Multidimensionality of teacher participation in school decision making

Without an understanding of the typologies of teacher participation in decision making, understanding the nature of the relationship between teachers' sense of empowerment and school effectiveness is problematic. Therefore, in this study, two hypotheses were tested to clarify teachers' participation in decision making: (1) teachers' participation in school decision making is multidimensional and (2) predictive influence flows from the managerial dimension to the technical dimension. Using a national probability sample of 5,822 public high school teachers in the US, the results (1) substantiated the multidimensionality of teachers' participation in school decision making and (2) supported the flow of influence from managerial to technical dimensions. The implications of enhancing the use of multidimensional teacher decision participation to understand and improve school management and leadership practices are considered. © 2010 Asian Network for Scientific Information.