Ginny Wilburn
Case 8.5 The Advisory Council
Hoy & Tarter Shared Decision Making Model
The Problem
The issue to be solved is to determine who should play a part in the decision making process of adopting changes to the social studies curriculum, the advisory council or the social studies teachers. There are extreme differences of opinions among the social studies teachers and the math/science teachers relating to curriculum.
Stakeholders
There are many stakeholders in this case. The high school principal is encouraged by the district to involve the advisory council, comprised of 12 elected faculty members, on matters of curriculum. The council members represent each department in the school. The social studies teachers have a vested interest in the decision because they are the ones responsible for teaching the curriculum and have themost expertise on the social studies curriculum. Their view is that the curriculum contains “…too much content, not enough process.” In contrast, the math and science teachers hold the opposite view. They feel the curriculum is too process-based. There has been a long-standing difference of opinion between the two groups regarding appropriate curriculum. A forum is being planned to discuss changes in the social studies curriculum. In sum, the stakeholders include the high school principal, the advisory council, the social studies teachers, and the math and science teachers.
Model
The appropriate decision making model to be applied to this case is the Hoy and Tarter Decision Making Model. The three elements to consider are relevance, expertise, and trust. The three groups (advisory council, social studies teachers, and the math and science teachers) need to be evaluated separately using the model.
Advisory Council
Relevance Question: The council members do have a personal stake in the outcome. They are elected faculty members and have a duty to act as advisors in representing the faculty.
Expertise Question: The council members represent each department in the school. Therefore, they do not collectively have expertise in the area of the social studies curriculum. The answers to these questions reflect marginal expertise with relevance e. This situation is inside the Zone of Acceptance. The Advisory Council is in a stakeholder situation. They have a personal stake but no expertise. Their involvement should be limited. The decision-making structure is Group Advisory and the role of the principal is that of Educator.