Undoubtedly every principal follows his own peculiar "model" for the participation of teachers in school decisions. But it must be readily con ceded that not all models produce maximum results for the school sys tem as a whole. After surveying much of the relevant literature, the author discusses some crucial questions that principals should consider in sharing decisions with teaching staffs. Mr. Bridges is assistant profes sor of educational administration and social relations at Washington University, St. Louis.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
This article was written while the author was serving as a Senior Research Associate in the Central Midwestern Regional Educational Laboratory (CEMREL).
2.
L. Coch and J.R.P. French, Jr., "Overcoming Resistance to Change," Human Relations, I, No.4 (1948), 512-32.
3.
Robert H. Guest, Organizational Change: The Effect of Successful Leadership ( Homewood, Ill.: Dorsey Press, Inc., 1960).
4.
Victor H. Vroom, Some Personality Determinants of the Effects of Participation ( Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1960).
5.
N.R.F. Maier and R.A. Maier, "An Experimental Test of the Effects of 'Developmental' vs. 'Free' Discussions on the Quality of Group Decisions," Journal of Applied Psychology, XLI ( 1957), 320-23.
6.
R.F. Wickert , "Turnover and Employees Feelings of Ego-Involvement in the Day-to-Day Operations of a Company," Personnel Psychology , IV (1951), 185-97.
7.
Francis S. Chase, "The Teacher and Policy Making, Administrator's Notebook, I (May, 1952), 1-4.
8.
Chiranji Lal Sharma, "Who Should Make What Decisions?" Administrator's Notebook , III (April, 1955), 1-4.
9.
Edwin M. Bridges , "Teacher Participation in Decision Making," Administrator's Notebook, XII (May, 1964), 1-4.
10.
Chase, op. ct.
11.
Bridges, op. cit.
12.
Chester Barnard , The Functions of the Executive ( Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1938).
13.
Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, The Managerial Grid ( Houston: Gulf Press, 1964 ) .
14.
Robert Tannenbaum and Fred Massarik, "Participation by Subordinates in the Managerial Decision-Making Process" (Reprint No. 14) (Los Angeles: Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California, 1950), pp. 23-24.
15.
Robert Tannenbaum , "Managerial Decision-Making" (Reprint No. 9) (Los Angles: Institute of Industrial Relations, University of California, 1950), pp. 23-24.
16.
Ibid.
17.
The author wishes to acknowledge Frederick W. Lighthall, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, University of Chicago, as the originator of this idea.
18.
Thomas R. Bowman, "Participation of Superintendents in School Board Decision Making," Administrator's Notebook, XI (January, 1963), 1-4.
19.
S. Epstein, "An Experimental Study of Some of the Effects of Variations in the Clarity and Extent of a Supervisor's Area of Freedom upon His Supervisory Behavior" (Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 1956).
20.
Guy E. Swanson , "The Effectiveness of Decision Making Groups ," Adult Leadership, VIII (June, 1959), 48-52.
21.
Ibid.
22.
James S. Coleman , Community Conflict (A publication of the Bureau of Applied Social Research, Columbia University) (Glencoe, Ill.: Free Press, 1957).
23.
Swanson, op. cit.
24.
Peter S. Blau and Richard M. Scott, Formal Organizations ( San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Co. , 1962).
25.
Edwin M. Bridges and Wayne J. Doyle, "The Effects of a Power Figure on Group Productivity, Efficiency, and Risk-Taking" (Manuscript in preparation).
26.
E. Paul Torrance , "Some Consequences of Power Differences on Decision Making in Permanent and Temporary Three-Man Groups," in Small Groups, ed. A. Paul Hare, Edgar F. Borgatta, and Robert F. Bales (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955), pp. 482-92.
27.
Norman R. F. Maier and Allen R. Solem, "The Contribution of a Discussion Leader to the Quality of Group Thinking: The Effective Use of Minority Opinions," in Group Dynamics, ed. Dorwin Cartwright and Alvin Zander (Evanston, Ill.: Row, Peterson, & Co ., 1953), pp. 561-72.
28.
Herbert A. Shephard "Responses to Situations of Competition and Conflict ," in Power and Conflict in Organizations, ed. Robert L. Kahn and Elise Boulding (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1964), pp. 127-35.
29.
Norman R. F. Maier, Problem Solving Discussions and Conferences ( New York: McGraw Hill Book Co., Inc.) 1963.
30.
Ibid.
31.
Ibid.
32.
Chris Argyris, "Interpersonal Barriers to Decision Making," Harvard Business Review, XLIV (March-April, 1966), 84-97.
33.
Ibid.
34.
Norman R. F. Maier , Problem-Solving Discussions (op. cit.).
