Teacher participation in decision making process in senior high and technical schools in the Kwaebibirem district in the Eastern region of Ghana

Abstract

Teachers perceived that they were not engaged in the school decision making process. Some perceived, they were deliberately neglected and sidelined in school decision making. They openly display apathy and non-commitment to teaching and learning in the schools. The purpose of this study was to investigate the opportunities that exist for decision making and the categories of teachers engaged in the decision making process in the second cycle institutions in the Kwaebibirem district in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The descriptive survey design was used. The five public senior high and technical institutions in the district were covered involving 105 respondents made up of 100 teachers and the 5 heads of institutions. Questionnaire was the main instruments used for the study. The items of the questionnaire were adopted from research instrument designed by Wiredu-Kusi (1990) who conducted similar study in the Cape Coast Municipality. Data collected were analysed using frequencies and percentages. The study revealed that, there were frequent staff meetings and structures or opportunities for all teachers to participate but teachers were not engaged in planning and budgeting decisions of the schools. There were both positive and negative perceptions held by the respondents about school decision making. However, teachers indicated that participation in school decision making gave them job satisfaction and a sense of we-feeling. It is recommended that heads of the schools investigated must properly and adequately involve teachers in school decision making, especially in planning and budgeting for the school to erase the negative perceptions.