Date of Graduation

8-2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Communication (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Communication

Advisor

Kasey L. Walker

Committee Member

Myria Allen

Second Committee Member

Patricia Amason

Keywords

Communication and the arts, Communication, Decision-making, Organizational discourse, Small groups

Abstract

This thesis examines small group decision-making among groups of educators in an elementary school through the Bona Fide Group Perspective, which focuses on a group and its relationships to elements in its context. Twenty-six faculty members were interviewed and 26 meetings were recorded; these were analyzed using thematic analysis. The results indicated contextual, relational, and discursive factors influenced the decision-making process. Most critically, power, status, overlapping group memberships, and competing Discourses shaped the group decision-making process.

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