Sample and survey instrument
Teachers from all the public middle and high schools (N013) in two counties of
West Virginia were invited to participate in the survey. The schools were located
in both rural and urban locations. The school principal of each school was
contacted and interviewed about their teachers’ and schools’ readiness for the
project. The principals were asked to inform their teachers about the study and
encourage them to participate in it. Once the principals confirmed their school
teachers’ participation, paper-based surveys with postage paid envelopes were
mailed to the schools. Schools that preferred to take the survey online were
provided a link to an online version of the same survey. The principals forwarded
the survey link to their teachers via email. Teachers completed the survey on a
volunteer basis. Each school had 3 weeks to complete the survey. Principals were
asked to remind their teachers to complete the survey at the end of the second
week. 161 teachers (out of a total of 548) completed the survey, resulting in
approximately 30 % response rate.