Building Commitment in Urban High Schools

A conceptual framework for understanding student and teacher commitment is presented and illustrated with data from a field study of 10 urban high schools. Three points are made. First, alienation and commitment are multidimensional; teachers and students make a variety of commitments that affect the nature of their work. Second, teacher and student commitments are mutually reinforcing. If one is low, it will depress the other. Finally, five school factors are identified that can increase commitments: relevance, respect, support, expectations, and influence. Policy implications of changing these factors in schools are discussed.