The study was designed to assess the perceptions of secondary public school teachers toward the relationship between collective bargaining and the level of teacher participation in decision making. Specifically, the problem was twofold: 1) to determine teachers' perceptions of the extent of participation in decision making before and after collective bargaining, and 2) to determine teachers' perceptions of the desired amount of teacher participation in decision making relative to ten decisional items. The study was predicated upon the need for empirical data of teachers' perceptions of the actual and desired amount of teacher participation in decision making and the effectiveness of collective bargaining as a vehicle for increasing teacher participation.The sample consisted of 97~ randomly selected Indiana secondary school teachers. Data analysis was based upon the responses from 870 teachers which represented an 89.2 percent response rate.Data were secured by means of a survey questionnaire designed and validated for the study. The instrument included ten decisional items: 1) teaching loads, 2) class size, 3) teacher assignment, 4) teacher evaluation, 5) student discipline, 6) budget policies, 7) non-classroom duties, 8) class preparation time, 9) instructional methods, and 10) course content. Teachers were requested to indicate the amount of teacher participation in decision making before and after collective bargaining as well as the desired amount of teacher participation in decision making.Data of teachers' perceptions of the differences in the amount of teacher participation before and after collective bargaining were treated descriptively. Differences in teachers' perceptions of the desired amount of teacher participation were tested by the chi-square test of independence and were accepted as statistically significant at the .05 alpha level.Data relating to teachers' perceptions of teacher participation in decision making before and after collective bargaining revealed that 1) teachers perceived increased teacher participation after collective bargaining relative to each of the ten decisional items, 2) instructional methods and course content were the only decisional items perceived by the majority of teachers as teacher dominated both before and after collective bargaining, and 3) teachers perceived the greatest gains in participation in teaching loads, teacher evaluation, non-classroom duties, and class preparation time.Chi-square values indicated that differences in teachers' perceptions of desired participation in decision making were statistically significant at the .05 alpha level for nine of the ten decisional items relative to the selected variables. The statistically significant variables and related decisional items included: 1) sex: course content, non-classroom duties, teacher evaluation and teacher assignment; 2) age: course content and teacher assignment; 3) teacher organization membership: teaching loads, class size, teacher assignment, teacher evaluation, budget policies, and course content; 4) professional negotiation involvement: class preparation time, teacher assignment, and teaching loads; 5) size of school district: student discipline, teacher evaluation, and teaching loads; and 6) the existence of negotiation trouble: teacher evaluation.Review of the data led to the following conclusions: 1) although teacher participation had increased after collective bargaining, the perceived increase was minimal; 2) there is a discrepancy between teachers' present and desired amount of participation in decision making; 3) teachers' endeavors to expand the amount of teacher influence in decision making prior to collective bargaining were unsuccessful; 4) teachers' perceptions of desired participation are conditional upon teacher and school district characteristics; and 5) failure to provide for teacher participation in decision making increases the probability of negotiation conflict.

Change has become a much more prevalent feature of Higher Education (HE) with many trends apparent, including the focus on institutional management and leadership; changes in decision-making approaches; institutional re-structuring; and increased bureaucratisation. Yet, while the literature provides some understanding of how HE change is impacting upon institutions, the consequences of such change for the traditional values of academic life and work represents an under-researched aspect of HE in Ireland. To address this gap in understanding, a case study of the School of Business at University College Dublin (UCD), involving semi-structured interviews with academics and manager-academics, was undertaken. The aim of the research was to determine how, and to what extent, change in HE is impacting upon academic staff. The research explored the changing involvement of academics in decision-making and the impact of such change on traditional notions of collegiality; and examined the changes taking place in the role of the academic, including their academic freedom. The research provides evidence of a period of sustained institutional change at UCD and draws attention to the considerable tension surrounding the top-down manner in which change was implemented and the lack of involvement of academics throughout the change process. The research has contributed to our understanding of the changing HE landscape in Ireland and highlights the increasing tension between the traditional values of academics and the changing shape of university life. While the research evidence acknowledges that the level of academic freedom has somewhat contracted, it draws attention to the substantial loss of involvement of academics in School decision-making; the decline in collegiality; the increase in routine administrative duties and greater work intensification; and the increased emphasis on research productivity.

Thesis (Master of Theology)--Duke University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 95). Also available online.

The purpose of the study was to compare preferred with actual student participation in the decision-making process as perceived by Indiana public secondary school principals.

The study was designed to compare the nature and extent of teacher participation in decision making in self contained and team teaching elementary schools. The sample for data gathering consisted of 81 teachers and 17 principals from 17 self contained elementary schools and 94 teachers and principals from 18 team teaching elementary schools in Indiana. Professional personnel from 15 school districts participated in the study.Data for the study were secured by means of responses given to a questionnaire. The instrument consisted of 24 decisional situations to which each subject was requested to indicate current and desired participation. Decisional items were grouped as administrative decisions and instructional decisions.Data were analyzed statistically. Hypotheses concerning teacher-characteristics and teacher decisional participation relative to the two types of school organizations were analyzed through an analysis of covariance. The Pearson-Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to test the relationship of teacher-characteristics of the total number of respondents to six decisional variables.

The purpose of the study was to determine how, and to what extent, operation under a Management-by-Objectives (MBO) system has affected administrative units and individual participants in public two-year community colleges.The research was planned to answer the following questions:1. How often were goal-setting meetings and progress evaluation meetings held?2. What were the effects of a Management-by-Objectives system on formal contacts-between subordinates and superiors as perceived by public community college administrators?3. What were the effects of goal-setting conferences between subordinates and superiors as perceived by public community college administrators?4. How does the Management-by-Objectives program effect participation of community college administrators in decision-making?5. What were the effects of MBO on communication within the organization?6. How did the Management-by-Objectives program affect individual and organizational performance?7. What factors might be responsible for both the negative and positive attitudes toward a Management-by-Objectives system as perceived by public community college administrators?8. What was the scope and intensity of management training needed to implement a Management-byObjectives program as perceived by public community college administrators?9. Which variables (on the questionnaire given) were found" to be statistically significant predictors of administrative attitudes toward a Management-by-Objectives program?Administrators from a total of 32 public two-year community colleges that were operating under a Management-by-Objectives system indicated a willingness to participate in the study. Chief administrators of the 32 colleges aggregately supplied the names of 283 administrators to be surveyed through confidential questionnaires. The instruments were coded to identify the various administrative units: code one represented the Administrative Affairs Unit; code two the Community Services Unit; code three the Instructional Affairs Unit; code four the Student Services Unit, code five the Research and Development Unit, and code six represented Community College Presidents. A total of 200 instruments (71 percent) were returned.Tables were formulated to summarize responses to individual items according to the administrative units. Total responses, percent of totals, and average response for each administrative unit were reported in each table. An average response figure was calculated in order to provide a measure of the relative strength of responses in each administrative unit.Statistical processing of the data consisted of the Pearson product-moment coefficient of correlation to determine whether relationships existed between selected variables. Also, a stepwise multiple-regression analysis employing the attitude of the administrator toward the MBO system as a dependent variable was utilized to identify which, if any, among the 25 independent variables selected served as significant predictors of administrative attitudes toward an MBO program. In both statistical processes an .05 level was established as significant.Major findings permitted the following conclusions to be drawn:1. Attitudes of community college administrators toward the MBO program were favorable.2. Negative reactions toward the MBO program were perceived to be-generated by increased time pressures, increased paperwork, and difficulty in setting educational objectives.3. The variables identified which serve as significant predictors of administrator attitudes toward the MBO program were:a. Effective as a means for planning and organizing work for which an administrator is accountable.b. Effective as a means for evaluating work performance.c. Effective in improving satisfaction with being more a part of decisions.d. Effective in improving the attitudes of the superior toward the Management-by-Objectives program as perceived by subordinates.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1981. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-87).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2003. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-206)

Since the implementation of the 2012 fee and funding regime in England, that notably increased the maximum undergraduate tuition fees to £9000, the focus of policymakers and those in the higher education sector has been on student participation rates. Thus, to date little is known about the extent to which the 2012 fee and funding changes have affected students’ higher education decision-making. The purpose of this research was to explore students’ study mode, subject and institution choices under the 2012 fee regime, with the aim of contributing new knowledge in this area. To this end, a comprehensive approach to mixed methods was used to generate quantitative and qualitative data on students’ decision-making (Hesse-Biber, 2010a). Two methods were used to generate the data, which were questionnaires completed by 550 students and follow-up interviews with a sub-sample of 30 students. The students, aged 17 to 21, were from six schools and colleges across Greater London and in the final year of their level 3 qualifications (NQF/QCF). The timing of the fieldwork was pivotal to the research and generated data at a specific moment in students’ decisionmaking, after they had submitted a UCAS application (January 2013) and prior to the publication of their level three qualifications (August 2013), which has provided new knowledge of students’ responses to the increased costs of higher education. Informed by Hodkinson and colleagues’ theory of pragmatically rational decision-making (Hodkinson, Sparkes and Hodkinson, 1996), this research provides evidence that the 2012 fee and funding regime has altered and constrained students’ higher education choices. In terms of students’ study mode choices, despite policymakers expectations of increased diversification, the traditional mode of three years of full-time study towards a bachelor degree qualification in a face-to-face teaching and learning environment remains as highly, if not more highly, favoured, with some students avoiding four year courses (typically sandwich courses) to minimise costs. Over half of the students in this research reconsidered and altered their subject choices to those they perceived as improving their graduate employability. This decision was taken by students to ensure that the costs of participating in higher education were beneficial to their future career. The increased costs of higher education has also caused students to live at home whilst studying to reduce their debt and expenses, which was a decision disproportionately made by black and minority ethnic students from all social classes. The findings from this research provide new insights into students’ decision-making that contrast with prior literature, particularly in relation to trends by social class (Bates, Pollard, Usher and Oakley, 2009; Callender and Jackson, 2008; Reay, David and Ball, 2005; Usher, Baldwin, Munro, Pollard and Sumption, 2010). The research argues that the 2012 fee and funding ‘reforms’ have been counterproductive; as opposed to putting financial power into the hands of learners” (BIS, 2010, p.5), the ‘reforms’ have disempowered students by limiting their choices to those that are perceived as affordable.

Teachers' decision making is a crucial element in the quality of delivery of teaching and learning and, therefore, of educational outcomes in the form of student performance. There is, however, a dearth of relevant studies in this area, especially in the F. E. sector. This study sets out to investigate the practice of teachers' decision making in the substantive context of the Further Education sector in Scotland. The investigation adopted two main approaches: firstly, an interpretive approach,in which qualitative and quantitative methods were combined to collect and analyse data by the protocols of individual interviews, case studies and questionnaires: secondly, a developmental approach involved the application throughout of constant comparative analysis,in the tradition of "grounded theory". The population of the study, the source of both qualitative and quantitative data, was made up of 145 practitioner- subjects, drawn from a range of subject specialisms and approximately evenly split in terms of gender. The qualitative data,when statistically analysed permitted comparisons of the responses of the subjects to be made in terms of major subject specialisms in their teaching,and also in terms of gender. The major conceptual and theoretical outcome is a descriptive model of the practice of teachers' decision making, developed on the basis of subsidiary outcomes: a new, operational definition of decision. an innovative typology of decisions; an original way of categorising decisions by their content or substance. The developed versions of these outcomes constitute the major findings of the research. Recommendations include: potential applications of the outcomes of the study; possible research routes to further development of the conceptual findings presented. The boundaries and limitations of the study are also described and discussed.