DISTRICT LEVEL DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES AND PRINCIPALS' AND TEACHERS' SATISFACTION WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF DECLINE

WILLIAM ANTHONY PELAIA, Fordham University

Abstract

This study sought to determine and to compare the correspondence between board members' and superintendents' utilization of a decision-making process, specific to declining enrollment, and the correspondence between principals' and teachers' satisfaction with the decision-making process as utilized by board members and superintendents. Further, an attempt was made to ascertain whether this decision-making process, specific to decline, as utilized by board members and superintendents, related to the satisfaction of principals and teachers with the process. Finally, this study sought to determine whether selected demographic variables (rate of decline, community type, and experiential levels for principals and teachers) had any predictive value with respect to the utilization of the decision-making process by board members and superintendents, and/or the satisfaction of principals and teachers with the process. Every school district in the study population of 342 was given an opportunity to participate in this statewide study. Board members and superintendents were asked the extent to which they used a decision-making model by completing a Declining Enrollment Decision-Making Questionnaire. Principals and teachers completed a Declining Enrollment Decision-Making Satisfaction Questionnaire to indicate their satisfaction with how the model was being utilized. The respondent districts (121) were compared to the population districts (342) with respect to district size, district type, rate of decline, community type, and district factor grouping and no significant respondent differences were found, thus increasing the generalizability of the study. The data analysis clearly showed that predicting principal and teacher satisfaction with the decision-making model via knowledge of the utilization of that process by board members and superintendents is not viable. Even when selected demographic variables were considered, no significant relationships were found between the predictors and either the utilization or satisfaction indices. Nevertheless, principals' satisfaction and principals' years in district were found to be significant predictors of teacher satisfaction. Thus, the relationship between variables associated with the position of principals for predicting teacher satisfaction was the major significant result of this study.

Subject Area

School administration

Recommended Citation

PELAIA, WILLIAM ANTHONY, "DISTRICT LEVEL DECISION-MAKING PROCESSES AND PRINCIPALS' AND TEACHERS' SATISFACTION WITH THE MANAGEMENT OF DECLINE" (1984). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8409266.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8409266

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