Participation in and satisfaction with decision making in selected East Tennessee negotiating and non negotiating school districts

Author

Phyllis Salisbury Casavant

Date of Award

3-1985

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Administration and Supervision

Major Professor

Robert K. Roney

Committee Members

Peter M. Husen, K. Owen McCullough, Frederick P. Venditti

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to collect and analyze data from 16 selected school districts in East Tennessee relative to perceived levels of participation in decision making and perceived levels of satisfaction with decisions that have been made. These data were compared with existing data collected prior to the onset of professional negotiations, and an analysis was made looking at negotiating status, position of respondent, and type of decision (or combinations of these factors) as possible sources of variance.

A questionnaire developed by Larry Peach in 1978 was used to collect data both in 1979 and, from the same systems, in 1982. Six decision areas were addressed in the study and included curriculum and instruction, finance and business management, certificated personnel, pupil personnel, school plant and facilities, and community relations. Statistical procedures used to analyze the data were mean participation and satisfaction scores for each of the projected decision participants (teachers, principals, central office staff, and school board members), analyses of variance, multivariate analyses of variance, and Duncan's New Multiple Range Test.

Major findings of the study included the following:

1. The 1982 survey group had significantly higher mean participation scores for teachers, principals, and central office staff in several decision areas.

2. Non-negotiating systems had significantly higher participation rates than negotiating systems for teachers, principals, and central office staff in several decision areas, while negotiating districts had significant higher participation scores for central office staff and school board members in two decisional areas.

3. Teachers reported significantly lower satisfaction levels in all six decisional areas than did principals or central office staff.

Recommended Citation

Casavant, Phyllis Salisbury, "Participation in and satisfaction with decision making in selected East Tennessee negotiating and non negotiating school districts. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1985.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/12531