School Participant Empowerment Scale Research Articles

Secondary School Teachers' Effective School Perception: The Role of School Culture and Teacher Empowerment

This study investigates the extent to which school culture and teacher empowerment dimensions predict the effective school perceptions of secondary school teachers. The sample of the study includes 363 teachers [120 male (33.1%), 243 (66.9 %) female] from 24 secondary schools in four central districts (Mezitli, Yenişehir, Toroslar, Akdeniz) in Mersin. The data of the study was collected via the Personal Information Form, School Culture Inventory, the School Effectiveness Index, and the School Participant Empowerment Scale. The data was analysed through stepwise regression analysis statistical method. The alpha value of 0.01 was established as a level of significance. The results revealed that professional development which is a dimension of school culture is the most important predictive variable, and it was followed by collegial support, collegial leadership, unity of purpose, self-efficacy, decision making and teacher collaboration. Together, these seven significant predictors explained 59.1% of the variance in the teacher perception of school effectiveness. Moreover, learning partnership dimension of school culture and status, impact, autonomy and professional growth dimensions of school participant empowerment were not statistically significant in explaining the school effectiveness. According to the results of this study, school culture has stronger relations with school effectiveness than the teacher empowerment has. This may mean that a school should have a culture that values professional development of its teachers, collegiality, collaborative leadership and teamwork in order to be effective.

LOOKING AFTER TEACHER WELLBEING: DOES TEACHER EMPOWERMENT MATTER?

It is well acknowledged that teachers’ wellbeing has an impact on teachers’ work and play a deciding role in the achievements and improvement of both students and schools. A positive internal environment will ensure that teachers are happy and enjoy their work. This study focuses on the relationship between teacher empowerment (TE) and teacher wellbeing at the workplace (TWB). It examines the various subscales of TE to determine the subscales that best predict TWB. The study tool consists of the adapted instrument, the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) that measures teachers’ perceived empowerment and a modified version of the Workplace Wellbeing Index that measures TWB. This study was a cross-sectional survey involving 371 schoolteachers selected via multi-stage sampling in one of the states in Malaysia. Results showed no significant difference in TWB based on the demographic factors (gender and age). Results also indicated significant positive correlations between TE and TWB (r=.64, p<0.01) and TE explained as high as 60% of the variance in TWB (r2=.60, F=91.187). Separate analysis of the TE dimensions witnessed only the Decision-Making dimension positively and significantly predicted TWB (β=0.65, p<0.05).

Investigating the Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers' Empowerment and their Self-Efficacy as a Consequence for their Educational Improvement.

INTRODUCTION:Teacher empowerment is thought to improve student learning by fostering teaching quality. Therefore, the purpose of this study is investigating the relationship between empowerment and self-efficacy of Iranian English as Foreign Language teachers.MATERIALS AND METHODS:The present study is an experimental study; the population of the study includes all the English language teachers of the universities of Ilam, Iran. Among whom by random sampling, the sample which was consisted of 60 teachers were selected. Participants in this study answered the School Participant Empowerment Scale questionnaire (Short and Rinehart, 1992) as the instrument of the study. The Pearson product-moment correlation was computed to determine the relationship between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy.RESULTS:The results showed that there was a positive correlation between teacher empowerment and their self-efficacy (r = 0.55, P < 0.01) and differences among teachers' self-efficacy is not significant according to age (r = −0.14, P = 0.23).CONCLUSIONS:Based on the results of the study, empowerment and self-efficacy have interactive relationships; i.e. self-efficacy in teachers leads to empowerment and empowerment in teachers leads to self-efficacy.

Relationships Between Kindergarten Teachers’ Empowerment, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Climate: A Chinese Model

ABSTRACT This study investigated the relationships between perceived teacher empowerment, job satisfaction, and organizational climate among 206 randomly sampled kindergarten teachers in Shanghai, China. Chinese versions of the School Participant Empowerment Scale, the Teacher Work Satisfaction Survey, and the Organizational Climate Scale were validated and administered. Statistically significant relationships were found between teacher empowerment, job satisfaction, and organizational climate. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that (1) teacher empowerment and job satisfaction predicted organizational climate, (2) teacher empowerment predicted teacher job satisfaction, and (3) job satisfaction partially mediated the association between teacher empowerment and organizational climate. The results obtained in this Chinese setting were inconsistent with the findings of most Western studies. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are discussed.

A revalidation of the school participant empowerment scale amongst science and mathematics teachers

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore the validity and reliability of the School Participant Empowerment Scale amongst science and mathematics teachers. Using a sample of 257 elementary and secondary teachers, the study used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to examine the validity of the instrument. We began by trying to confirm the hypothesised structure using confirmatory factor analysis, but were unable to do so. A subsequent exploratory factor analysis produced a structure that differed somewhat from the original structure. A six-factor solution emerged, but the items loaded differently than the original structure. We have named the emergent factors: “Self-efficacy”, “Decision-making autonomy”, “Professionalism”, “Scheduling autonomy”, “Influence” and “Authority”. The results raise questions about the scale for measuring empowerment amongst science and mathematics teachers. Future work should seek to replicate our findings with a larger sample and consider developing items relating to professional knowledge.

Relationship between teacher empowerment and principal effectiveness at secondary schools level

The continual cycle of education reform movements suggests that there is a need for principals to evaluate and re-define their leadership roles on a continuous basis. The expanded expectations and responsibilities placed on schools have seemingly created a need for school leadership to be shared or distributed among teachers and principals. The purpose of this study was to find out the relationship between teacher empowerment and principal effectiveness in secondary schools of Islamabad. It was correlational study included the collection of quantitative data to obtain greater understanding and detail about the relationships between teacher empowerment and principal effectiveness as perceived by teachers. The population of the study was 458 Secondary School male teachers working in 45 secondary schools. The 229 Secondary School Teachers were taken as a sample by a random sampling technique which is 50% of the population. Two standardized instruments i.e. School Participant Empowerment Scale and Audit of Principal Effectiveness were used for collection of data on the study of two variables. Pearson r) Mean and Standard Deviation were used for data analysis. The findings of this study were showed significant relationships between Teacher Empowerment and Principal Effectiveness. It is concluded that the teacher's empowerment in schools enhanced the effectiveness of the principals. Keywords: Teacher Empowerment, professional growth, principal effectiveness, organizational development.

The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ collective efficacy beliefs, teaching experience and perception of teacher empowerment

AbstractThe present study aimed to contribute to the current findings of the relationship between collective efficacy perceptions of EFL teachers and their perception of teacher empowerment. To this end, 147 Iranian EFL teachers from a well-known institute in Tehran participated in the study. The instruments used were two questionnaires: Collective Teacher Efficacy Scale-Short Form and School Participant Empowerment Scale. A semi-structured interview was also conducted on 10 EFL teachers at the end of the study to discover what would be revealed from their attitudes toward different subscales of teacher empowerment and collective efficacy perceptions. The quantitative data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and independent samples t-test. Similarly, the qualitative data were also analyzed to find out the participants’ attitudes toward different subscales on the two questionnaires and also to see to what extent those attitudes were similar to one another. The results showed that there w...

The Effects of Teacher Empowerment on Teacher Commitment and Student Achievement

The present study examined the effect of teacher empowerment on teachers’ commitment and student achievement. A sample of 356 teachers at Payam-e-Noor University, Ilam branch completed two questionnaires, i.e., School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) developed by Short and Rinehart (1992) and Organization Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) developed by Mowday et al.’s (1979). The results of structural equation modeling indicated the six dimensions of decision making, professional growth, status, self-efficacy, autonomy, and impact played a significant role in teacher commitment and student achievement. Teacher empowerment was found to be important in classroom and instructional decisions that enhance organizational effectiveness and improve student performance. These outcomes may be beneficial for policy-makers in directing teachers to a high level of competency, high status and self-esteem and help them to achieve professional growth. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n4p649

The influence of passion and empowerment on organizational citizenship behavior of teachers mediated by organizational commitment

The present research aims to study the direct and indirect influence of passion and empowerment on organizational citizenship behavior of teachers in a private university in Thailand mediated by organizational commitment. The sample comprises 124 teachers teaching in the university and the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, adapted by Podsakoff and Mackenzie (1990), Passion Scale, developed by Vallerand, Carbonneau, Fernet and Guay (2008), School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) developed by Short and Rinehart (1992) and Organizational Commitment Scale which was modified from the original scale of Meyer and Allen (1991) by Meyer, Allen, and Smith (1993) were employed. The path model with the dependent variable organizational citizenship behavior and the independent variables passion, and empowerment and the mediating variable organizational commitment was tested using regression analysis. There are relationships between passion for teaching, teacher empowerment, and organizational commitment on the organizational citizenship behavior of teachers. The teachers have high level of organizational citizenship behavior, suggesting that they exhibit behaviors of discretionary nature that are not part of their formal role requirements, but which promote the effective functioning of the university.

Development of a Rating Scale for Measuring Teacher Classroom Autonomy in Secondary Schools in Southwestern Nigeria

The study developed Teacher Classroom Autonomy Scale (T-CARS) and estimated the validity and reliability of the scale as well as establishing the scale factor structure. The study adopted a survey design. The population comprised secondary school teachers in southwestern Nigeria and a sample of 1440 teachers that were selected from 72 secondary schools using multistage sampling procedure. Two instruments, T-CARS and School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) were used for data collection. Data were analysed using factor analysis and reliability analysis. The results showed that the 40-items T-CARS have seven factors of teacher classroom autonomy that accounted for 91.46% of the total scale variance and significantly converge with the SPES (r = 0.611). The internal consistency of the scale was r=0.913 (Cronbach), and r=0.736 (Spearman Split-half), p&lt; 0.05. The study concluded that the T-CARS developed in this study is reliable, valid and suitable to measure teacher classroom autonomy in Southwestern Nigeria.

Some Aspects of Professional Empowerment to Improve Job Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers

Teachers’ job satisfaction and their professional empowerment are two main factors which contribute to education improvement. Purpose of the present study is to investigate and record teachers’ perceptions of their professional empowerment and their beliefs about their job satisfaction. Also the impact of teachers’ demographic and professional characteristics on their perceptions of job satisfaction and the possible correlations between job satisfaction and professional empowerment are examined. The research method is the descriptive and correlative survey, with the use of a self-report questionnaire. Teachers’ perceptions of their professional empowerment are measured by the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES), while their job satisfaction by the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS). The results indicate that teachers who do not have a permanent position in a school and they are obliged to change school environment every year, or they have to work in more than one school each year, they feel less empowered and satisfied. Findings of this study also show that while there is no differentiation as far as it concerns the sex, the marital status, the age, the studies or the previous experience, there are differentiations according to labor relations and the number of schools a teacher works in a year. Regarding job satisfaction, the majority of respondents are of the view that there is an average overall job satisfaction. In addition the research shows that there is a positive correlation between job satisfaction and empowerment. This paper provides useful data about the issue of teachers’ job satisfaction as well as their empowerment and the factors that influence their feelings about their overall job satisfaction and empowerment. The improvement of labor relations and the decrease in the number of schools teachers work in a year, would essentially contribute to their job satisfaction and empowerment.

The Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers’ Empowerment and Teachers’ Self-efficacy

The present study focuses on the relationship between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy. The research is a quantitative study in which the data is obtained to get a great understanding on the relationship between empowerment and self-efficacy of Iranian English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. The sample consisted of 60 teachers in Ilam and Eyvan high schools. Participants in this study answered the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) questionnaire (Short and Rinehart, 1992). The Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) was used to measure teacher self-efficacy and differences in teachers on age, gender, and years of teaching experience. Pearson Product -Moment correlation was computed to determine the relationship between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy. The findings indicated significant positive correlation between teacher empowerment and teacher self-efficacy. Independent sample t-test revealed no statistically significant differences on empowerment or self-efficacy based on age and empowerment based on years of teaching experience or gender. In addition, a statistically significant difference was found between teachers’ self-efficacy and gender. The results of this study can be useful for EFL teachers and administrators.

The Influence of Passion and Empowerment on Organizational Citizenship Behavior of Teachers in Assumption University Mediated by Organizational Commitment

The present research aims to explore the direct and indirect influence of passion and empowerment on organizational citizenship behavior of Teachers in Assumption University of Thailand mediated by organizational commitment. The sample comprises of 124 teachers teaching in the University and the Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, adapted by Podsakoff and Mackenzie (1990), Passion Scale, developed by Vallerand et al. in 2003, School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) developed by Short and Rinehart (1992) and Organizational Commitment Scale which was modified from the original scale of Allen and Meyer (1991) by Meyer, Allen, and Smith (1993) were employed. The path model with the dependent variable organizational citizenship behavior and the independent variables passion, and empowerment and the mediating variable organizational commitment was tested using regression analysis. There are relationships between passion for teaching, teacher empowerment, and organizational commitment on the organizational citizenship behavior of teachers in Assumption University, Thailand. The teachers have high level of organizational citizenship behavior, suggesting that they exhibit behaviors of discretionary nature that are not part of their formal role requirements, but which promote the effective functioning of the University.

Delving the Relationship between Teacher Empowerment and Job Satisfaction among Iranian EFL Teachers in Tehran Aviation University

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers’ empowerment and job satisfaction. The surveys used in this study contain School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) measured teacher perceived empowerment, the Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (TJSQ) measured teacher job satisfaction, and the demographic survey included age, educational background and gender. SPES measured six different dimensions o f empowerment: Decision-making, professional growth, status, self-efficacy, autonomy, and impact, along with an overall total and TJSQ includes nine factors of satisfaction: Supervision, colleagues, working conditions, pay, and responsibility. The result indicated that significant correlations were found between total teacher empowerment and total teacher job satisfaction. However, there was no correlation between factor of security in job satisfaction scale and the three teacher empowerment scales of professional growth, status, and autonomy. There was also no correlation found between the teacher job satisfaction factor of recognition and the three teacher empowerment dimensions of decision-making, self-efficacy and impact. In the other hand, there are significant differences in the demographic variables of educational background and gender with regards to teacher empowerment and job satisfaction.

Another Look at the Dimensionality of the School Participant Empowerment Scale

Teacher empowerment is a cornerstone of most educational (restructuring) reform movements. This investigation explored the stability, reliability, and validity of scores on the subscales of Short and Rinehart's School Participant Empowerment Scale with data from a large sample of classroom teachers working in Ohio. The sample of 4,091 teachers was representative of state and national populations of classroom teachers. Confirmatory factor analysis failed to confirm the subscales identified by Short and Rinehart. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify six revised subscales. Use and validity for scores on the new subscales are discussed.

School-Based Decision Making and the Empowerment of Secondary School Teachers

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher empowerment in high schools that had a school council over varying lengths of time (either zero, one, two, or three years). Teachers in this study were in a state that mandated a school governance process to involve teachers in the decision-making process. A School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) was used to measure empowerment and it contained the following six subscales: decision making, autonomy, self-efficacy, professional growth, status, and impact.Each teacher received a packet containing a demographic form, the School Participant Empowerment Scale (six scales), and a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The returned data were analyzed by a MANOVA technique resulting in a significant Wilkeslambda. A follow-up procedure (ANOVA) indicated that a significant difference existed on the decision-making scale between schools with no experience with councils and those with three years experience. There were no significant differences for the remaining subscales. These results are interpreted and implications for practitioners and policymakers are suggested.

School Participant Empowerment Scale: Assessment of Level of Empowerment within the School Environment

Two hundred eleven teachers in public schools rated 68 beliefs about what makes them feel empowered in schools. The items were factor analyzed revealing six dimensions or subscales: (a) Decision Making, (b) Professional Growth, (c) Status, (d) Self-Efficacy, (e) Autonomy, and (f) Impact. A 38-item School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES) was constructed by selecting marker items for each of the six dimensions. Obtained internal consistency estimates of reliability for the total scale was .94, and ranged from .81 to .89 for the six factor scales. Evidence of discriminant validity also was discussed.