Teacher participation in shared decision-making: a comparative study of ten traditional schools and ten charter schools in Georgia and the impact on job satisfaction, 1997

The purpose of this study was to investigate if any differences existed in the perceptions of traditional school teachers and charter school teachers toward the level of shared decision-making that occurred in each setting. The study sought to determine if involvement in shared decision�making has an impact on teacher job satisfaction. The study surveyed eight areas of shared decision-making and overall impressions, an indicator of job satisfaction, on the TIPS 2 instrument. The PAL, a climate survey, was also used to measure teacher satisfaction. Surveys were conducted in ten traditional schools and ten charter schools in Georgia. Data were obtained from 187 teachers or 47% of the traditional school population and 218 teachers or 54% of the charter school population. The analysis of variance was used to determine if a difference existed at the .05 level of significance in the perceptions of the teachers in the two groups. The findings indicated that there were differences between traditional school teachers' and charter school teachers' perceptions of the level of involvement in shared decision-making in all nine areas measured by the TIPS 2. Teachers in charter schools indicated a greater level of involvement in the decision-making process than traditional school teachers and greater teacher job satisfaction as a result of this involvement. When measuring teacher satisfaction using the PAL, a climate survey, there was no significant difference between the perceptions of traditional school teachers and charter school teachers. Both groups indicated overall positive responses to the survey questions that measured teacher satisfaction. Based on the findings, it was concluded that charter schools in Georgia may be viewed as a promising means of school reform because greater teacher involvement in decision-making activities that directly impact the teaching/learning process were promoted among the teachers. The data indicated traditional school teachers and charter school teachers both perceived their greatest participation or influence in decision-making activities in these areas: staff development, standards, goals/vision/mission and curriculum and instruction. Principals, in both settings, should empower teachers to utilize their expertise to make more crucial decisions regarding instructional and curricular matters. Special efforts should be made to involve traditional school teachers and charter school teachers in the staffing, budget, operations, and facilitating procedures and structures areas of shared decision-making. These were the areas that teachers perceived themselves to have only minimum involvement or influence