Principals' sense of uncertainty and organizational learning mechanisms

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of principals' sense of uncertainty on organizational learning mechanisms (OLMs) in schools.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 130 school principals (90 women and 40 men) from both Tel‐Aviv and Central districts in Israel. After computing the correlation between perceived uncertainty and OLMs, hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of principals' sense of uncertainty and the demographic variables on the OLMs' components.

Findings

The results of this study reveal a negative relationship between principals' sense of uncertainty and the extensiveness of OLMs in schools. Hierarchical regression analyses reveal that OLMs are predicted significantly and negatively by the complexity dimension of perceived uncertainty and predicted significantly and positively by seniority in teaching (length of service).

Research limitations/implications

The findings call for ongoing research on the connection between environmental uncertainty, faculty learning processes, and student outcomes.

Originality/value

Contrary to the findings of various studies on business management, the paper shows that the complexity dimension of principals' perceived uncertainty, rather than the changeability dimension, predicted the extensiveness of organizational learning mechanisms in schools.

Citation

Schechter, C. and Asher, N. (2012), "Principals' sense of uncertainty and organizational learning mechanisms", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 26 No. 2, pp. 138-152. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541211201951