The effect of teacher influence relative to principal influence in school decision-making on teacher job attitudes

ABSTRACT

Although research has highlighted the importance of teachers’ influence on school-wide policies, less attention has been given to the role of the influence of teachers relative to the principal within a school. This study thus examined the extent to which the influence of teachers relative to the principal in school decision-making predicts teachers’ job attitudes, i.e. job satisfaction and professional commitment. By using the National Teacher and Principal Survey 2015–2016, nationally representative data from 19,450 teachers and 2,860 principals of public schools in the United States were analysed. The findings revealed the greater the relative influence of teachers, the more positive the association with teacher job satisfaction and professional commitment as job attitudes. The current study showed that the extent of teacher influence relative to that of the principal plays a critical role in social conditions within a school and can improve individual teachers’ job attitudes regarding school decision-making.

KEYWORDS:

• Relative influence of teachers
• school decision-making
• job satisfaction
• professional commitment

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The standardised effect size for teacher influence = (Teacher influence B/Job satisfaction SD)/(1/Teacher influence SD). The standardised effect size for relative teacher influence = (Relative teacher influence B/Job satisfaction SD)/(1/Relative teacher influence SD).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the The Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea [NRF-2022S1A5A2A01050152].

Notes on contributors

Jeon-Yi Lee

Jeon-Yi Lee is a research associate at Gyeonggi Institute of Education. Her research interests include teacher professionalism and educational equity.

Joo-Ho Park

Joo-Ho Park is a professor of educational organizational behavior in the Department of Education at Hanyang University. His research focuses on principal leadership, teacher constructs, or student’s development factors.

In Heok Lee

In Heok Lee is an associate professor of workforce education in the Department of Workforce Education and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. His research interests include career and technical education and the role of individual, family, and school factors in promoting student achievement and career outcomes.