The Contribution of a Decision Support System to Educational Decision-Making Processes

Abstract

In the light of reports of bias, the present study investigated the hypothesis that administrative educational decisions assisted by Decision Support Systems (DSS) are characterized by different pedagogical and organizational orientation than decisions made without computer assistance. One hundred and ten high school teachers were asked to suggest solutions to problems that arose in two school incidents. After reaching decisions, respondents were asked to rank, in order of importance, the considerations that guided them. The data were processed by DSS software, which calculated the highest-scoring option for each incident. This option was compared with the one chosen by the respondents, taking into account variables of seniority, educational level, specialization, and self-efficacy. DSS-aided decisions promoted greater moderation and enhanced cooperation among interested parties in comparison to decisions made without computer aid. The implications of these findings for future division of decision-making tasks between people and computers is discussed.