Teacher responsibility from the teacher's perspective

•A six-component model was successfully adapted to study teacher responsibility.•A list of specific outcomes for which teachers feel responsible was identified.•A network of influencing factors and consequences of teacher responsibility was identified.•Three mechanisms through which responsibility may influence teachers were proposed.

The present study employed an adaptation of Lenk's six-component model of responsibility to conduct a systematic analysis of teachers’ conceptualizations of professional responsibility. A qualitative analysis of data from elementary and secondary teachers in the U.S. revealed specific categories of responsibility for each of the six components: who is responsible, for what, in view of whom, who is the judge of responsibility, according to what criteria, and in what realm of responsibility and action. Teachers’ reports indicated that responsibility has important motivational implications in terms of effort investment, persistence, and commitment to students, but can also come at a personal cost such as hard work, lack of sleep, and less family time. Implications for teachers’ professional lives are discussed.