Teacher Participation in School Decision Making: Assessing Willingness to Participate

Increasing teacher involvement in school decision making ranks among the most promising educational reform strategies. Yet empirical data about the conditions under which teachers will actually participate, if given the opportunity, are quite limited. This article explores the organizational and psychological antecedents to teachers’ willingness to participate in personnel, curriculum and instruction, staff development, and general administrative decisions. Findings reveal that teachers vary in their willingness to participate in different decisions and that teacher-principal working relationships exert the greatest significant influence on willingness to participate across decision areas. Findings also suggest that willingness to participate may turn on reconciling competing professional beliefs and working relationships.