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VIEWS OF ADMINISTRATORS AND TEACHERS ON

PARTICIPATION IN DECISION MAKING AT SCHOOL


(THE CITY OF ANKARA SAMPLE)
MuRAT GRKAN GLCAN

Asst. Prof. Dr., Gazi University, Faculty of Technical Education


Department of Educational Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
Any kind of practices at schools are made based on a planned
and programmed process. There is a decision taken prior to
every action and it is important at what level these decisions are
taken. Development of participative management approach at
schools positively affects the teaching process. Education staff
participation in decisions causes motivation increases in education practices. In this study, teacher and administrator views are
examined in terms of to what extent school administrators
implement democratic and participative management approach
at school. Among the 388 people who were asked about their
opinions, administrators and teachers presented different views
on participative management approach at schools. Depending on
the results based on findings of the study, it is pointed out that
schools should be managed in a more democratic and participative management.
Key Words: School administration, participating in decision,
school meetings, teachers' participation in decisions.
Introduction

"Decision making" in administration


is among the most important tasks of management. The strategic decision making
process is the biggest Issue of interest of
the strategic management and the most
important of all the organizational worries
(Dean and Sharfman, 1996: 368). The top
manager of the organization should be an
individual with a dynamic and reliable personality, who can make correct decisions
and who can lead the organization in line
with these decisions. Decision making
process is a management process which
takes most of the administrator's time and
whose results affect the administrator mostDecision is defined in the dictionary as
"the exact judgment taken by thinking on
a task or a problem". Three most important aspects of decision are as follow:

1. It is based on selecting. It is the determination of the most correct one among


the altematives regarding the problem.
2. It is rational. While making decisions,
a rational but not an emotional attitude
should be adopted.
3. It is purposeful. Ways and methods that
are serving for the purpose in solving
the problem should be preferred.
Administrators can approach the problem in various ways while making
decisions. The first of these approaches is
the decisions based on intuition. The
administrator who does not know about
the reasons lying under the problem and the
functional solutions takes decisions in line
with his emotions. The second approach is
to take decisions based on judgment. Such
decisions take a majority of the administrator's time. Routine decisions regarding
the activities of the organization are taken

637

638/Education Vol. 131 No. 3

by means of the administrator's knowldecision's level of resolving the probedge and experience that s/he has gained
lem.
at a specific area. Her/his experience has 3- The duration that the decision will be
taught the administrator the decision mies
valid. The longer the implementation
as well asfingercounting (Can, 1999,240).
of the decision, the more it gets weaker to implement it. In order to make the
Decision process is used in order to
implementation of the decision stronger,
make a change in an organization, prevent
it is needed that the decision is remindor resolve a conflict or influence the orgaed to the organization at times and
nization members. Decision is the axis of
controlled continuously.
other processes. The survival of the organization depends on the correctness of the 4- One of the most important factors
decisions taken. The administrator's takaffecting the decision is the problem of
ing correct and efficient decisions firstly
"participation".
requires his/her being knowledgeable about 5- When performed with suitable meththe decision models and its stages.
ods and at suitable levels, participation,
which is getting more important in conBursalioglu (1999:116) identified these
temporary management trends, the
stages as follow;
appropriation and adoption feeling
- Understanding the problem, gatherresulted
from the performers' particiing information with regards to the
pation to the decision affect the decision
problem,
in a positive way; while participation
- Analysis and interpretation of the
which cannot be held in suitable and
information,
sufficient level may obstmct the imple- Formulating the solution ways,
mentation of the decision.
- Selecting the most efficient solution,
Considering participation as the process
- Implementation and assessment
Three dimensions can be considered in of influencing the decision, McGregor
implementing the decision; (Katz and explained participation as the creation of
Kahn.1966)
opportunities at suitable conditions that
1 - The level of general and abstract aspect will ensure people's effectiveness of the
of the decision. The more a decision is decisions that will have an influence on
general and abstract, the harder it can them (Acikgz, 1984). Participation covbe implemented. Decisions that are ers the involvement of the organization
abstract and that can be reduced to an members to the decision process and even
aspect are the ones clearer and evident. initiating it. The concept is a process that
2- The intemal and extemal organizational is brought by the behavioral sciences and
area affected by the decision. The larg- democratic leadership approaches and that
er the area of the decision, the harder increases morale within the organization
the monitoring and controlling of the while reducing the negative reactions
implementation of the decision. It will against decisions.
become impossible to assess such a
Using decision participation in an

Views of Administrators... / 639

effective way is a result of a managerial


approach including the desire to eliminate
some ofthe adverse consequences of giving importance to personal authority, the
dependence of managers to their subordinates and the confidence of subordinates
to their talents. Participation generates significant opportunities for the subordinate's
satisfying his/her self-respect and hence
encourages leading towards organizational goals. It is helpful in ensuring the
cohesion within the organization. Firstly,
the subordinate has the satisfaction because
of handling the problems and finding successful resolutions for them, which is in
no case unimportant or little satisfaction.
Besides, there is the feeling of independence and gaining control over one's own
future (Cited Aksoy and Ural McGregor,
1970:94).
in his study called "Leadership and Participation in Decision", Vroom (2003)
developed a decision making process composing of five stages ranging from 0 to 10
(0, 3, 5, 7, and 10) between manager
focused decision making and delegating
the decision to the group - group focused
decision making. It is stated in the model
that there is an inverse proportion and in
case the leader decides on his/her own, the
group effectiveness reduces, freedom area
of the members of the group gets narrower while in case decisions are delegated to
the group or the level of group focused
decision participation is high, the leader
effectiveness reduces, group effectiveness
increases and freedom area of the members
of the group gets wider.

Participation in Decision at School

As it is in all organizations, there is a


decision taken prior to education and teaching and any actions in other Issues at
schools as well and it is important at what
level the decisions are taken. It is clear that
participative management approach is
improving at schools and accordingly, particularly, education staff needs to
participate in the decisions. In order to
manage the meetings held at schools every
school administrator should manage the
meetings effectively. Each meeting is a
management center where administration
and leadership become apparent. Therefore, leading a meeting is a significant and
difficult task, requiring certain talents and
qualifications. Hoy and Tarter (1993) pointed out that there are five effective
managerial roles with regards to the decision making processes at schools.
These are; (1) integrative role, (2) representative role, (3) educative role, (4)
consulting role and (5) administrative role.
School principals should perform the
educative, integrative, representative, individual and group consulting roles
effectively depending on the conditions in
the decision making process (Cited Demirtas et all. 2008; Celep, 1996).
Although the Issue of school administration in Turkish Education System is dealt
with as an Issue of priority by the education scientists, courses in undergraduate,
graduate and doctoral levels are added in
the university curriculums and books have
been written with regards to school
administration by several education administrators, school administration remains to
be an Issue which is still developing due

640 / Education Vol. 131 No. 3


to the rapid changes in both management
science and school administration theories. It is seen that more participative
methods have been used at schools in decision making since the year 2000. In the
previous years, decisions taken only by the
people in management roles and generally following a downward hierarchy have
started to be taken by means of "commissions" and "councils" thanks to the laws
and legislation put in effect in time. Today,
it is tried that decisions related with school
are taken with the participation of all parties affected by the school decisions. The
most important actors among these parties
who should participate in the school decisions are the teachers. Accordingly, some
commissions and councils where decisions
with regards to school are taken are as follows:
a) Education Region Principals Council: The council composed of the
participation of principals of education
institutions in the region and with coordinator principal having the chairperson role.
b) Education Region Consultancy
Council: The council composed of the participation of principals of education
institutions in the region, teachers, students
and parent representatives as well as representatives of other public, private sector
and voluntary agencies.
c) Education Region Group Leaders
Council: The council composed of group
leaders of the same class/course, department heads and a guidance counselor when
needed in the education institutes in the
education region.
d) Group Teachers Council: A working
body composed of the in-field teachers

teaching the same courses at school, where


common decisions leading education and
teaching are taken. Group meetings are
held at least twice each academic year at
the beginning of the first and second term
and in line with the regulations, instmctions and commands.
e) Teachers Council: The highest decision body composed of all primary and
trainee teachers, guidance counselors and
deputies, instructors, which plans and
assesses teaching and education studies.
Teachers Council convenes under the chairmanship of the school principal in the
beginning, during and at the end of the academic year and when needed upon the call
from the school principal (any kind of discipline Issues at school, selecting boarders,
daily Ministry commands...etc.). At the
teachers council, meetings with regards to
the Issues determined by the school principal such as conducting the teaching tasks,
the order and discipline at school, schoolcommunity relationships, educating the
students, planning works, making various
job divisions, examining and approving
the grades and assessing the works time
to time as well as Issues stated by the Ministry.
f) Branch Teachers Council: A working body composed of teachers of the same
course, where common decisions leading
education and teaching are taken. Branch
meetings are held at least twice each academic year at the beginning of the first and
second term and in line with the regulations, instmctions and commands. Branch
Teachers Council meetings are mostly
important for the first grades and last
grades at school.

Views of Administrators... / 641


The council stays within the framework
of the laws, legislation, regulations, curriculum and commands by the Ministry.
For the purpose of reaching the goals stated in law, only the Issues regarding
improving education and teaching should
be discussed within the relevant applicable law. All negotiations and opinions of
teachers are recorded in the minutes of the
meeting in detail with their names. Decisions taken and conclusions reached are
binding and indicated either at the end of
the minutes or as a separate text.
This minutes or decision text is signed
by the teachers attending the council. The
ones who do not participate in the whole
or some part of the decision indicate their
views in the decision text. Decisions are
taken by majority of votes. The discussions and decisions taken at the council
are confidential. They are not reflected in
outside in any case. At the meetings, the
realization status of the previously taken
decisions are reviewed, the reasons for
delays are found out, if any and new correction decisions are taken.
Numerous research has been conducted regarding participating in decision at
schools. The particularly emphasized point
in these research results is that teachers
who have a great responsibility as the initiator, performer and assessor of education
and teaching are willing and qualified
enough to participate in decisions. In the
studies, it is demonstrated that teachers
participate in decisions more at the decentralized schools where democratic
processes are dominant than at the centralized schools where autocratic processes
are effective. The finding in Henry Levin's

(1991) study that "teacher qualifications


increase with the decision making process
based on school" shows the importance of
decentralization approach at school in the
teacher participation in decisions. In his
study, Aytac (2000) mentioned about the
finding that "teachers' participation and
effectiveness in decision making process,
which is among the indicative elements of
school centered management, is not at a
desired level".
in the study named "Teachers' views
regarding their status of participation in
decisions", the level of teachers' willingness to participate in decisions was found
out to be low. Additionally, in a study by
Sarpkaya (1996), a significant relationship
was found between the perceptions and
expectations of teachers and administrators on the Issue of participating in
decisions at high schools. Teachers' perceptions are lower than those of the
administrators while their expectations
were higher. (Yavuz, 2004). According to
the research findings of Aksoy and Ural
(2008), there is a significant difference
between teachers' level of participating in
the instructional decisions and the administrative decisions. Accordingly, teachers
are more willing to participate in the
instructional decisions. Also, it is found
out in Kkl's (1994) study that school
principals want the teachers to participate
in instructional decisions more than participating in other Issues (Aksoy and Ural
2008). Indicating that decisions that teachers can participate at schools can generally
be taken at meetings, Demirtas et al. (2008)
named these meetings as "Teachers Council", "Group Teachers Council" and

642/Education Vol. 131 No. 3


"Branch Teachers Council". In the research
results, the level of teachers' participating
in the decisions at high schools is found to
be "medium".
The success and benefit gained out of
the meetings held at schools depend on
mainly tje fact that school administrators
know the principles and techniques about
meeting management, they implement
these techniques, the meeting is held at a
suitable setting and starts at the exact time,
the purpose of the meeting is declared, all
explanations regarding the meeting are
made, the timing and procedures are
announced, the agenda is followed and the
meeting duration is considered. Meetings
held at schools are the settings where verbal communication is extensive. Therefore,
principals should be good listeners and stabilizers instead of being dominant speakers
(Acikalin, 1994). Following the meeting,
the decisions should be written on a minutes approved by the participants and
following up whether the decisions are
implemented as expected in the following
periods should be made because unless the
decisions taken at the meetings are implemented, it is not considered that the
meeting is efficient or effective (Demirtas
et al., 2008). The level of participation of
the teachers and administrators to the decisions taken at the meetings at schools is
important. The findings of the research
show that as the level of participation of
the employees to the decisions increases,
the levels of following and implementing
the decisions increase as well. Therefore,
it will be beneficial that to what extent the
teachers participate in the decisions taken
at the meetings is determined and sugges-

tions regarding the problems experienced


with regards to participating in the decisions are provided.
The purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to determine the views of teachers and


administrators regarding their participation to the decisions taken at the meetings
held at schools and the problems based on
these views while developing suggestions
for solutions.
Sub-Problems:

The sub-problems of this study are as


follow:
1. What is the level of teacher and administrator participation to the decisions
taken at schools by means of meetings?
2. is there any relationship between the
level of teacher participation to the decisions and teacher positions, fields, level
of education and gender?
3. Is there a difference between teacher
and administrator views in term of decision participation?
Method
The method of the study is descriptivesurvey method. The population of the study
is composed of all primary and middle
schools in the boundaries of city of Ankara
and the teachers and administrators working at these schools.
Due to the fact that the number of
schools is high, samples were taken. Teachers and administrators in 14 randomly
selected schools in Ankara made up the
sample group. The survey was sent to 625
personnel in 14 schools in total and 388 of

Views of Administrators... / 643

them retumed.
Survey is used as the information gathering tool in the study. It is composed of
two sections. The four questions in the first
section include the independent variables
such as participants' position, gender, job
- field and level of education. The second
section consists of the questions with the
opinions regarding what their perceptions
about the sub-problems of the study.
As the data gathering instmment, the
survey used in a study called "Scale Development Regarding the Activities of School
Administrators during the Decision Making Process within the framework of
Human Resources Management" developed by making use of the literature review,
interviews with teachers and principals at
schools and expert opinions by zen and
Yriik (2005) in order to determine the
activities during the decision making
process at schools was used.
Two of the 20 questions in the survey
were not assessed. The other 18 questions
aimed at finding out the views of teachers
and administrators regarding the participation to the decisions taken at schools.
The answers were identified as a five point

Likert scale as "I totally disagree" (1),"I


agree a little" (2), "I am not decided" (3),
"I totally agree" (4) and "I wholly agree"
(5).
Data gathered and analyzed in SPSS
software were calculated for mean and
standard deviation values and inter group
discrepancies were examined via "t" test.
Findings and interpretation

Findings based on data were interpreted in terms of total scores, percentages and
differences among the scores. Scores determined as five point scale are adjusted and
the ones marking "I totally disagree" and
"I partially agree" options are assessed as
"disagree"; the ones marking "I'm not
decided" are assessed as "undecided"; "I
totally agree" and "I wholly agree" options
are assessed as "Agree". Accordingly, the
frequency (F) and percentage (%) distributions of the people agreeing or disagreeing
to the questions of the survey or undecided ones are given in the below table;
1. The level of teacher and administrator
participation in decisions taken via meetings, their percentages and frequencies

Table 1 : The level of teacher and administrator participation in decisions taken via meetings,
their percentages (%) and frequencies (f).
Disagree

Undecided

Agree

Questions
f

158

40,8

36

9,3

194

50,0

197

50,7

38

9,8

153

39,4

1. The agenda at the school meetings are determined by


the principal.
2. The principal creates the meeting agenda together with
the teachers.

644 / Education Vol. 131 No. 3

3. As a result of the school meetings, decisions are taken


267

68,8

49

12,6

72

18,6

4. Teachers don't want to attend the meetings.

205

52,9

61

15,7

122

31,4

5. School meetings are held upon the need determined.

98

25,2

40

10,3

250

64,5

6. School meetings are held regularly in certain intervals.

59

25,2

32

8,2

297

76,5

7. There is a shared decision making culture at school.

110

28,4

55

14,2

223

57,4

70

28,0

53

13,7

265

68,2

9. It is ensured that everybody follows the decisions taken. 152

21,7

67

17,3

241

62,1

163

42,0

93

24,0

132

34,0

141

36,4

55

14,2

192

49,4

57

14,6

60

15,5

271

70,0

55

14,1

58

14,9

275

70,9

201

51,8

80

20,6

107

27,6

98

25,2

66

17,0

224

57,7

64

16,5

62

16,0

262

67,5

by the principal.

8. The principal uses the problem solving method well at


the decision making stage.

10. If any kind of Issue cannot be decided, exxpert


opinions are requested.
11. Prior to important decision, teachers are informed to
make them think.
12. The principal tries to eliminate the obstacles that can
be experienced with the teachers.
13. Both personal and corporate interests are considered at
the decisions taken.
14. The principal leaves the decision making task to
teachers.
15. Decisions are flexible and can be changed if needed.
16. Examples of successful and good practices are
considered at the decisions.

Views of Administrators... / 645

17. The principal thinks he knows the best in every Issue.

255

65,7

57

14,7

76

19,6

79

20,3

42

10,8

267

69,0

18. Teachers level of participation at the school meetings


is high.

The findings and interpretations of the


question: "What is the level of teacher and
administrator participation to the decisions
taken at schools by means of meetings?"
which is the first sub-problem of the study,
are given below:
1.40,8 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "The agenda at the
school meetings are determined by the
principal" as marking the "I don't agree"
option while 50,0 % replied the same item
as "I agree". This shows that meeting agendas are mostly determined by the principals
at schools.
2.50,7 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "The principal
creates the meeting agenda together with
the teachers" as marking the "I don't agree"
option while 39,4 % replied the same item
as "I agree". Accordingly, it can be said
that mostly meeting agendas are not prepared together with the teachers.
3. 68,8 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "As a result of
the school meetings, decisions are taken
by the principal" as marking the "I don't
agree" option while 18,6 % replied the
same item as "I agree". Accordingly, it can
be said that decisions taken as a result of
the meetings at schools are not only taken
by the principals. It can be thought that
decisions as a result of the meeting are perhaps taken at upper level.
4.52,9 % of the teachers and adminis-

trators replied the item "Teachers don't


want to attend the meetings" as marking
the "I don't agree" option while 31,4 %
replied the same item as "I agree". Accordingly, it can be said that teachers are mostly
willing to attend the meetings.
5.25,2 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "School meetings
are held upon the need determined" as
marking the "I don't agree" option while
64,5 % replied the same item as "I agree".
Accordingly, it can be said that school
meetings are not held upon a determined
need. It can be interpreted that meetings are
mostly made based on needs determined
by the upper management, routine mies
and obligations.
6.25,2 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "School meetings
are held regularly in certain intervals" as
marking the "I don't agree" option while
76,5 % replied the same item as "I agree".
Accordingly, it can be said that meetings
are held regularly in certain intervals at
schools.
7.28,4 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "There is a shared
decision making culture at school" as
marking the "I don't agree" option while
57,4 % replied the same item as "I agree".
Accordingly, it can be said that teachers
and administrators think that there isn't a
shared decision making culture in the
school administration.

646 / Education Vol. 131 No. 3


8. 28 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "The principal uses
the problem solving method well at the
decision making stage" as marking the "I
don't agree" option while 68,2 % replied
the same item as "I agree". Accordingly,
it can be said that school administrators
are using the problem solving method at
the decision making stage.
9. 21,7 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "It is ensured that
everybody follows the decisions taken" as
marking the "I don't agree" option while
62,1 % replied the same item as "I agree".
Accordingly, it can be said that everyone
is made to follow the decisions taken at
school. In such a condition, it can be said
that the decisions taken at schools as a
result of the meetings are mostly the decisions suitable for official practices required
by legislation.
10. 42 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "If any kind of Issue
cannot be decided, expert opinions are
requested." as marking the "I don't agree"
option while 34 % replied the same item
as "I agree". Accordingly, unless a decision
is taken on a particular Issue at schools, it
can be said that expert opinions are not
requested.
11. 36,4 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "Prior to important
decision, teachers are informed to make
them think." as marking the "I don't agree"
option while 49,4 % replied the same item
as "I agree". Accordingly, it can be said
that prior to important decisions at schools,
teachers are generally informed and it is
provided that they think about the Issue in
advance.

12. 14,7 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "The principal
tries to eliminate the obstacles that can be
experienced with the teachers." as marking the "I don't agree" option while 70 %
replied the same item as "I agree". Accordingly, it can be said that school principals
generally try to eliminate the obstacles that
can arise with the teachers.
13. 14,1 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "Both personal
and corporate interests are considered at the
decisions taken" as marking the "I don't
agree" option while 71 % replied the same
item as "I agree". Accordingly, it can be
said that both personal and corporate interests are mostly considered at the decisions
taken at schools.
14. 51,8 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "The principal
leaves the decision making task to teachers" as marking the "I don't agree" option
while 27,6 % replied the same item as "I
agree". Accordingly, it can be said that
principals at schools generally don't leave
the decision making task to teachers.
15. 25,2 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "Decisions are
flexible and can be changed if needed." as
marking the "I don't agree" option while
57,7 % replied the same item as "I agree".
Accordingly, it can be said that decisions
at schools are not flexible and not changed
when needed.
16. 16,5 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "Examples of
successful and good practices are considered at the decisions" as marking the "I
don't agree" option while 67,5 % replied
the same item as "I agree". Accordingly,

Views of Administrators... / 647


it can be said that mostly the successful
and good practices are not considered.
17. 65,7 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "The principal
thinks he knows the best in every Issue"
as marking the "I don't agree" option while
19,6 % replied the same item as "I agree".
Accordingly, it can be said that the principle doesn't think that he knows the best
in every Issue.
18. 20,4 % of the teachers and administrators replied the item "Teachers level
of participation at the school meetings is
high" as marking the "I don't agree" option
while 68,9 % replied the same item as "I
agree". Accordingly, it can be said that
level of teacher participation to the decisions taken at the school meetings is high.
19. When Ano va test results in terms
of position variable are examined, a significant discrepancy is found between the
group means in 5th question,
Sig=0,032<0,05 and 7th question,
Sig=0,005<0,05. This difference results
from the teachers with 1-7 years of experience and 22 - 28 years of experience in
question 5. Teachers with less than 7 years
of experience participate more to the idea
that school meetings are held upon the
determined need (X=3,84) than the ones
with 22-28 years of experience (X=3,20).
According to this, teachers with a high
position thinks that meetings are not held
based on the necessity. On the other hand,
young teachers believe that meetings are
held based on needs.
in the 7th question, according to the
Anova test result regarding the item 7
"There is a shared decision making culture at school", a significant difference is

found between the mean scores


(Sig=0,002<0,05). This results from the
teachers with 1-7 years of experience
(X=3,57), 8-14 years of experience
(X=3,13) and 15-21 years of experience
(X=3,84). Accordingly, teachers with less
than 7 years of experience and teachers
with more than 15 years of experience
agree that there is a shared decision making culture in their schools more than the
teachers with 8-14 years of experience.
Teachers with 15-21 years of experience
are found the be the group that agrees most
to the idea that there is a decision making
culture at school. It is possible to interpret
this as the period between 1 5 - 2 1 years
of experience is the period when teachers
have the belonging feeling most.
20. There is no significant relationship
between total mean scores in terms of gender variable (Female X=3,65, Male
X=3,55),(t=O,826>0,05).
21. When scores in terms of jobs are
examined, the number of head teachers
participating in the survey is only four so
the results of the third group and the ones
marking "other" option are not taken into
consideration. Total scores in terms of job
variable are tested with T- test and a significant relationship is found between total
scores in terms of jobs in 4th, 7th and 8th
items.
22. When scores in terms of type of
school are examined, there is a significant
relationship between group means as
t=0,00<0,05. Accordingly, it can be said
that primary school teachers and administrators' views about decision making
process and participation to the decision are
more positive than middle school teach-

648 / Education Vol. 131 No. 3

Table 2. T-Test Findings Regarding Teacher and Administrator Perceptions About


Teachers' Willingness for Attending the Meeting
N

Teacher

350

2,51

1,31

Administrator

23

2,96

1,61

1,57

,01

Table 3: T-Test Findings of Mean Scores regarding administrator and teacher perceptions
on establishing a shared decision culture in school management
N

Teacher

350

3,39

1,25

Administrator

23

3,91

1,09

1,98

,00

Table 4: T-Test Findings of Mean Scores regarding and teacher perceptions regarding everyone's
following the decisions taken
N

Teacher

350

3,56

1,08

Administrator

23

4,09

,949

2,28

,00

Views of Administrators... /649

ers and administrators. That is, decisions


are taken more democratically at primary
schools.
23. The perceptions of administrators
and teachers regarding teachers' willingness to attend the meetings:
When Table 2 is examined, it is seen
that there is a significant difference in the
teacher and administrator perception mean
scores regarding teachers' willingness for
attending the meeting [t=l,57, p<.05].
According to this finding obtained, the
mean administrator perception score
regarding teachers' willingness for attending the meeting is higher than teachers'
mean perception score. This shows that
administrators think that teachers are more
willing to attend meetings.
24. Administrator and teacher perceptions regarding establishing a shared
decision culture in school management:
When Table 3 is examined, it is seen
that there is s significant difference in the
mean scores of administrator and teacher
perceptions on establishing a shared decision culture in school management [t=l ,98,
p<.05]. According to this finding, administrator perception mean scores on
establishing a shared decision culture in
school management is higher than the
teachers' mean perception score. This
shows that administrators think that there
is a shared decision making culture in
school management more than the teachers do.
25. Administrator and teacher perceptions regarding everyone's following the
decisions taken.
When Table 4 is examined, it is seen
that there is a significant difference in the

mean scores of administrator and teacher


perceptions on everyone's following the
decisions taken [t=2,28,p<.05]. According
to this finding, administrator perception
mean scores on everyone's following the
decisions taken are higher than the teachers' mean perception score. This shows
that administrators think that everyone is
following the decisions taken more than
teachers do.
Results and Discussions
As a result ofthe study, it is concluded
that practices with regards to the teacher
career system are not supported by teachers or administrators. According to the
research findings, the following conclusions are made in terms ofthe replies given
to the questions asked to teachers and
administrators.
1. Meeting agendas at school are generally determined by the school principals
and they are not prepared together with the
teachers. Most of the meeting agendas are
prepared with the upper management with
the regulations or instructions sent to
school administration. Teachers' not participating the determination of meeting
agenda may result in their not participating the decision making process.
2. Decisions to be taken as a result of
the meetings at schools are only taken by
the school principals. They are taken
together with the upper management and
the principal. Subordinate participation
should be provided more at schools.
3. Teachers are willing to attend the
meetings; however, they think that their
desire is not fully met in terms of participation in decisions. It is necessary that

650 / Education Vol. 131 No. 3


authority and responsibility be shared in
order for the teachers to be encouraged
more to participate in the decisions.
4. School meetings are not made upon
a detected need. Meetings are generally
held based on the needs determined by the
upper management, routine mies and obligations.
5. Meetings are held at schools regularly in certain intervals but these intervals
are determined mostly by the upper management at the beginning of the terms.
Some of these meetings should be determined based on teacher and administrator
needs or even the needs of other staff.
6. There is no shared decision making
culture in school management. In order to
achieve this, more participation in decision making is needed.
7. Principals are using the problem solving method well in decision making stage.
8. It should be ensured that everyone
follows the decisions taken at school. In
this case, decisions taken as a result of the
meetings at schools are mostly the ones
required by the legislation, appropriate to
the official practices and which have sanctions unless implemented. That is, there is
no way for not implementing the decisions
taken at schools.
9. Expert opinion is not requested unless
a decision is taken on a certain Issue at
schools. Schools are not experienced in
benefiting from the experts. It should be
provided that school administrators and
teachers benefit more from expert opinions.
10. Prior to important decisions at
schools, teachers are informed and made
to think on the Issue in advance.

11. At schools, principals try to eliminate the obstacles that can be experienced
with the teachers. School is a place where
problems of the staff should be firstly
focused in order to increase the efficiency.
12. Both personal and corporate interests are considered at the decisions taken
at schools. This is significant in order for
the institution to develop. Schools should
adopt human centered methods in decisions unlike other entities.
13. Principal at school doesn't leave the
task of decision making to teacher. On the
other hand, it is considered a great step
that teachers participate in decisions for
them to appropriate them. Staff participating in the decisions has the
implementation responsibility and contribute in organizational development.
14. Decisions at schools are not fiexible and they cannot be changed when
needed. However, decisions should be
changed whenever necessary based on the
conditions of the time. Unchangeable and
fixed decisions are considered as one of
the obstacles in organizational development.
15. Successful and good practices are
not taken into account in decisions taken
at schools. Therefore, it should be ensured
that previously taken decisions and good
examples are models for the new decisions.
16. Principal doesn't think that every
decision he makes is the best. In this
respect, staff can be consulted about the
efficiency of the decisions taken during
the year or principals may encourage teachers for more participation in the decisions.
17. Level of teacher participation in the

Views of Administrators... / 651


decisions taken at school meetings is high.
That teachers are willing to attend the meetings may be a result of the obligation to
attend them. However, according to this
conclusion, teachers should be encouraged
more to attend the meetings.
18. There are differences between the
views of experienced and inexperienced
teachers in terms of the fact that meetings
are held based on needs. Position differences among teachers should be taken into
account when meeting agenda is prepared.
19. There are differences between the
views of experienced and inexperienced
teachers in terms of the fact there is the
shared decision making culture at school.
In order to eliminate these differences
cooperation and communication between
experienced and inexperienced teachers
should be focused at the meetings and
activities.
20. There are differences between the
views of teachers and administrators in
terms of participation in decision making
at schools. While teachers point out the
lack of more participative managerial
approach, administrators think that the current structure is participative enough. It
will be beneficial that decisions about the
problems of teachers and administrators
are presented in a more cooperative manner.
21. There is a more democratic setting
in terms of participation in decisions in
primary schools than there is in middle
schools. This may be a result of the fact that
teachers and administrators in primary
schools are in a stronger and more intense
communication in terms of course and infield teachers. Therefore, it is

recommended that particularly teachers


and administrators in middle schools
should be in a closer relationship.
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