school size, and school level, the authors found that the higher a teacher's administrative position, the fewer his or her absence spells. This tendency was more pronounced in the Arab-sector schools, although being affiliated to Arab schools tended to increase teachers'absenteeism.

Value: The study contributes to our understandingof the influenceof a school's ethnic affiliationandotherschool-level characteristics onwork absenteeism, a topictraditionally studied at the individual level of analysis. When, as in the present case, ethnic affiliation coincides with resource deprivation and marginalization in the broader society, an increase in withdrawal behavior such as work absence can be expected. The school hierarchy and one's position in it also emerge as important factors to be considered in the planning and design of further research on teachers'absence behavior.

Key Words: absenteeism • schools • administrators • school-based management • ethnicity

Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 3, 361-384 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0013161X05282613


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