Toward an Understanding of Teachers’ Desire for Participation in Decision Making

An integral component of the restructuring literature rests on the assumption that teachers want to participate in schoolwide decision making. The present study explores this assumption by constructing a typology of teachers based on their reported desire to participate. Four types of teachers are characterized: (a) empowered—those who want to participate and do; (b) disenfranchised—those who want to participate but do not; (c) involved—those who do not want to participate but do; and (d) disengaged—those who do not want to participate and do not. We examine the differences and similarities among the four types of teachers on both demographic and attitudinal indicators. Results indicate that teachers are distinguished more by actual participation than by desire to participate. However, one attitudinal indicator, sense of efficacy, differentiated teachers based on desire for participation.