CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DECISIONAL DISCREPANCY, PARENT-TEACHER SATISFACTION, AND STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine and compare parent and teacher perceptions of decisional discrepancy and parent and teacher levels of satisfaction with their schools in high and low academic achieving schools as well as in urban and suburban schools. The materials used in this study were the School Decision Making Questionnaire (SDMQ), the Catholic School Parent/Teacher Survey (CSP/TS), and the S.R.A. Assessment Survey. The statistical techniques employed included three-way analysis of variance t test of the means (pooled variance model), and regression analysis. The minimal level of statistical significance accepted in this study was .05. The major findings and conclusions drawn from this study were: (1) The data with respect to parent and teacher perceptions of decisional discrepancy indicated that the respondents almost unanimously reported a state of decisional deprivation. (2) The data with respect to parent and teacher levels of satisfaction indicated that parents and teachers were generally satisfied with their schools. Respondents in high academic achieving schools were more satisfied than respondents in low academic achieving schools. (3) The data revealed that more experienced teachers and religious teachers perceived less decisional discrepancy and were more satisfied than their less experienced lay colleagues. It was concluded that the schools are meeting the needs of their more experienced religious staff better than they are meeting those of the less experienced lay staff. (4) With respect to decisional discrepancy, respondents in urban schools reported perceptions of more decisional discrepancy than respondents in high academic achieving surburban schools. It was concluded that the urban character of these schools was an important aspect of any understanding of decision making, school religious orientation, and teacher satisfaction. Some of the major recommendations from this study were: (1) Based on the conclusions of this study related to the pervasive perceptions of decisional discrepancy, it was recommended that Catholic school administrators explore ways to involve more fully both parents and teachers in the school decision making process. (2) Based on the conclusions reached in this study, it was recommended that, in view of the dramatically decreasing numbers of religious teachers in the schools, Catholic elementary school administrators give careful consideration to assessing and addressing those role expectations and needs peculiar to the Catholic elementary school lay teachers.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
MUCCIGROSSO, ROBERT M, "CATHOLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DECISIONAL DISCREPANCY, PARENT-TEACHER SATISFACTION, AND STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT" (1983). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8308485.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8308485
