| Teacher absenteeism is one of many staffing issues that challenge school administrators. Educational research does not provide a definitive answer to the problem of ensuring quality instruction delivered by a substitute teacher (Billingsley, 2005; Cockburn & Haydn, 2004). The field of business has established empirical evidence to show how mood influences many work behaviors including employee absenteeism (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002). The link between emotions and positive work behaviors has not been explored in the literature specific to administrators and teachers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mood, school culture and other variables associated with the absenteeism of elementary school educators teaching high risk and low risk student populations. The results identified weak and strong relationships between negative mood and teacher absenteeism, as well as negative mood and school culture. While not statistically significant, the results suggested implications for future research investigating teachers' mood and absenteeism in relation to multicultural issues. |
