THE DEGREE THAT ADMINISTRATORS DEPEND UPON DEMOCRATIC PRACTICES WITHIN THEIR SCHOOLS, AS ESTIMATED BY PRINCIPALS OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN KARAK

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating principals’ estimation of the degree of practicing administration depending on the foundations of democracy in public schools in Karak governorate, by answering the following questions: 1-To what degree is administration based on the foundations of democracy practiced in public schools, as estimated by principals of these schools in Karak? 2- Are there any substantial statistical differences (α ≤ 0.05) in how principals utilize democratic practices due to the principals’ gender, qualifications, experience, and school level? The sample of the study consists of the principals of the public schools in Karak (266) for the academic year (2012-2013). A questionnaire was constructed to collect the required data. It consists of two parts; the first part deals with personal information such as gender, qualification, work experience, and school level. The second part consists of (50) paragraphs, each paragraph was given five weights by Likert scale, and these paragraphs were divided into (4) domains which are the Independent variables of the study. The major findings of the study were the following: 1-Justice and equity principle achieved the highest mean, while the principle of freedom and opinion expression achieved the lowest mean. 2- There are no substantial statistical differences (α ≤0.05) in how principals utilize democratic practices due to the principals’ gender, qualifications, experience, and school level. Depending on the results of the study the researchers recommended the following: 1- Giving more attention to applying democratic principles in our educational institutions, and allowing students to express their ideas freely. 2-Conducting further studies dealing with the utilization of foundations of democracy in public schools and the perceptions of principals, teachers, students and parents of democracy in schools.