Similarities and Differences in the Structure and Interpretation of Empowerment and Job Satisfaction between Minority and Majority Faculty Members

• Published in: International journal of education policy and leadership 2022-01, Vol.18 (2), p.20-35
• Main Authors: Lasker, Jordan, McNaughtan, Jon
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Empowerment; Job Satisfaction; Race; Self Determination; Structural equation modeling; Structural Equation Models; Universities
• ISSN: 1555-5062; 1555-5062
• DOI: 10.22230/ijepl.2022v18n2a1249

Faculty empowerment is a more important topic today than ever before, as faculty roles have become increasingly complex. Moreover, an increase in minority faculty has presented universities with the need to understand the complex interactions between demographics and empowerment to better promote employees’ well-being. Past research has found that racial majority and minority faculty perceive their experiences as faculty differently. In this study, we used an empowerment framework and structural equation modeling to investigate similarities and differences in workplace empowerment for a sample of 720 racial majority and minority faculty members. Empowerment was largely similar for majority and minority faculty members, but the construct of self-determination had different meanings for minority faculty members, and it was more strongly related to trust in their institutions and the personal consequences of their work. Moreover, minority faculty members’ beliefs about their capabilities, the specialness of their work, and their ability to make decisions about their work were more important for efficacy, meaning, and self-determination than they were for majority faculty members.