Staff involvement in leadership decision making in the UK further education sector: Perceptions of quality and social justice

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to explore the quality of leadership decision making at various leadership levels in the further education (FE) sector. Using Hoffberg and Korver's model for integrated decision making, the paper aims to examine how staff in five UK FE colleges perceive the quality of their involvement in decision‐making teams and groups and the extent to which decision‐making processes meet Tatum et al.'s criteria for fair and just organisational decision making

Design/methodology/approach

The paper utilises data from the Integrating Diversity in Leadership Project sponsored by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership. It draws on responses made by 67 staff in five FE colleges in the UK to a series of qualitative questions in individual interviews. The paper also draws on observations of the level and quality of interaction and contribution made by 147 staff in 15 leadership decision‐making groups. The paper only draws on those responses that have relevance to the questions of leadership decision making, the quality of decision making and the perceptions of staff regarding their involvement in decision making at various levels.

Findings

The data suggest that inclusiveness in decision making decreases with the hierarchy of decision‐making groups, with the most senior groups being seen as the most exclusive, least transformed, closely guarded and offering restricted entry. Similarly, decision‐making teams at different levels are associated with different levels of justice and fairness related to the balance made between competing dilemmas of people versus process.

Originality/value

There is limited research conducted in this area. The study brings together aspects of social justice and inclusive decision making to bear on the structures and processes of leadership decision making in educational settings and uncovers a range of barriers that stand in the way of inclusive and fair decision making. These findings could indeed be a seedbed for an emerging theory of leadership decision making in educational establishments.

Citation

Maringe, F. (2012), "Staff involvement in leadership decision making in the UK further education sector: Perceptions of quality and social justice", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 50 No. 4, pp. 463-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578231211238594