Engaging Teachers in
Decision-Making
Table of contents
The below steps are based on the cycle of acting and collaborating on SCTWCS data.
Throughout this toolkit, you will see how each page and resource connects to one of these five steps.
Introduction
Working through this toolkit will focus your team’s attention on how practices, policies, and decisions can contribute to engaging teachers in shared governance (sometimes referred to as influence over school policy and/or decision-making). SC Teacher Working Conditions Survey (SCTWCS) data have highlighted this working condition as a key opportunity for improvement. data have highlighted this working condition as a key opportunity for improvement. Research has indicated a need for efforts to retain more experienced teachers by giving them “shared decision-making roles’’ (Sorensen and Ladd, 2020). To aid in those efforts, this toolkit is intended for use by school or district teams to create plans that can strengthen teachers’ participation in shared governance. It is not intended to position teachers as conveyors of someone else’s decisions. The focus is on creating structures and processes that encourage teacher influence within situations and practices that impact them the most, including their ability to support student learning.
This section of the toolkit is intended for use by educators in both formal and informal leadership roles, who are responsible for creating teams that engage in continuous improvement efforts at either the school or district level. The first step in the process is to define who is, or should be, part of the work analyzing SCTWCS data and translating the analysis into action. While administrators may initiate or lead efforts to improve teacher working conditions, your team is encouraged to include at least two classroom teachers, ideally more.
1. BUILD
Build a school or district Team
Assemble a team to engage in the work of analyzing data and identifying strategies for engaging teachers in decision-making. Educators involved should represent diverse perspectives and areas of expertise. Using Worksheet 1 that follows, you will see recommendations for some viewpoints that ideally would be included on the team.
It is important for each team member to understand that the purpose of the work is to strengthen continuous improvement efforts by engaging teachers in decision-making across the school or district. It is not intended for situations that only involve individuals or small groups.
As you build your team, consider where and how the work of engaging teachers in decision-making may integrate with other structures within your school or district. Considering these questions will help you undertake this process in a way that maximizes expertise:
- Does a team already exist with the recommended roles and perspectives as part of its composition?
- Is there a team that, with a few adjustments, would have the recommended composition?
- Where in your school/district is work already focused on something related to engaging teachers in decision-making?
- Is there a team or meeting time where it makes sense to integrate addressing this issue?
You are encouraged to be strategic about weaving the work of this team into the existing work structures of your school or district. This way, you will ensure that efforts to engage teachers in decision-making are strategically aligned with ongoing initiatives and not an isolated approach.
WORKSHEET 1: TEAM MEMBERS
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For additional information about the survey and presentation of results
visit https://bit.ly/SCTExaminingData.