Examining Teachers' Perceptions on Empowerment According to Various Variables

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of teachers regarding their empowerment and whether these perceptions differ significantly depending on their gender, age, branch, professional seniority, length of service at their school, education status, union membership, and the size of the number of students present at the school. In this study, teacher empowerment was considered to ensure teachers' professional development, increase their status, ensure their trust in their organizations, and increase cooperation among organization members. Four hundred forty-one teachers working in the public secondary schools in Denizli Merkezefendi and Pamukkale district participated in this quantitative study carried out during the 2019-2020 academic year. The data of the research were collected with the "Teacher Empowerment Scale." The survey results showed that teachers' perceptions of teacher empowerment, status, trust, and cooperation were high, and their perception of professional development was very high. Accordingly, teachers perceive their status as lower than other dimensions of teacher empowerment. There was no statistically significant difference in the teachers' perceptions regarding their empowerment according to their gender, branch, educational status, and union membership. The age of the teachers was between 31-40 and 6-15 years of teaching experience.