SCHOOL GOVERNANCE REGIMES AND TEACHERS JOB-SATISFACTION - BUREAUCRACY, LEGITIMACY, AND COMMUNITY

Most approaches to improving education in the United States fail; some succeed in certain schools only to fail elsewhere. Why? The main thes is of this study is that various programs to school reform fail becaus e they neglect to consider the role of legitimacy as an intervening fa ctor as a school moves from a strict bureaucratic to a community gover nance regime. This article develops and estimates a causal model descr ibing the relationship between bureaucracy, legitimacy, and community as predictors of teachers' job satisfaction-an important school outcom e that is highly related to student achievement. Data for the study ar e from a national survey of National Education Association teacher mem bers.