Essential Function 4: Unpacking Strategies to Promote and Support Shared Decision Making

UNPACKING

“School leaders who empower to create ownership extend a staff’s investment driving toward maximum student learning.”

Barkley (2018)

When school leaders provide structures and protocols for shared leadership by affording others the power to make decisions, everyone benefits. Decisions are better understood and more readily accepted by all school staff (DeWitt, 2017). 

Take a moment to reflect on some of your own experiences.

• Think of a time you did not have a voice in school decision making. What was that experience and what did it feel like?
• Think of a time you experienced greater participation in school decision making. What was that experience and what did it feel like?
• Consider your school or district. What are teachers’ perceptions regarding their scope of influence?

IN PRACTICE: TEACHER VOICE

Watch the video Teachers Collaborate to Develop and Refine Projects (Dayton Regional Stem School, 2020) and consider the levels of empowerment felt by teachers: https://www.edutopia.org/video/supporting-teachers-workshop-project-ideas.

Reflection Questions

• What structures/protocols were put into place to encourage collaboration and teacher input?
• How did the protocol promote opportunities for all team members to share ideas and expertise?
• How does a collaborative structure such as this one build trust among educators and building leaders?
• In what ways do you see CTE being enhanced at this school?

Creating a Culture that Fosters Problem-Solving and Builds CTE

When a school has a culture that frequently engages educators in collaborative problem-solving, educators are more likely to focus on solving problems. They tend to view challenges as something they can overcome and believe all staff have a role in student success (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2015).

Watch the video Team Problem Solving: Paving the Path to Success for Every Student (University Park Campus School, 2016) to see how one school engages teachers, school leaders, and students in collaboratively finding solutions to problems interfering with student learning.

Team Problem Solving: Paving the Path to Success for Every Student (5:07 min)

Reflection Questions

• How would you describe the culture of this school as it relates to teacher voice?
• Why is there such an openness as to the types of problems that are addressed?
• What are the benefits of involving students, along with teachers and leaders, in this process?
• How does a problem solving structure enable this school to promote teacher voice and build Collective Teacher Efficacy?

Leaders who trust educators enough to involve them in school decisions, communicate that they value their input and expertise. “Teachers who are trusted take risks and collaborate with their colleagues. They work longer hours. They are committed to … create engaging, rigorous learning opportunities for their students” (Modoono, 2017).

Levels of Teacher Involvement

Below are levels of increasing teacher participation in decision making (Donohoo, 2017). 

• Manipulation – Teachers are used to support causes by falsely claiming those causes are inspired by staff.
• Decoration – Teachers are used indirectly to help bolster a cause.
• Tokenism – There is an appearance of choice, but in truth there is little or no choice.
• Teachers informed about and then assigned action – Teachers are told how and why they are involved in an effort and then assigned specific roles.
• Teachers informed and then consulted about action – Teachers give advice on projects or school-based activities that are owned and/or run by formal leaders.
• Administrator initiated shared decision making with teachers – Projects, school-wide activities, and school improvement processes are initiated by formal leaders, but the decision making is shared with teachers involved.
• Teacher initiated and direct action – Teachers initiate and direct projects and school-wide activities, including professional learning and strategies for school improvement. Administrators are involved in a supportive role.
• Teacher initiated shared decision making – Same role as above, but these projects empower teachers while at the same time allowing them to access and learn from experience and the experiences of others.

Reflection Questions

• At what level are the teachers in your school/district involved in making decisions? 
• For what type of decisions are which levels most representative?
• Can you think of a decision that was at one of the teacher initiated levels? What was the result?

Decision Making that Builds CTE Looks Like…

• Teachers sharing their ideas and expertise
• Teachers increasing their knowledge and skills through collaborative professional development, School-Based Implementation Coaching, and Data-Based Decision Making
• Teachers working together to solve problems
• Teachers expressing they have an influential voice in school decisions

Conditions for Creating Collective Teacher Efficacy      

Read Collaborating Through Shared Decision Making (Williamson and Blackburn, 2018) for ideas on ways to involve teachers in decision making.

Reflection Questions

• Which of the committees mentioned include teachers at your school/district?
• Which of the items on the shared decision making teams checklist would be most helpful for your teams?