Search results

1 – 10 of over 8000
Article
Publication date: 8 January 2018

Orit Avidov-Ungar and Rinat Arviv-Elyashiv

The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationship between teachers’ professional role, their sense of empowerment, and their attitudes toward managerial promotion (career…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the relationship between teachers’ professional role, their sense of empowerment, and their attitudes toward managerial promotion (career development) following the implementation of educational forms.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in Israel in 2015 and included 663 teachers, 250 elementary school teachers and 413 middle or high school teachers. A questionnaire and statistical analyses (ANOVA, multivariate analysis, and correlations) examined the attitudes of teachers in one of four professional roles toward managerial promotion (their desire for future promotion and sense of organizational fairness). This was compared with their sense of empowerment (comprising feeling respected, professional growth, influence, autonomy, self-efficacy, and decision making), while controlling for their demographic and professional backgrounds.

Findings

Four-fifths of teachers were interested in pursuing managerial promotion and they perceived the promotion process as moderately fair. The greater teachers’ sense of empowerment, the greater their desire for future promotion and their belief in the fairness of the promotional process. Teachers currently holding a leadership position expressed the strongest sense of empowerment.

Practical implications

The study presents a multivariate model to predict teachers’ attitudes to managerial promotion on the basis of their professional role and sense of empowerment. The findings have implications for educational policy-making, particularly where there is a national focus on increasing school autonomy.

Originality/value

The findings will contribute to local and international research on teacher empowerment and career development.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 August 2016

Jan Merok Paulsen, Kjell Brynjulf Hjertø and Saku Petteri Tihveräinen

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between school leadership practices and teacher empowerment in the Finnish policy culture. Specifically, moral leadership…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between school leadership practices and teacher empowerment in the Finnish policy culture. Specifically, moral leadership and distributed leadership enacted by school principals are tested in a simultaneous design as predictor to two distinct yet related aspects of teachers’ sense of empowerment, respectively, in their work domain and their classroom domain.

Design/methodology/approach

The study investigated a field sample of 246 individual teachers from ten Finnish primary schools. Hypotheses were developed and tested by structural equation modeling.

Findings

The results indicate that moral leadership exerted by school principals support teachers’ sense of empowerment both in work domain and classroom domain. Distributed leadership, in the meaning of sharing instructional leadership tasks with teachers, supported work domain empowerment but did not predict classroom domain teacher empowerment. Taken together, the model show the value of school principals facilitating teachers in decision-making processes paired with showing a strong moral basis in their relationship with teachers.

Research limitations/implications

The study reinforces the importance of moral leadership and distributed leadership as conjoint drivers for teachers’ sense of empowerment. It would be highly valuable to replicate this study in various multi-level settings.

Practical implications

The findings recommend school leaders to put emphasis on facilitative, ethical, and authentic practices in immediate relationships with their teachers.

Originality/value

The study provides empirical evidence regarding the partial relationships between principal leadership practices and teacher empowerment.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 30 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 2019

Kersti Kõiv, Kadi Liik and Mati Heidmets

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of teacher’s psychological empowerment between school leadership style and teachers’ work-related outcomes.

1161

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating effect of teacher’s psychological empowerment between school leadership style and teachers’ work-related outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 711 teachers from 31 Estonian schools were surveyed with a questionnaire measuring four dimensions of psychological empowerment (competence, meaning, self-determination and impact), school leadership characteristics (leadership style, leader’s empowering behavior and trust in leader) and teacher’s work-related outcomes (job satisfaction and workplace attachment). AMOS path analysis was used to investigate the direct and indirect relations between the teachers’ perceptions of school leadership, their psychological empowerment and their workplace attachment and job satisfaction.

Findings

This study found that psychological empowerment (subscales meaning and impact) mediates the relationship between perceived leadership empowerment behavior and teachers’ work-related outcomes. Also, the psychological empowerment (meaning and impact) mediates the relationship between perceived leadership style and teachers’ work-related outcomes. Trust in the principal has direct and indirect effect (through psychological empowerment) on job satisfaction, whereas there only seems to be indirect effect on workplace attachment through two components of psychological empowerment.

Practical implications

The mediating role of psychological empowerment includes an important message for school principals – in order to empower employees it is not sufficient to merely delegate formal power and decision-making rights. To facilitate the development of psychological empowerment, it is important to provide employees with an opportunity to experience agency, to experience that their voice and opinions are taken into account (perceived impact) and the purpose and targets of the whole organization are discussed with the employees and formulated in collaboration with them (perceived meaning).

Originality/value

Psychological empowerment as a mediating variable has not been widely researched, especially in school environment. The results will provide important signals for school principals, where and how to find leverage to improve teachers’ job satisfaction and workplace attachment.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 May 2012

Ronit Bogler and Adam E. Nir

The paper aims to investigate the mediating effect of teacher empowerment on the relationship between teachers' perception of their school support and their intrinsic and…

6127

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to investigate the mediating effect of teacher empowerment on the relationship between teachers' perception of their school support and their intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from a sample of 2,565 teachers affiliated with 153 Israeli elementary schools. A path analysis procedure was employed to test the mediating effect of teacher empowerment on the relation between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction.

Findings

The results reveal that teacher empowerment mediated the relations between perceived organizational support and satisfaction, adding more than 30 per cent to the explained variance of each of the satisfaction types. Teacher empowerment shows different relationships when intrinsic versus extrinsic type of satisfaction is considered. The most influential dimension of empowerment predicting teacher intrinsic satisfaction is self‐efficacy, a psychologically oriented variable, while the most powerful dimension of empowerment predicting extrinsic job satisfaction is earned status and respect, a sociologically oriented variable.

Research limitations/implications

The results reinforce the notion that both types of job satisfaction are two different entities that should be addressed differently. Taking a theoretical perspective, it appears that teacher empowerment should be conceived as a multi‐dimensional scale, where its various components are differently associated with the two types of satisfaction.

Practical implications

Moreover, it seems that teacher empowerment has a much stronger impact on teacher satisfaction when it takes place in an organizational context that supports individuals. Hence, school leaders need to focus on different qualities of teacher empowerment, depending on the qualities of satisfaction that they wish to promote.

Originality/value

Little is known about perceived organizational support in the educational realm. Studying it in relation with teacher empowerment and job satisfaction, key concepts in the school arena, is unprecedented.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 50 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Jennifer L. Edwards, Kathy E. Green and Cherie A. Lyons

Examines the personal empowerment and efficacy of teachers, and relates these constructs to environmental characteristics in order to provide information for principals to assist

4784

Abstract

Examines the personal empowerment and efficacy of teachers, and relates these constructs to environmental characteristics in order to provide information for principals to assist teachers in personal growth. Presents multiple regressions for the Vincenz empowerment scale with The School Culture Survey, teacher efficacy scale, learner‐centered battery, paragraph vompletion method, as well as for satisfaction and age‐related variables. Multiple Rs were low to moderate for all variables except for the paragraph completion method, which were nonsignificant. Significant predictors of personal empowerment were administrator professional treatment of teachers, reflective self‐awareness, honoring of student voice, personal teaching efficacy, and satisfaction with teaching as a career. Presents strategies for principals to use in helping teachers increase in empowerment.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 40 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1997

Joseph Blase and Jo Blase

Describes the everyday micropolitical facilitative strategies and personal characteristics of exemplary school principals who have influenced and enhanced teachers’ sense of…

2245

Abstract

Describes the everyday micropolitical facilitative strategies and personal characteristics of exemplary school principals who have influenced and enhanced teachers’ sense of empowerment. The data discussed here were drawn from a qualitative study of teachers in 11 schools affiliated with Glickman’s League of Professional Schools in Georgia. An open‐ended questionnaire designed by the researchers, according to general guidelines for grounded theory inquiry, provided teachers with the opportunity to identify and describe in detail characteristics of principals that enhanced their sense of empowerment. Inductive analyses of the data generated a description of facilitative leadership that includes seven major “facilitative” strategies and one set of facilitative personal characteristics that enhanced teacher empowerment. Focuses on the strategies and characteristics teachers identified as facilitative principal leadership. Discusses findings in terms of the relevant empirical and theoretical literature.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 35 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

Francis Kasekende, John C. Munene, Samson Omuudu Otengei and Joseph Mpeera Ntayi

– The purpose of this paper is to examine relationship between teacher competences and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with empowerment as a mediating factor.

1256

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine relationship between teacher competences and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with empowerment as a mediating factor.

Design/methodology/approach

The study took a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical design. Using cluster and random sampling procedures, data were obtained from 383 usable questionnaires. Data were analyzed through SPSS and Analysis of Moment Structures.

Findings

Results indicated that planning, continuous assessment and initiating as operant teacher competences were significantly and positively related to empowerment. Also, empowerment was significantly and positively related to OCBs. Similarly, empowerment came out as a full mediator of the relationship between the teacher competences and OCBs.

Practical implications

The study is relevant in that heads of schools will ensure they set up and implement human resources policies and practices that are favorable to building empowerment and OCB. School heads will be able to closely adhere to planning, initiating and continuous assessment rules in order to promote teacher empowerment and OCB. Government could appraise school heads based on whether they can successfully implement operant competence related rules on the employees

Originality/value

The findings theoretically reconceptualize competences from the objectivist to the constructivist perspective. Planning, initiating, continuous assessment and empowerment make significant variations in OCB. The study demonstrates that empowerment translates the inputs of teacher competence into OCB.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 July 2008

Kristin Gordon

The most recent development in the accountability movement occurred in January 2002 when the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law. Surprisingly little work has…

Abstract

The most recent development in the accountability movement occurred in January 2002 when the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was signed into law. Surprisingly little work has illuminated how teachers experience standards-based accountability policy. Using survey data and interviews, this chapter explores the impact of NCLB requirements, namely adequate yearly progress and needs improvement status, on teacher perceptions of working conditions, especially the use of time and empowerment. I show how the policy has led to restructuring of classroom time and increases in collaboration and yet, simultaneously, a decrease in teachers’ perceptions of empowerment.

Details

Strong States, Weak Schools: The Benefits and Dilemmas of Centralized Accountability
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84663-910-4

Article
Publication date: 1 December 1994

Paula Myrick Short, John T. Greer and William M. Melvin

Sets out to understand how schools participating in a project to createempowered schools defined empowerment, how they structured the changeprocess and how the school culture…

1605

Abstract

Sets out to understand how schools participating in a project to create empowered schools defined empowerment, how they structured the change process and how the school culture changed as a result of the effort to empower participants. Results of the change effort indicate that the participating schools could be grouped into three categories regarding their success in substantially changing the school culture in support of the empowerment concept, creating structures that build participant empowerment and in principal actions that facilitate the development of empowered participants. The three types of school were the opportunity school, the shifter school and the no‐go school. From these types of school, presents five themes for understanding school change.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 32 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

Jay R. Dee, Alan B. Henkin and Lee Duemer

Empowered teachers participate in critical decisions that directly affect teaching and learning. Empowering work environments may enhance professionalism, facilitate teacher

3816

Abstract

Empowered teachers participate in critical decisions that directly affect teaching and learning. Empowering work environments may enhance professionalism, facilitate teacher leadership, improve the quality of work life, and enable effective implementation of school reform. Process‐based views of empowerment suggest associations between school organizational structures and teacher empowerment, while psychological perspectives on empowerment suggest potential relationships between the phenomenon and cognitive and affective outcomes. Empowerment is considered in terms of teams and teamwork in schools, and relationships between empowerment and commitment to the school are examined.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 41 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 8000