Teachers' Perceptions of Shared Decision-making in Pakistan: A Literature Review

• In Event: Education Quality Assurance in South Asia

Abstract

Purpose: Over the past two decades, teacher participation in school decision-making has emerged as a significant theme in educational reforms and has gained the attention of researchers and practitioners across different educational contexts both in developed and developing countries (Conley, 1991; Lee et al., 2014). A supportive and participatory culture typically does not exist in Pakistani public or private schools catering to students from disadvantaged backgrounds (UNESCO, 2006). Instead, the existing hierarchical public education system promotes multi-layered power structures in which authority flows from the top to the bottom (Khalid, 1996; Tajik, 2008). Inadequate attention has been paid to the participatory activities of informal teacher leaders in developing countries such as Pakistan and existing research predominantly examines the perceptions of formal teacher leaders such as principals and head teachers about their involvement in shared decision-making.
Little is known about what Pakistani school teachers’ think about the concept of shared decision-making and whether or not they feel they have the agency to actively participate in decision-making in their professional milieu. Additionally, researchers have been hard pressed to find sites where they can observe Pakistani teachers’ school based decision-making in practice or see its positive effects. The notion of teachers working as leaders in decision-making roles in informal settings is a relatively new concept and one not much practiced in Pakistani schools or for that matter researched. Yet, against all odds, a few private low cost community schools in Pakistan have adopted the idea of involving teachers in decision-making within and beyond the classroom. They have demonstrated positive change in terms of school climate, teacher ownership/commitment and teacher competence, but there is limited documentation of these initiatives (Farah et al., 1996; Retallick, 2005; Kunwar, 2000; Shafa, 2003). Resultantly, the purpose of this study will be to explore the beliefs, perceptions and practices of Pakistani teachers about their roles in shared decision-making in a reputationally effective community school in Pakistan.

Conceptual framework: The conceptual framework for this study utilizes three bodies of knowledge: (a) Concept of Teacher Shared Decision-making, its proposed benefits and drawbacks (Barth, 2001; Fullan, 2001; Sergiovanni, 2001; Shabaan & Qureshi, 2006). Within this body of research, the researcher examines teacher preparation in concepts of shared decision-making and the impact of teacher shared decision-making on teacher morale & performance (Harris, 2008; Zhang, 2012). (b) Influence of teachers' beliefs and perceptions on behaviour pertaining to decision-making (Bandura, 1986; Pajares, 1992; Thomas, 2013). (c) Shared decision-making in the Pakistani context and the roles of Pakistani teachers in schools (Khalid, 1996; Memon et al., 2000; Simkins et al., 1998, 2003).

Research design: The researcher will utilize a qualitative case study research design in one ‘successful’ Pakistani community school that caters to children from underprivileged backgrounds. The school will be purposefully selected based upon indicators of successful schools as identified in western and Pakistani literature (Farah, 1996; Retallick, 2005). Shared decision-making survey will be administered to all school teachers followed by interviews and observations of six purposefully selected teachers. Open coding will be used to sort through interview responses to derive overarching themes across the data. Survey data will be tabulated to assess consistency of participant responses across the survey items.

Data sources: Data will be collected through multiple sources to ensure triangulation. These will include a Survey on Shared decision-making to gauge the general school climate and all the school teachers’ beliefs about their roles in shared decision-making. Observations and field notes will be used to examine teachers’ decision-making practices in class and outside class in staff meetings. Semi structured interviews of 6 teachers, school principal and assistant head will provide rich insight about teachers’ perceptions and their level of participation in the different dimensions of teacher leadership.

Results: Data will be collected in April 2015 so the paper will discuss findings from the literature review.

Significance: This literature review is of significance to International Education. It will discuss the gap in the literature pertaining to the decision-making activities of informal Pakistani teacher leaders in effective community schools that cater to the underprivileged. It will also underline the need to explore Pakistani teachers’ voices about their roles in shared decision-making because teacher perceptions can inform educational practice. Hence, the literature review will inform practice by assessing the need to encourage teacher inclusion in shared decision-making in public and low cost private schools in Pakistan and other developing countries with similar school structures, demographics and educational challenges.

Author

• Zainab Salim, George Mason University