Abstract
This study was designed to examine the impact shared decision making has on teachers' time commitments and their perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of participating in decision making in schools with a high degree of site-based management. The study population included teacher leadership team members at twelve California public high schools. Each school had received SB1274 Restructuring Grant monies, had exercised site-based management with shared decision making for three or more years, and was identified as a high site-based management school. Descriptive research with a qualitative case study design was utilized. Individual and focus group interviews were used to gather data from teacher leadership team members. This study's independent variables are teacher time spent in the shared decision-making process, strategies used to streamline the process, and leadership team teachers' perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of site-based management with shared decision making. The research results indicated that study participants were absorbed from four to fifty-three hours per month on shared decision-making activities. Data indicated that teachers spend a greater amount of time making curriculum decisions than in the areas of personnel and budget. Leadership team members at schools that had implemented shared decision making for five or more years spent less time involved in the process than those team members in schools that were in their third year of implementing the process. Leadership team members reported that the most effective strategy for successful shared decision making was to set an agenda for each meeting, prioritize the agenda items, and set time limits for each agenda item. The two most common benefits of a site-based management system that utilizes shared decision making as cited by teacher leadership team members were: (1) that teachers had buy-in on decisions that affected them, and (2) teachers had a voice in running the school. The principal drawback as reported by participants at every school was the time commitment required for the shared decision-making process. Further study is recommended in the areas of staff development in the shared decision-making process, compensation as it relates to perceived benefits and drawbacks, and what decisions districts are empowering site teachers to make in the area of personnel.