The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample.
Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership.
One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the PEI (Meaning, Competence, Impact and Self-Determination). The grouping variables were years of experience, gender, and level of education. ANOVAs and independent samples t tests were computed to evaluate the data.
The results of ANOVA and Independent Samples t tests were that there were significant differences in the 4 dimensions with teacher years of experience but not with gender or level of education. Findings suggested that seasoned teachers often showed a higher level of empowerment than beginning teachers. The findings also suggested that gender and level of education did little to influence teacher empowerment in their schools. From the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations for future research were formulated. It was suggested that teachers be involved in a mentoring program. It was also suggested that administrators determine teacher empowerment through faculty assessments and follow up with professional development to ensure the continued empowerment of their staff.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample.</p><p>Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership.</p><p>One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the PEI (Meaning, Competence, Impact and Self-Determination). The grouping variables were years of experience, gender, and level of education. ANOVAs and independent samples <em>t</em> tests were computed to evaluate the data.</p><p>The results of ANOVA and Independent Samples <em>t</em> tests were that there were significant differences in the 4 dimensions with teacher years of experience but not with gender or level of education. Findings suggested that seasoned teachers often showed a higher level of empowerment than beginning teachers. The findings also suggested that gender and level of education did little to influence teacher empowerment in their schools. From the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations for future research were formulated. It was suggested that teachers be involved in a mentoring program. It was also suggested that administrators determine teacher empowerment through faculty assessments and follow up with professional development to ensure the continued empowerment of their staff.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gardenhour, Corey Ray"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"EdD (Doctor of Education)","degree_level":"Dissertation - unrestricted","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-08-12T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2008-08-12T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:11Z","subjects":["Teacher Empowerment","Teacher Effectiveness","Transformational Leadership","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Sociology","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1960","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gardenhour, Corey Ray"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2008-08-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - unrestricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["EdD (Doctor of Education)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Teacher Empowerment","Teacher Effectiveness","Transformational Leadership","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Sociology","Work, Economy and Organizations"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3312/viewcontent/GardenhourC070108f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1960"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample.
Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership.
One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the PEI (Meaning, Competence, Impact and Self-Determination). The grouping variables were years of experience, gender, and level of education. ANOVAs and independent samples t tests were computed to evaluate the data.
The results of ANOVA and Independent Samples t tests were that there were significant differences in the 4 dimensions with teacher years of experience but not with gender or level of education. Findings suggested that seasoned teachers often showed a higher level of empowerment than beginning teachers. The findings also suggested that gender and level of education did little to influence teacher empowerment in their schools. From the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations for future research were formulated. It was suggested that teachers be involved in a mentoring program. It was also suggested that administrators determine teacher empowerment through faculty assessments and follow up with professional development to ensure the continued empowerment of their staff.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Teachers' Perceptions of Empowerment in Their Work Environments as Measured by the Psychological Empowerment Instrument."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Gardenhour, Corey Ray"],"dc:date.issued":["2008-08-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample.
Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership.
One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the PEI (Meaning, Competence, Impact and Self-Determination). The grouping variables were years of experience, gender, and level of education. ANOVAs and independent samples t tests were computed to evaluate the data.
The results of ANOVA and Independent Samples t tests were that there were significant differences in the 4 dimensions with teacher years of experience but not with gender or level of education. Findings suggested that seasoned teachers often showed a higher level of empowerment than beginning teachers. The findings also suggested that gender and level of education did little to influence teacher empowerment in their schools. From the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations for future research were formulated. It was suggested that teachers be involved in a mentoring program. It was also suggested that administrators determine teacher empowerment through faculty assessments and follow up with professional development to ensure the continued empowerment of their staff.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/3312/viewcontent/GardenhourC070108f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1960"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["Teacher Empowerment","Teacher Effectiveness","Transformational Leadership","Social and Behavioral Sciences","Sociology","Work, Economy and Organizations"],"dc:title":["Teachers' Perceptions of Empowerment in Their Work Environments as Measured by the Psychological Empowerment Instrument."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - unrestricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["EdD (Doctor of Education)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:21:11Z"}