Defining and measuring the dimensions of teacher empowerment in restructuring public schools

Teacher empowerment is a cornerstone of most educational (restructuring) reform efforts. The purpose of this study was to define and measure dimensions of teacher empowerment with a census of the 10,544 teachers in 307 Ohio public schools initiating self-designed state-funded restructuring. Mailed s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEducation (Chula Vista) Vol. 118; no. 3; pp. 358 - 370
Main Authors Klecker, Beverly J, Loadman, William E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Project Innovation (Alabama) 22.03.1998
Project Innovation Austin LLC
Subjects
Management
Public schools
Teacher centers
Teacher education
Teachers
Training
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Summary:Teacher empowerment is a cornerstone of most educational (restructuring) reform efforts. The purpose of this study was to define and measure dimensions of teacher empowerment with a census of the 10,544 teachers in 307 Ohio public schools initiating self-designed state-funded restructuring. Mailed survey returns were received from 4,084 teachers (39%) in 180 schools (59%). Using the School Participant Empowerment Scale, teachers rated their overall empowerment 3.82 on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree). Dimensional ratings were: Status (4.07), Professional Growth (4.19), Self-Efficacy (4.12), Decision-Making (3.43), Impact (3.57) and Autonomy in Scheduling (3.08). Statistically significant (effect size of .01 or greater) differences in ratings of empowerment by teacher demographic characteristics were discussed. These differences have ramifications for educational reform initiatives.
ISSN:0013-1172