Teacher empowerment

Abstract

No abstract provided. The following is taken from the author's Introduction:

This study focused on teachers' understanding, experience and practice of empowerment and how empowerment improved the practice of schooling in the setting provided by a small middle school in rural Ohio. I investigated the role that the process of empowerment played in their classroom and instruction, the relationship between empowerment and teachers' involvement in groups, their definition and understanding of empowerment as individuals, the role of the administration in the process and how it influenced school improvement. Through observation of individual teachers in their classrooms, I gained a sense of how the participants practiced their craft, their teaching styles, the atmosphere in the classroom, how they related to their students and the students to their teachers, the physical appearance of the room and other daily activities in which evidence of empowerment might be embedded

Through interviews with teachers I obtained information about some aspects of their teaching careers. The biographical data dealt with questions on the length of their teaching career, the different schools they have worked in, how their experiences differed in each of the schools, and the expressed reasons for the difference. The next group of questions was aimed at the classroom and instruction. Here teachers were asked about subject matter and teaching techniques, as well as the kinds of collaborative strategies that they used with colleagues and students. They were also asked to elaborate on how the process of empowerment influenced classroom instruction. A third group of questions dealt with teachers' involvement in groups and committees at school and also outside of the school. Teachers were asked about the groups they were involved in, their positions in that group, their reasons for serving in that group and the relationship between involvement in the groups and empowerment

The last group of questions dealt with the issue of empowerment in general; for example, how did the individuals define empowerment, how did it influence their classroom practice and their interaction with colleagues in general, how did the process of empowerment influence the education of students at this school, and what were the most important personal strategies they have learned from the process

Through observation in the school lounge and halls during class change-over and breaks, I gained a sense of the atmosphere that prevailed in the school. This helped to place the information I obtained from the teachers within a context. Observation in the teachers' lounge provided me with the opportunity to investigate the atmosphere among the teachers in the school

The research information obtained through this study could be used to inform both researchers and practitioners about the issues related to teacher empowerment and those opportunities that may facilitate efforts towards improving schooling. The voices of the teachers themselves are contributed here toward that purpose

Objectives: This problem can be addressed more clearly if the objectives are stated as research questions. The following is a list of the research questions I investigated: 1. How did teachers define, understand and experience empowerment? 2. How did the process of empowerment influence classroom practices and instruction? 3. What was the relationship between group involvement and empowerment? 4. How did teachers relate empowerment to improved schooling? 5. How did empowerment affect teachers' motivation, satisfaction, self-esteem, performance and personal/professional growth?