RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER DECISIONAL STATUS AND LOYALTY

Abstract

The purposes of this study were (1) to examine the characteristics of teacher involvement in the decision making process in schools; (2) to examine the degree of loyalty to principals in schools; (3) to test the relationship between teacher decisional status and loyalty to the principal; and (4) to explore the dynamics of teacher decision‐making so that a better understanding of the underlying structure of decision‐making in schools can be developed. Data were collected at regularly scheduled faculty meetings in ten elementary and five secondary schools in New Jersey. In general, analysis of variance was utilized as the basis of statistical analysis. Further, a factor analysis was performed in an attempt to understand the underlying structure of the data. Four major conclusions were drawn from the study: (1) Teacher satisfaction with their decisional status was related to loyalty to the principal; (2) no significant differences were found between elementary and secondary schools with regard to satisfaction with their decisional status; (3) elementary school teachers exhibited a greater degree of loyalty to their principals than did teachers in secondary schools; and (4) teachers' desires to participate in decision‐making are strongest in those areas that are closely related to the teaching‐learning process.