THE PARADOX OF PROFESSIONAL TEACHER AGENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN PUBLIC EDUCATION: USING AUTOETHNOGRAPHY TO PROMOTE REFLEXIVITY IN TEACHERS AND RAISE CONSCIOUSNESS OF AGENTIC BELIEFS AND VALUES by Christopher T. F. Hanson, B.A., M.M., M.M., M.M. A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Council of Texas State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with a Major in School Improvement May 2021 Committee Members: James Koschoreck, Chair Bergeron Harris Craig Hanks Rolf Straubhaar COPYRIGHT by Christopher T. F. Hanson 2021 FAIR USE AND AUTHOR’S PERMISSION STATEMENT Fair Use This work is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, section 107). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgment. Use of this material for financial gain without the author’s express written permission is not allowed. Duplication Permission As the copyright holder of this work I, Christopher T. F. Hanson, authorize duplication of this work, in whole or in part, for educational or scholarly purposes only. DEDICATION To my family: my mother Debra, my partner Erin, and my children Emily and Graham. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I thank God for their unending love and support. This document is a testament to the gifts I have been trusted with and the experiences I have been brought through by the grace of God. I affirm my faith in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, and the awesome call to love others as I was first loved by him. Second, I acknowledge the love and support of my family. This documented is dedicated to my mother, Debra Hanson, my partner, Erin Hanson, and my children, Emily and Graham Hanson. So much of who I am today is directly related to the unfathomable support my mother has offered me in my life. Her sacrifices and love have not only inspired me, but serve as a testament to her endless strength and countless opportunities she offered me to survive and grow beyond our limitations. I would not have completed this document without the limitless support of my remarkable partner. I am humbled by her generosity, kindness, patience, talent, and compassion. She has been, and continues to be my stalwart companion in life. For my children, I pray they see this document as a testament to the transformative power of education, and I cherish the possibilities in their lives that are enriched by the production of this document. Thirdly, I acknowledge the incredible support of my dissertation advisor, Dr. James Koschoreck. I am forever indebted to your generosity and support. You provided me with the agency I needed to complete this research and discover the scholar and educator I aspire to be. Additionally, I acknowledge my gratitude to Dr. Craig Hanks for his mentorship and guidance. I am eternally grateful for your kindness and support through some of the most challenging times of my graduate scholarship at Texas State. I also acknowledge the magnanimous support of Dr. Bergeron Harris and Dr. Rolf Straubhaar. I presented an incredibly ambitious goal and timeline for completing this document, and you graciously offered your time, attention, encouragement, and support. Thank you all for your commitment to both teaching and learning. Lastly, to my students and colleagues from San Marcos CISD and Seattle Pacific University. I acknowledge your unending contributions to my life, career, and understanding of education. You inspire and challenge me daily. I am so grateful to learn with you, and share my thoughts and ideas through critical dialog and engagement in the arts. I know that this document is not an end, but a beginning. As the great Maxine Greene proclaims “I am forever on the way.” I answer her call, as an artist, educator, and learner, to change the world… for “the arts, it has been said, cannot change the world, but they can change human beings, who can change the world.” v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ ix LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................1 Bringing Agency into Focus through a Philosophical Lens ........................4 The Personal and Pragmatic Connection .....................................................5 Conceptualizing Agency within a Structure and Culture of Education .......8 “Troubling” Accountability .......................................................................12 Statement of the Problem and Purpose of the Study ..................................16 Research Questions ....................................................................................18 Definitions ..................................................................................................18 Summary ....................................................................................................20 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ...................................................................22 Disambiguation of Agency: In Search of Meaning ...................................22 Self-Efficacy ..................................................................................23 Autonomy ......................................................................................26 Socio-Cognitive Theory versus Self-Determination Theory .........29 A Temporal Understanding of Agency ......................................................32 The Ecological Approach ..............................................................38 Iterational ...........................................................................41 Practical-Evaluative ...........................................................42 Projective ...........................................................................43 Morphogenesis ...............................................................................45 The Chordal Triad ..........................................................................49 Understanding Professional Teacher Agency ............................................52 III. METHODS .....................................................................................................55 Research Questions ....................................................................................55 vi Methodology ..............................................................................................56 Epistemological Framework ......................................................................59 Structure and Substance .............................................................................63 Chapter IV: In Search of Accountability .......................................65 Chapter V: Preparing the Narratives ..............................................68 Chapter VI: The Narrative ............................................................70 Financial accountability .....................................................72 Academic accountability ....................................................73 Professional accountability ................................................74 Analysis and Interpretation ........................................................................75 Ethical Considerations ...............................................................................77 IV. IN SEARCH OF ACCOUNTABILITY .........................................................79 Artifact #1 - Starting the Conversation: Identifying a Problem .................80 The Challenge of Concernment for Accountability in the Arts .....82 Questioning My Peers ....................................................................85 Perpetuating Misunderstandings and Misconceptions ...................86 Accountability As We Know It ......................................................87 Artifact #2 - The Double(d) Nature of Accountability ..............................90 Artifact #3 - Framing Accountability ........................................................94 The Political Frame ........................................................................97 The Structural Frame ...................................................................104 The Symbolic Frame ....................................................................109 The Human Resource Frame .......................................................114 Accountability (Re)framed ..........................................................117 V. PREPARING THE NARRATIVES ..............................................................120 Artifact #4 - The Beginning of My Autoethnographic Journey ..............121 Artifact #5 - Discovering “I” as Artist and Teacher ................................124 The Distinction of Education Versus Schooling ..........................129 Artifact #6 - The Value of Universal Teaching in Education ..................136 The Inauthenticity of Teaching ....................................................141 VI. THE NARRATIVES ....................................................................................146 Financial Accountability ..........................................................................147 Artifact #7 - E-mail Correspondence ...........................................147