Teacher perceptions of school culture and their organizational commitment and well-being in a Chinese school

This study aims to analyze and validate the dimensions and specific features of a school culture in a Chinese context. A sample of 181 teachers from a Chinese primary and secondary school in Beijing participated in a survey that measures school organizational cultural characteristics and teacher organizational commitment and well-being as outcomes of school culture. Specific cultural characteristics of this school and their impact on teacher organizational commitment and well-being were identified. The findings provide important information for understanding a school culture in the Chinese context. It enriches the theory related to school culture and the research findings that have been identified in the Western settings.     

Examining the relationship between teacher organizational commitment and school health in Turkish primary schools

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between teachers' perceptions of organizational commitment and school health in Turkish primary schools. The Organizational Commitment Scale and the Organizational Health Inventory were used to gather data from 323 randomly selected teachers employed in 20 primary schools in Ankara. Results indicated that teacher compliance commitment was negatively related to both identification and internalization. Three dimensions of school health, institutional integrity, principal professional leadership, and morale, negatively predicted teacher commitment based on compliance. However, teacher internalization commitment was positively predicted by these 3 health dimensions. Professional leadership was the only school health dimension that was significant in predicting identification commitment. Two other dimensions of school health, academic emphasis and resource support, were not significant predictors of the commitment factors. Results of the study are discussed in relation to developing the organizational health of schools and improving the organizational commitment of teachers.     

The mediation of performance in the relationship of organizational commitment to university faculty’s effectiveness

To provide more insights into inconsistent findings on the relationship of organizational commitment to effectiveness, this study conducted a questionnaire survey among 188 academics in Beijing. Analysis of survey responses suggested that organizational commitment presented significant relationships to performance and effectiveness. These relationships varied with the nature of commitment dimensions. Besides, performance mediated the relationships of commitment dimensions to effectiveness in teaching and research. These relationships could be partly explained with faculty’s personal goals, available resources, perceptions of reward/effort balance, and the contribution of teaching and research activities to teaching outcome and research output. These findings enrich the literature by identifying performance as an intervening variable in the relationship of organizational commitment to effectiveness. Meanwhile, these findings provide practical implications for the promotion of Chinese academics’ teaching outcome and research output.     

Principal's Leadership as a Critical Factor for School Performance: Evidence from Multi‐Levels of Primary Schools 1

This study aims to investigate how principal's leadership is related to school performance in terms of multi‐level indicators such as school's organizational characteristics, teachers’ group‐level and individual‐level performances, and students’ performances. In the study, strong leadership represents that a principal can be supportive and foster participation for teachers, can develop clear goals and policies and hold people accountable for results, can be persuasive at building alliances and solving conflicts, can be inspirational and charismatic, and can encourage professional development and teaching improvement. The strong leadership is found associated with high organizational effectiveness, strong organizational culture, positive principal‐teachers relationship, more participation in decision, high teacher esprit and professionalism, less teacher disengagement and hindrance, more teacher job satisfaction and commitment, and more positive student performance particularly on attitudes to their schools and learning. The findings support that principal's leadership is a critical factor for school performance at multi‐levels. Implications are advanced for further study and development of leadership.

     

Observed classroom quality in first grade: associations with teacher, classroom, and school characteristics

The observation and assessment of quality of teacher–child interactions in elementary school settings are increasingly recognized as important; however, research is still very limited in European countries. In this study, we examined the quality of the interactions between teacher and children in first-grade classrooms in Portugal and the extent to which structural features at teacher-, classroom-, and school-level explained variation in this quality. One hundred fifteen classrooms participated in the study. Classrooms were observed through a standardized rating scale concerning emotional, organizational, and instructional support. Results indicated that the levels of emotional and organizational support in most classrooms were of moderate quality, but the levels of instructional support were low, suggesting that most observed activities did not encourage students’ higher-order thinking skills. An examination of the associations between teacher and classroom characteristics and the quality of teacher–child interactions indicated a small effect for teacher education. Teachers with an advanced degree were more likely to be more emotionally sensitive and to have better instructional interactions in the classroom. For school-level characteristics, findings showed that the classrooms in private and smaller schools were likely to provide higher levels of emotional, organizational, and instructional quality. The results suggest that focusing on the interactions between teacher and children can provide valuable information to enhance classroom quality.     

Predicting teacher commitment: The impact of school climate and social–emotional learning

The aim of this study was to investigate whether school climate and social–emotional learning impact teacher commitment. The sample included 664 public schoolteachers from British Columbia and Ontario in Canada. Participants completed an online questionnaire about teacher commitment, school climate, and social–emotional learning. Binary logistic regression analyses showed that positive school climates significantly predicted three forms of teacher commitment: greater general professional commitment, future professional commitment, and organizational commitment. Of the school climate variables, student relations and collaboration among staff predicted commitment. In addition, stronger beliefs and integration of social–emotional learning predicted two types of teacher commitment: greater general professional commitment and organizational commitment. Of the social–emotional learning variables, the support and promotion of a social–emotional learning culture across the school and comfort with and regular implementation of social–emotional learning in the classroom predicted greater teacher commitment. Implications for practice and research are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Agency at work: two beginning science teachers’ stories in a context of curriculum reform in China

In this study, a sociocultural perspective was adopted to understand the interplay between identity and agency in a context of science education reform in China. The manifestation of agency and the interaction between identity and agency were examined with two beginning science teachers teaching with practical work in high school. As part of this study, the identity formation of beginning science teachers was conceived as a site for locating and investigating teacher agency. Based on multiple data sources, we identified six spaces in which the two participants’ agency manifested: (1) personal characteristics; (2) personal beliefs; (3) interactions with students; (4) interactions with colleagues; (5) curriculum materials; and (6) high-stakes examinations. In each space, the two participants’ agency contrasted in terms of perspectives and actions: one was passive, less confident and negative, whereas the other active, more confident and positive. Moreover, it was found that their contrary actions were the result of different perspectives. Based on the findings, a model of the interplay between the identity and agency of an individual science teacher is proposed in a context of curriculum reform. The implications of this model for future research and science teacher development are discussed.     

Influence of teacher empowerment on teachers’ organizational commitment,professional commitment and organizational citizenship behavior in schools

The present study focuses on the relationship between teacher empowerment and teachers’ organizational commitment, professional commitment (PC) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). It examines which subscales of teacher empowerment can best predict these outcomes. The data were collected through a questionnaire returned by a sample of 983 teachers in Israeli middle and high schools. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses indicated that teachers’ perceptions of their level of empowerment are significantly related to their feelings of commitment to the organization and to the profession, and to their OCBs. Among the six subscales of empowerment, professional growth, status and self-efficacy were significant predictors of organizational and PC, while decision-making, self-efficacy, and status were significant predictors of OCB. Practical implications of the study are discussed in relation to teachers, principals and policy-makers.     

Enabling teachers to become pedagogical leaders: case studies of two IDEAS schools in Singapore and Australia

This research paper is about the role of the principal in enabling teacher leadership for pedagogical innovations and school improvement studied in two Innovative Designs for Enhancing Achievements in Schools (IDEAS) schools in Singapore and Australia over a 3-year period from 2005 to 2007. The research reported is based on the developing relationship between principals and teacher leaders as they collaboratively engage in a process of whole school improvement. Both case study schools used the IDEAS school improvement program which originates from the Leadership Research Institute, University of Southern Queensland. The cases trace the facilitation of the IDEAS process in each school and highlights the centrality of teacher leadership in bringing about change in school-wide pedagogy and a process of school re-culturing. It underlines the fact that principals need to support the enabling of leadership among teachers by giving them the space, time and responsibility to make decisions about curriculum work and ensuring that these are aligned with new organizational structures and processes. The paper discusses how the schools were different and yet similar in many ways between the two countries, Singapore and Australia, with regard to the nature of the enabling processes for organizational revitalization and school capacity building. It draws out some implications for school leadership and school improvement.     

Predictors of Cheating among Early Adolescents: Academic and Social Motivations

This study examined the relations between middle school students' self-reported cheating and several indicators of academic and social motivation. It was hypothesized that students' academic self-efficacy and personal and classroom goal orientations would predict cheating. Social motivations were presumed to predict cheating above and beyond achievement motivation. Four dimensions of relationships within schools were measured: participation structure, teacher commitment and competence, teacher respect, and sense of school belonging. Logistic regression analyses were used to predict classification as a cheater or noncheater. Although academic motivation variables predicted cheating, the addition of the relationship variables significantly improved the classification rates. The final model included grade in school, academic self-efficacy, extrinsic goal orientation, participation structure, teacher commitment, and teacher respect. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Profiles of Organizational Culture and Effective Schools∗

This study intends to investigate how school organizational culture is related to important organizational characteristics and observe how the profiles of strong culture‐effective schools are different from those of weak culture‐ineffective schools in terms of organizational variables (such as principal's leadership, organizational structure, and teachers’ social interactions), teachers’ job attitudes, and school effectiveness criteria. It is a cross‐sectional survey research involving 54 randomly sampled Hong Kong secondary schools and 588 teachers. The unit of analysis is the school.

Organizational ideology index was found to be substantially correlated with schools’ perceived organizational effectiveness. Among the 10 measures of these organizational variables, teachers’ esprit and principal's charismatic leadership can contribute substantially to the prediction of school's strength of organizational culture. The organizational profile of perceived strong culture‐effective schools is contrastingly different from that of perceived weak culture‐ineffective schools. The findings suggest that difference in organizational culture can be reflected at least in three overt levels: 1. organizational level in terms of principal's leadership behaviors, organizational formalization and participation, and teachers’ social norms; 2. teachers’ attitudinal level in terms of organizational commitment, social job satisfaction, intrinsic job satisfaction, and influence job satisfaction; and 3. school effectiveness level in terms of perceived overall organizational effectiveness and academic achievements in public examinations.

The findings reinforce the importance of organizational culture to the ongoing effort and discussion of school improvement and school effectiveness.

     

School neighbourhood socio-economic status and teachers’ work commitment in Finland: longitudinal survey with register linkage

The extent to which school neighbourhood affects teachers’ work commitment is poorly known. In the current study, we investigated whether school neighbourhood socio-economic characteristics predicted teachers’ organizational and professional commitment. Primary school teachers (n?=?1042) responded to surveys in 2000–2001 (baseline) and 2004 (follow-up). Their responses were linked to records of the school neighbourhood income and unemployment levels obtained from nationwide registers. Teachers working in areas with a high income level and low unemployment rate had longer job tenure and higher probability of organizational (school) commitment at follow-up compared to teachers working in areas with a low income level or high unemployment rate. Less consistent associations were found for professional commitment. These findings suggest that school neighbourhood characteristics may affect teachers’ work commitment, especially their organizational commitment. Further research is needed to determine whether this increases inequalities in children’s learning opportunities.     

Effects of school organizational conditions on teacher professional learning in China: The mediating role of teacher self-efficacy

Current education reforms have increasingly advocated schools to create facilitative organizational conditions to promote teacher learning. However, limited research has examined the effects of different aspects of school organizational conditions on teacher professional learning in China. Using a sample of 339 primary and secondary school teachers in Shanghai, this study examined the effects of three aspects of school organizational conditions (i.e., learning-centered leadership, learning opportunities, and cultural barriers) on teacher professional learning in China, with a particular focus on the mediating role of teacher self-efficacy as an important psychological condition. The results showed that two aspects of school organizational conditions (i.e., learning-centered leadership and learning opportunities) had significant and positive effects on teacher learning. Teacher self-efficacy significantly mediated the effects of both learning-centered leadership and cultural barriers on teacher professional learning. Practical implications are also discussed.     

The Impact of Alumni Status on Institutional Giving by Faculty and Staff

This study explores the association between propensity toward giving and personal and positional characteristics of faculty and staff across 3 years within a large, public, multi-campus higher education institution. Informed by the literatures on organizational identity and commitment, faculty and staff giving, and the higher education workforce, the study employs a hurdle analysis to estimate the predictors of likelihood of donating (the hurdle) and the amount given among those who donate. Following up on earlier research by the authors that demonstrated that academic employees and employees who are institutional alumni are more likely to give, the present study explores the interaction between these roles and offers a more powerful model for predicting the amount given. The results of this study have implications for understanding how organizational commitment and identification may be relevant in addressing giving, for institutional fundraising, and for building institutional loyalties.     

An ecological perspective of teacher retention: An emergent model

The aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of an ecological school culture conducive to the retention of novice teachers. Twenty novice teachers were selected randomly from 20 different schools in Israel. The qualitative research findings revealed that an ecological school culture conducive to the retention of novice teachers possesses a multi-dimensional framework characterized by categories such as organizational practices, peer communication, individual aspects, community, working conditions and teacher status. The research findings can contribute to reshaping guidance procedures and practices best-suited to novice teachers, which will ultimately aid in the retention of quality teachers.     

Professional community and the problem of high school reform

A two-year qualitative study of mathematics and English teachers in two urban comprehensive high schools investigated how teacher community serves as resource for teacher development and school reform. A school engaged in whole-school reform sustained high teacher commitment and school-level community by constituting professional community strongly at the school level, but its departments displayed varying capacity and disposition to examine problems of teaching and learning at the classroom level. In the second school, innovative teacher communities were constituted strongly at the department level in English and mathematics, but suffered problems of stress and turnover due to weak organizational supports for teacher development and school reform. Findings point both to the potential contribution of professional communities situated in subject departments and the challenge of capitalizing on such communities to advance whole-school reform. The study suggests complex relationships among organizational context, teacher community, teacher development, and institutional reform.     

The Influence of Contextual Factors on the Sustainability of Professional Development Outcomes

This study investigated how contextual factors influenced the sustainability of outcomes from a 3-year, state-funded professional development program that provided science assistance for K-2 teachers in small, rural school districts. The research used a case-study approach with a purposive sample of five elementary schools that varied in instructional time in science several years after the funding period. The primary data sources were teacher surveys and interviews conducted 2 and 3 years after the end of the professional development program. The findings highlight variations across schools and the influence of principal support, resources, collegial support, personal commitment, and external factors. The research holds practical implications for enhancing long-term sustainability of professional development outcomes in science education.     

The effects of workplace learning on organizational socialization in the youth workforce

The purpose of this study was to identify how high school graduate newcomers adjust to working in organizations. This study examines how their formal learning, intended informal learning, and unintended informal learning experiences jointly influence their adjustment processes [e.g., role clarity and personal–organizational (P-O) fit]. It also explores the extent to which the newcomers’ adjustment processes relate to socialization outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit) and their mediating effects on the relationship between the types of learning and socialization outcomes. Results show that formal learning and intended informal learning have a strong positive relationship with P-O fit, while unintended informal learning is positively associated only with role clarity. In addition, role clarity indirectly and P-O fit directly affect job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intention to quit. The implication for management practices and future research is discussed.     

Teacher development and educational change: empowerment through structured reflection

Reflection and change are pivotal themes in this paper, which outlines the rationale, methodology and principal findings of a research undertaking on teacher development in Ireland. The study was based on the premise that teachers’ practices are guided in large measure by a ‘tacit knowledge’ of education, formed in response to personal and contextual factors. It was held that sustained teacher and school development relate primarily to acquiring an awareness of and engaging in ongoing reflection on this implicit theory. Participants were facilitated in structuring such reflection through images—as subjective knowledge structures which capture their latent understandings of teaching and learning processes. It was an enlightening and empowering experience for the teachers involved, who, as a consequence, could both envision and initiate necessary improvements in their educational practices. The findings have notable implications for pre-service and in-service teacher education.