SCHOOL DECISION MAKING.   Term Paper ID:24056 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Compares site-based (principal & teachers) & top-down (principal only) models, impact on teachers' attitudes & behavior, leadership, conflict, objectives, effectiveness.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Compares site-based (principal & teachers) & top-down (principal only) models, impact on teachers' attitudes & behavior, leadership, conflict, objectives, effectiveness. Paper Introduction: Purpose of the Study The purpose of this paper is to compare two models of school decision-making: (1) the site-based decision model (sometimes termed site-based management) in which the principal and teachers collaborate in decision-making; and (2) the top-down decision model in which the principal makes decisions without teacher input. Of specific research interest is determining the impact of the two decision-making models on teacher attitudes and performance. Site-Based Decision Model: Teacher Attitudes and Behavior Teachers attitudes and behavior with respect to site-based decision-making have been examined in a variety of studies. Blanchard and Karr-Kidwell (1995), for example, examined the attitudes of a sample of Texas school teachers involved in site- Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Accordingly, it is recommended that more comparative research beundertaken to resolve the mixed findings. & Wilkes, M. Of specific research interest isdetermining the impact of the two decision-making models on teacherattitudes and performance. However, teachers united as interestsets to further their interests. Gips and Wilkes (1993) conducted a case study of one school districtin Lancaster, Ohio, in the early stages of implementing site-based decisionmaking examined the attitudes of teachers and administrators toward change. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this paper is to compare two models of school decision-making: (1) the site-based decision model (sometimes termed site-basedmanagement) in which the principal and teachers collaborate in decision-making; and (2) the top-down decision model in which the principal makesdecisions without teacher input. Smith and Louis (199 ) surveyed teachers attitudes at Big Mountain, awell-established, comprehensive high school that serves over 1,45 studentsin grades 1 -12. Teachers used influence and exchanges to obtain preferences. The site-based managed school did not promoteteacher collaboration to a greater extent than did the top-down managedschool. Final Deliverable. (1991). There were also,however, a number of other decision-making structures operating: district-wide committees, for example, that were charged with writing curriculum. AADAA-I9511 7 ) Smith, B. (1995). Segall (1994) found that in a wealthy suburban district using a topdown management system, schools operating with a top down system but whichallowed good communication between administration and teachers performedbetter than site based decision making schools on issues related to moreequal distribution of workload and class size variations. Findings ofthe study were said to show that teachers at site based managed schoolswere more satisfied than teachers at top down schools with the factors ofthe work itself, interrelation with students, achievement, interrelationswith co-workers, and job security. The most prevalentstrategy was submission or avoidance. 3377. Teachers used various conflict management strategies. Teachers and principals usedpower, negotiation, and exchanges to further their own personal andprofessional interests. ED 362 838) Stiegelbauer, S. In otherstudies, findings showed that at least for some factors, teachers wereactually more satisfied with top down schools than site based schools,e.g., the factors of advancement and salary. According to the findings of his analysis ofteacher data, Ray (1991) attributed a good deal of the conflict causing thestrike to top down management. This created divisiveness and an in-group and out-groupclimate. The question that can be asked here is whether the empirical datajustify this change in terms of its impact upon teacher attitudes andteacher behavior? Testing an analytical model for managing schoolchange: The master schedule as an indicator of school conditions. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. Stephens, D. Changes at Big Mountain High School:A teaching case. However, teachers indicated that they did not feel that theywere allowed sufficient autonomy and desired to move to an even less top-down system. Lateral staff conflict in elementary schools: Whyand how teachers fight. 57. New York's Benchmarks Process. The first stage of the study statistically analyzed voting byadministrators and teachers on site-based decision making, while the secondphase involved interviewing teachers about their attitudes and experienceswith the new organizational structure. Conflict existed in these schools and was part of the everydayprofessional and personal lives of teachers. House (1994) conducted a survey of 52 teachers' perceptions of site-based decision-making at three Toledo City Schools. Top-Down Decision-Making: Teachers' Attitudes and Behavior In March 199 , teachers in 8 percent of the counties in WestVirginia participated in a teacher strike. Stephens (1993) reported findings from Delta, one of four schooldistricts examined in a series of case studies that investigated thecomplex relationship between reading assessment and instruction. ED 35 132. Teachers expressed feelings of being abandoned by thelegislature, because legislators failed to listen to teachers' needs for agreater voice in students' education. (1992). where we are, where we aregoing, and how we will get there. Urbana, IL: Center for the Study of Reading.(ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. In this study, 83 strikingteachers answered 1 open-ended questions put to them either through aninterview or a questionnaire. Stiegelbauer and Lacey (1992) described the organization, design, andadaptations of the North York's Benchmarks Project (Ontario, Canada) inwhich a top down assessment strategy was implemented by the school board;this directive was to be followed regardless of the type of decision-modelschools utilized at their particular campus; thus, even if the principal atany given school was engaged in collaborative decision-making, thisdirective to teachers was strictly in the top-down format. For example, in one study it was foundthat the shift to site based decision making, while allowing some teachersto have more of a voice, was also accompanied by resentment on the part ofteachers who were not included in the decision-making team. However, Stiegelbauer and Lacey(1992) reported that the negativity was resolved as the project went on andthe teachers became experienced with the process. Teachers, principals, parents, students, and central office staffwere interviewed to determine how decisions were made in the district andhow that decision-making process influenced assessment and instruction. There are, however, some indications that dissatisfaction andnegative attitudes associated with site-based decision making may betemporary, the result of a lack of uniformity in implementation of suchprograms. & Lacey, V. Teachers excluded from the management team resented theloss of power. Teachers'response to the project at the early stage was negative, reflecting anxietyabout the mandated assessment procedures. 591. budgeting,funding, etc.). Other strategies included indirectstrategies such as gossip and rumors or going to a superior, persuadingothers to change their behavior, using threats or aggressive emotionaldisplays, and problem-solving. Major issues considered by the Site-Based Management ReviewCommittee involved the school calendar, funding, collective bargaining, andsite authority. Blanchard, C.P. ED 361896. (Doctoral Dissertation, University of Houston)Dissertation Abstracts International, 56(1-A), p. Site-based management:Teachers' attitudes and administrative style. (199 ). ED 386 784). Personal interests were scarce resources that teachers competedfor such as time, funds, and supplies. ED 335765. Ray, F. Analysis of surveydata was said to show that teachers felt that as a result of participatingin the decision-making process, they had made good progress in the areas ofcollaboration, involvement with the business community, release time,cooperative planning, inservice, and business input. Conclusions The studies reviewed in this paper clearly showed that many schoolsand school districts are steadily replacing top-down, highly centralizededucational decision making structures with decentralized decision makingmodels. Site-Based Decision Model: Teacher Attitudes and Behavior Teachers attitudes and behavior with respect to site-based decision-making have been examined in a variety of studies. (Microfilm OrderNo. House, J.E. According tothe authors, many teachers found that their participation in decision-making enabled them to feel more committed to school reform and change.However, the authors cautioned that the success of site-based decisionmaking at any school is contingent upon administrative leadership that iswilling to share power. (1994). Also, teachers sought to enhance orprotect their self-esteem and professional reputations, sometimes at theexpense of their colleagues. Based on their analysis, Gips and Wilkes (1993) concluded that whilemany schools have replaced top-down, highly centralized educationalstructures with site-based models, and while teachers report that theyprefer the site-based approach, when efforts are initially implemented,they nonetheless face a good deal of resistance not only by administratorsbut by the teachers themselves. 1192. Afew teachers said that larger school size hindered implementation efforts.However, in general, teachers supported site-based decision making but hadconcerns over its implementation. (1994). (Paperpresented at the Annual Conference of the American Educational ResearchAssociation (San Francisco, CA, April 3-7) ERIC Document ReproductionService No. & Louis, K.S. Female elementary teacher job satisfaction anddissatisfaction. What the examined studies showed was that decision making in schoolsis far too complex to prefer any one model over another. The effect of site-based management on teacher conflict was studiedby Bond (1995) using a micropolitical perspective to examine how teachersused strategies to maintain or further their individual or group interests. Also, principals' leadership style affected teachers' conflict eitherpositively or negatively. The top-down directive also acted to change teachers' behavior, inthe sense that teachers had to use the tests, regardless of theirattitudes. Indeed, the teachers' most frequent complaint was that they felt theywere not given the opportunity to be active participants in the decisionmaking process. Segall, R.E. (1996). Itwas concluded that Delta was a district in transition in which both "old"ways (top-down decision making, assessment-as-test driving instruction)and new ways (collaboration between teachers and administration, teacherdecision making) sometimes conflict with each other. As the foregoing study shows, the implementation of site baseddecision making is not necessarily accompanied by positive changes inteachers attitudes and behaviors. They identified thefollowing areas in need of improvement: principals' knowledge aboutrationales for classroom decisions, regular access to staff who hadexperienced similar problems, the process for establishing home-schoolrelations, parental involvement with children with learning or behavioralproblems, and coordination between programs for special children and otherchildren. Findings revealed considerable amount oftension in this district over "top down" decisions. Share the power. Although the school does not utilize a site-basedmanagement system, the authors state that considerable autonomy isnonetheless given to teachers, who have control their teaching andclassrooms. Teachers' professional interests were curriculum, instructionalmethods, student control ideology, work equity issues, and student gradingpolicies. Blanchard and Karr-Kidwell (1995), for example, examined the attitudes of a sample of Texasschool teachers involved in site-based management programs. On the other hand, teachers at top downschools were more satisfied than teachers at site-based decision makingschools with the factors of advancement and salary. Workplace conditions were said to affect the teachers' personalrelationships. Executive Educator, 18(2), 24-26. AADAA-I9526986) Gips, C.J. (Microfilm Order No.AADAA-I9516748)----------------------- 11 (ERIC Document ReproductionService No. Teacher strike in a rural state: Ready for reform.(Paper presented at the 1991 Annual Conference of the American EducationalResearch Association (Chicago, IL, April 3-7). (1993). Findings revealed that elementary school teachers were slightly moresupportive of site-based decision making than secondary school teachers. Data for the year preceding implementation (1991-92) and for thefirst year of site-based management (1992-93) were also reviewed by House(1994). ED 38788 . Teachers expressed a preference for assertiveprincipals who managed rather than avoided staff conflict. (1995). Furthermore, Black reports that problems arisebecause many principals are paranoid about their changing roles, andteachers are struggling with budgeting and other managementresponsibilities. And, while this claim may be true, it has not really beenthoroughly studied. The site-based management program at OttawaRiver, Raymer, and Westfield elementary schools. Interest sets were teachers versusparents, new teachers versus experienced teachers, management team teachersversus nonmanagement team teachers, and special teachers versus classroomteachers. Or,it could be that schools will operate best if they have some areas (e.g.,curriculum selection) in which teams collaborate on decision making andother areas in which principals utilize a top down method (e.g. Findings were said to show that teachers were in conflict because ofpersonal and professional interests. References Black, S. Madison, WI: National Center onEffective Secondary Schools. Bond, G.J. Teacher concerns as they consider anorganizational change to site-based decision making. In order words, if the principal is not committedto truly allowing teachers to collaborate in decision-making, no matter howwell designed a collaborative program might be, it will probably fail. Inaddition, teachers were observed, and discussions were conducted with themabout the observations. In almost everystudy examined, findings indicated that there were benefits and lossesassociated with both decision-making models---and this remains true eventhough most teachers state that they would prefer that top down schoolsshift to a decision making model. Based on findingsit was concluded that top down decision making models offer at least somebenefits over site based decision making schools provided thatadministrators style of leadership is one that allows for goodcommunicatory relationships between teachers and administrators. Interim Evaluation Report.(Paper presented at the Meeting of the Community Coalition for EffectiveEducation (Toledo, OH, April) ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. (1994). (DoctoralDissertation, Columbia University Teachers College) Dissertation AbstractsInternational, 55(11-A), p. It was also found that norms of teacher autonomy discouraged theformation of stable informal groups. Given the foregoing, the basic conclusion that can be formulatedregarding the research is that findings are mixed with respect to whichdecision making model has the most positive impact on teacher attitudes andbehavior. (Doctoral Dissertation, Arizona State University)Dissertation Abstracts International, 56(4-A), p. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. According to the authors, there are somesteps that can be taken to make the transition easier for all concerned.Specifically, they recommend: setting clear expectations, establishingdefinite goals, promoting social interaction, and exerting control over thework environment. The information was analyzed through athematic analysis process. (1993). (Paper presented atthe Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association(Atlanta, GA, April 12-16). It was stated, however, that the issue of teacher informationand support needs to be addressed if the project was to continue to meetits objectives. ED 332 859. According to Black (1996), however, thereason for this lack of positivity is that while schools are increasinglyadopting site-based management, little uniformity exists among districts.She states that site based decision making is suffering from growing painsand "shop-floor realities," with principals and teachers managing schoolsthrough trial-and-error. Theresearch was situated in the context of school decision making. Y Karr-Kidwell, P.J. (Microfilm Order No. They used power to further theirindividual interests and sometimes formed interest sets to further theirgroup interests. Whitmore, B.M. ERIC Document ReproductionService No. It could well be that the top down method is right forsome schools while the site based method is right for other schools. Assessment and decision making in Delta.Technical Report No. Whitmore (1994) conducted a comparative study of teachers' (N=232)satisfaction with site based decision making and top down decision making.All teachers were working in a large suburban school district. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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