The relation between participating in decision making and job satisfaction of elementary school teachers

This study aims to assess the relationship between level of participation in decision making and job satisfaction of elementary school teachers in Çankaya, ANKARA. The population of research consists of 560 male and 1905 female in total 2465 teachers who served in elementary schools during 2015-2016 academic years in Çankaya district. The research sample was determined with simple random sampling method and consists of 233 female and 37 male participants in total 300. "Teachers' Level of Participation in Decision Making and Desire for Participation Survey" developed by Köklü (1994) was utilized as data collection instrument for determining the level of participation in decision making. Also "Job Satisfaction of School Administrator Survey" prepared by Balcı (1985) was utilized as data collection instrument for determining the level of job satisfaction of teachers. To analyze the fit between survey and data SPSS Amos 24.0 package program was used. The study is a descriptive correlational research. The data gathered was analyzed by SPSS 22.0 package program; frequency, percentage, means, standard deviation, two way ANOVA, independent t-test, simple correlational analysis and simple regression analysis. According to results of the study, teachers rarely participate in decision making and they have moderate job satisfaction level. Level of teachers' participation in decision making is not significant in terms of gender, seniority and branch variables. Teachers' job satisfaction level is significant in terms of seniority variable while teachers' job satisfaction level is not significant in terms of gender and branch variables. There is a moderate, positive and significant correlation between level of teachers' participation in decision making and their job satisfaction. Keywords: Job satisfaction, decision, decision making, participation in decision making