Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

3-1981

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Educational Administration and Supervision

Major Professor

Gerald C Ubben

Committee Members

Francis Trusty, Jack Larsen, Estill Alexander, George Harris

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between employee militancy and either satisfaction with or participation in decisions made in their respective school systems.

The study examined the relationship between attitudinal militancy and satisfaction and participation in decisions affecting six policy areas (Curriculum and Instruction, Business and Finance Management, Certificated Personnel, Pupil Personnel, School Plant and Facilities, and School/Community Relations), by asking five questions:

1 . Was there a relationship between levels of participation with decisions made and three attitudinal militancy scales for each of the three groups of respondents: teachers, principals, and central office personnel?

2. Was there a relationship between levels of satisfaction with decisions made and three attitudinal militancy scales for each of the three groups of respondents?

3. Was there a relationship between the total level of participation in decisions made and the total level of militancy of each of the three groups of respondents?

4. Was there a relationship between the total level of satisfaction with decisions made and the total level of militancy of each of the three groups of respondents?

5. Was it possible to predict attitudinal militancy of any group of employees with scores of satisfaction with or participation in the six categories of decision making?

Two questionaries were administered to a random sample of school employees in seventeen school districts in East Tennessee. One questionaire, the Peach Instrument, measured the respondents' perceived level of participation in and their personal level of satisfaction with decisions made in six policy areas of decision making. The other questionaire measured the respondents' personal levels of expressed militancy on three different scales of varying intensity. Scale scores were then calculated for each respondent for each instrument and those scores were grouped with respect to the position held by the respondent.

Pearson product moment correlations were calculated to test the relationship between participation scores, satisfaction scores, and militancy scores. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the prediction ability of participation and satisfaction scores in decision making to militant employee attitudes.

Low positive correlations were found between participation and satisfaction scores in decision making and militant employee attitudes. The position of the employee influenced both the levels of participation in and satisfaction with decisions made. The respondents position of employment influenced his expressed level of militant attitudes. Neither participation in decisions made nor satisfaction with decisions made in any of the six policy areas studied yielded significant prediction value of the respondent's personal level of militant attitudes.

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