Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Availability

Open Access Dissertation

Keywords

School management and organization--Iowa--Decision making; Teacher participation in administration--Iowa;

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to look at shared decision-making in the public schools of Iowa. Specifically, attention was given to the desire of teachers to be involved in strategic managerial issues that have been the traditional purview of administration. Fourteen decisional areas were selected for the study including organizational managerial, policy development, and resource allocation/utilization issues.

Four research questions were utilized with a quantitative research approach. A survey instrument was mailed to 600 K-12 public school teachers within Iowa. The final sample included 431 responses that represented a return rate of 72.3%

Statistical tests were conducted at the.05 level of significance to analyze the data. Respondent's actual and desired participation means were examined using a 5-point Likert participation scale. A discrepancy level for each respondent was determined. Discriminate analysis was used to measure the extent to which demographic categories of individuals could be distinguished by decisional discrepancy levels.

Teachers reported that they desired higher levels of involvement for all areas of decision-making measured. Large discrepancies between actual and desired teacher participation were found for setting budget priorities, scheduling, teacher assignments, school attendance policy, and school security policy. Medium-sized discrepancies were found for discipline standards, facility use during the school day, grading policy, and staff development. Student progress reporting procedures, teaching material selection, setting school goals/vision/mission, parent/community relations, and curriculum development had only small discrepancies.

Levels of decisional discrepancy did not vary significantly with regard to the size of school community or teachers' gender, age, or total teaching experience. Elementary teachers were more deprived than secondary teachers in making decisions. Teachers who remained in the same school setting for a long period of time showed lower levels of deprivation than lesser-experienced peers. Teachers with low levels of educational attainment showed greater levels of deprivation than their more educated peers.

Year of Submission

1997

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Department of Educational Administration and Counseling

First Advisor

Robert Decker, Advisor

Date Original

12-1997

Object Description

1 PDF file (x, 129 pages)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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