Teacher Participating in Decision Making: A Comparative Study of School Leader and Teacher Perceptions in North Philippine Academies

Abstract

Shared decision making (SDM) has been identified as an essential element in successful educational reform. This study compared the perceptions of school leaders and teachers regarding actual and preferred faculty participation in decision making across nine dimensions of school governanceCgoals/vision/mission, budgeting, staffing, operations, standards, curriculum/instruction, facilitating procedures and structures, staff development, and spiritual matters. Principal instrumentation included the Teacher Involvement and Participation Scale 2 (TIPS 2) developed by Russell, Cooper, and Greenblatt (1992), with a spiritual matters subscale added by Masinda (1997). Data were collected from 165 school leaders and teachers working in 11 Seventh-day Adventist secondary schools in north Philippines. Findings revealed that levels of faculty decision making preferred by teachers were significantly greater on all TIPS 2 dimensions than the levels they perceived currently existed, with greater effect sizes in the areas of staffing, budgeting, and staff development. School leaders reported corroborating data. Both teachers and school leaders supported the desirability of faculty participation in decision making in schools, agreeing that faculty participation in decision making is important for school improvement, better school morale, increased job satisfaction, and increased professionalism. Both groups also identified a domineering management style as the major impediment to faculty participation in decision making, followed by poor interpersonal relationships, insufficient resources, inadequate support, and poor communication. Commitment of teachers and frequent consultation by school leaders were cited as significant factors that can enhance faculty participation in SDM. Findings also revealed that teachers who had 11-20 years of teaching experience were more actively involved than their peers in decision-making related to staff development and to curriculum and instruction. Furthermore, educators in schools operating under the auspices of denominational conferences or missions were found to have greater autonomy over operational aspects of the institution than educators working in secondary schools operating under the umbrella of a tertiary institution.