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Article
Publication date: 15 June 2023

Zhihua Xu and Fu Yang

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examined the mediating role of psychological availability in the relationships between principals'…

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examined the mediating role of psychological availability in the relationships between principals' individual-level and group-level authentic leadership and individual teachers' wellbeing, that is, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and emotional exhaustion.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a three-wave online questionnaire survey among 266 teachers from 52 schools in China. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) was used to analyze the hypothesized relationships among the study variables.

Findings

The principals' group-level and individual-level authentic leadership were both positively associated with individual teachers' psychological availability, which in turn was positively related to their job satisfaction and life satisfaction, and negatively related to their emotional exhaustion.

Practical implications

School administrations should elevate the levels of principals' authentic leadership by selecting and developing authentic principals to increase teacher wellbeing.

Originality/value

Differing from prior research that has focused on the effect of authentic leadership at either group-level or individual-level, this study simultaneously investigated the dual-level effects of principals' authentic leadership. Moreover, psychological availability was found to mediate the dual-level effects of principals' authentic leadership on teachers' job satisfaction, life satisfaction and emotional exhaustion.

Details

Personnel Review, vol. 53 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0048-3486

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 June 2024

Mahmut Polatcan, Pınar Özkan and Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş

This paper explores the relationship between transformational principal leadership and individual teacher innovativeness, considering the mediating role of teacher agency (TA) and…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the relationship between transformational principal leadership and individual teacher innovativeness, considering the mediating role of teacher agency (TA) and the moderating role of teacher trust (TT).

Design/methodology/approach

We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) using survey data collected from 676 teachers at 25 schools in Turkey.

Findings

The results indicated no direct correlation between transformational leadership (TL) and teacher innovativeness but revealed a significant and positive association between TL and teachers' agency, as well as between teachers' agency and innovativeness, suggesting that TA fully mediates the association between TL and teacher innovativeness. Additionally, teachers' trust positively influenced the link between principal leadership and teachers' innovativeness, with the impact of TL on teachers' innovativeness being stronger when trust levels were higher.

Research limitations/implications

This study contributes to the literature, providing an understanding of the mechanisms through which leadership can exert an influence on teacher innovativeness.

Practical implications

This study also suggests that the strength of the influence is likely to vary under different circumstances. Trust among teachers appears to play a key role in the effect of school leadership on teachers, particularly when aiming to support and sustain innovativeness.

Social implications

Trust-based relationships within a school are essential for school principals to influence innovative practices. We conclude that, in the absence of trust as a key component of school climate, achieving a comprehensive understanding of the role of school leadership in fostering teacher innovativeness seems unattainable.

Originality/value

This paper expands existing knowledge regarding the effect of TL in leading teacher innovativeness by indicating the indispensable role of TA and trust.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 July 2024

Cyrill Julian Kalbermatten

The paper aims to clarify how work-specific characteristics at both the individual and organizational level influence professional civil servants’ readiness for change during the…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to clarify how work-specific characteristics at both the individual and organizational level influence professional civil servants’ readiness for change during the implementation of reforms in public administration. We examine the influence of work characteristics at the individual and organizational levels, such as reform-related strains, organizational climate, and organizational professionalism, on the employees’ response to change. In addition, we also consider the interaction between these specific work characteristics.

Design/methodology/approach

This article employs a quantitative multi-level analysis to examine the influence of individual and collective predictors of employees' readiness for change. For our analysis, we used data from the evaluation of a school reform in Switzerland aimed at aligning teachers' working conditions with those of other administrative employees. The survey conducted for the evaluation includes responses from 2,162 teachers.

Findings

Our study expands the understanding in public management research of work characteristics that either promote or reduce employees’ readiness for change in the public sector. Our findings suggest that the organizational level, in our case the school level, influences the individual’s response to change. Furthermore, the role of organizational professionalism in terms of a reform-related transformation of the identities, structures, and practices of the actors concerned is highlighted as a potential stressor and catalyst that reinforces the negative correlation between reform-related stress and willingness to change.

Practical implications

This paper offers insights into how public managers can effectively overcome challenges in the implementation process of public school reforms. This also includes the awareness among change agents that positively associated changes at the organizational level may have negative consequences at the individual level, due to the fact that they affect professional understanding, for example, which may cause the affected actors to respond with resistance.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the small number of multi-level research studies on the responses to change in public administration and answers the call for research to investigate the hurdles that may arise when implementing change. Further, the paper contributes to the literature on the impact of new public management (NPM) on the identity of professional civil servants.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2024

Cathy A.R. Brant

This study aims to explore the self-efficacy of social studies teacher education working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) preservice teachers, teaching…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the self-efficacy of social studies teacher education working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) preservice teachers, teaching LGBTQ content in their methods courses, and helping the preservice teachers they teach in those classes reduce their bias and prejudice against LGBTQ individuals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study, framed by self-efficacy theory, employs a mixed methods approach, qualitative semistructured interviews (n = 6) and quantitative (Likert-scale) survey questions (n = 174).

Findings

Participants reported high self-efficacy in working with LGBTQ students but showed decreased efficacy in teaching about LGBTQ content and helping reduce preservice teacher LGBTQ bias. Participants suggested that time in the curriculum, lack of knowledge about LGBTQ topics/issues, and the lack of institutional support are some of the leading barriers to LGBTQ inclusion in the social studies teacher preparation curriculum.

Originality/value

This is the only work conducted at this scale to examine social studies teacher educators' self-efficacy in LGBTQ-inclusion in methods courses. It has implications for increasing this self-efficacy to help make P-16 social studies education LGBTQ-inclusive.

Details

Social Studies Research and Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1933-5415

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 July 2024

Simon King and Amber Gove

We’re all just looking at the stars; how behavioral economics helps us understand the barriers to education programming in Tanzania.

Abstract

Purpose

We’re all just looking at the stars; how behavioral economics helps us understand the barriers to education programming in Tanzania.

Design/methodology/approach

This article uses a qualitative approach to explore the behaviorally normed barriers to quality classroom instruction that contribute towards low learning outcomes. Themed text analysis was applied to qualitative secondary data from seventeen classroom observations and teacher interviews collected from low-performing schools in rural Tanzania.

Findings

It was found that teachers in poor-performing schools in Tanzania were focused on the delivery of curriculum and pedagogy, with a misplaced belief that their pupils were performing adequately. The study found no evidence of teacher resistance to change; instead, the teachers were content and often happy to implement the reading program, believing that teaching phonics-based instruction improved their teaching approach. Teachers sought confirmation of their quality instructional practice from convenient yet inaccurate sources that did not include effective pupil assessment.

Research limitations/implications

As a result of the chosen research approach, findings may lack generalizability.

Practical implications

While existing models of teacher change rely on logic and reason for decision-making, this paper provides evidence that teacher models of change are much more complex and irrational, aligned more closely with insights from behavioral economics (BE). Additionally, this paper justifies that traditional research frameworks that study what works provide an incomplete picture to support effective program improvement.

Originality/value

The application of behavioral economics to research and education programming focused on reducing the restraining forces rather than pushing incentives and other program components.

Details

Journal of International Cooperation in Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-029X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 July 2024

Kaisa Tsupari, Altti Lagstedt and Raine Kauppinen

This study explores the consequences of digitalization in the field of education, particularly in relation to teachers’ course processes in higher education institutions. It…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the consequences of digitalization in the field of education, particularly in relation to teachers’ course processes in higher education institutions. It emphasizes the importance of understanding how information systems (IS) support not only individual tasks but also processes as a whole. The results reveal that process practices have not been considered comprehensively and even core processes may be unseen.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the extent to which teachers’ processes are discussed in the literature. A qualitative case study was then conducted at a Finnish higher education institution to identify course processes and their relationships to IS.

Findings

Teachers’ processes have scarcely been discussed in the literature, and the process support provided by ISs is remarkably limited. It seems that course processes, which are core to education, are a blind spot in education digitalization. To support evaluating the level of support by IS, novel course process indicators were introduced.

Practical implications

Developing core processes, teachers’ course processes and thesis processes in education field, supports improving service quality. In all industries, organizations should consider whether processes are properly recognized and whether IS support not only individual tasks but also processes as a whole. We recommend recognizing and applying business process management practices to better support teachers’ work and to improve overall efficiency in education.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first education sector study that attends to teacher’s work as a comprehensive process.

Details

Business Process Management Journal, vol. 30 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-7154

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 April 2024

Frederick J. Brigham, Christopher Claude, Jason Chow, Colleen Lloyd Eddy, Nicholas Gage and John William McKenna

Four reputed leaders for the coming years in the field of special education for individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) each with a slightly different…

Abstract

Four reputed leaders for the coming years in the field of special education for individuals with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) each with a slightly different perspective on the field were asked to respond independently to a prompt asking what does special education mean for students with EBD and what is being done and how do we maintain tradition? The contributors' responses to the prompt are presented and then summarized across the essays. A remarkable consistency emerges across the independent essays. In addition to the tradition of providing a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment, the contributors identify needs to support teachers serving this population. Needs in teacher training and the expertise required to meet the needs of individuals with EBD are outlined as well as potential contributions of technology to carry out specific tasks. We conclude with a call for increased advocacy for use of the knowledge that we currently possess and that which will soon be discovered to support students with EBD as well as their teachers. We also note that the contributors' names are listed alphabetically to acknowledge the equality of each person to the final product.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 15 July 2024

Timothy Souley and Ishmael Abubaka

This article explores the education crisis in Cameroon, focusing on the personal experiences of teachers and the strategies they employ to reduce school dropout during the…

Abstract

Purpose

This article explores the education crisis in Cameroon, focusing on the personal experiences of teachers and the strategies they employ to reduce school dropout during the transitional phase from primary to secondary education.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a teacher training programme, 31 interviews with primary and secondary school teachers were conducted. An exploratory research design with an inductive thematic approach was used to identify themes and establish code categories. This design allowed for flexibility in investigating contextual crisis factors by eliciting interpersonal stories and exploring the dynamics of each case.

Findings

Three types of dropout prevention strategies – either standalone or mixed – are identified, depending on network, opportunity or service factors. Network-based strategies are considered the most effective and popular, as school dropout is largely influenced by students’ social backgrounds, and teachers remain key players in community life. Lies and fictional narratives, through opportunity- or service-based strategies, create dishonesty and unrealistic expectations regarding final education outcomes. Each type of strategy has significant limitations due to the highly fragmented education system in the country.

Originality/value

The article reveals that school dropout prevention in Cameroon is hampered significantly by education disorganisation. Teachers’ individual practices are insufficient to convey the actual value of education and reverse dropout decisions made after careful consideration. A national pedagogy plan is needed to ensure continuity.

Details

Journal of International Cooperation in Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2755-029X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 July 2024

Erdem Karataş, Murat Özdemir and Gürsen Vural

Teachers’ organisational identification is crucial for the success of educational reform in the change process. This study investigates how and under what conditions authentic…

Abstract

Purpose

Teachers’ organisational identification is crucial for the success of educational reform in the change process. This study investigates how and under what conditions authentic principal leadership contributes to teachers’ organisational identification.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collected from 7907 public high school teachers across Türkiye were analysed using bootstrapping method. This research tested a moderated mediation model of authentic principal leadership effects on teachers’ organisational identification by incorporating teacher academic optimism as a mediator, and teacher collective responsibility as a moderator.

Findings

Results revealed significant direct and indirect effects of authentic principal leadership on the teachers’ organisational identification via teacher academic optimism. Teacher collective responsibility significantly moderated the effects of authentic principal leadership on both teacher academic optimism and on teachers’ organisational identification. The positive effects of authentic principal leadership were strengthened when the collective responsibility was higher.

Originality/value

This study integrates authentic leadership theory with social identity theory, which provides a more theoretically accurate understanding of how authentic principal leadership influences teachers’ organisational identification.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Dalia Birani-Nasraldin, Anit Somech and Ronit Bogler

Previous studies have examined the empowerment of individual teachers, while neglecting the fact that such a phenomenon might grow within a team. Building on the crossover model…

Abstract

Purpose

Previous studies have examined the empowerment of individual teachers, while neglecting the fact that such a phenomenon might grow within a team. Building on the crossover model and social exchange theory, the aim of this study is to explore whether team empowerment among school management teams (SMTs), is transmitted to the school level and affects schoolteachers' job satisfaction and thereby schoolteachers' organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Furthermore, we explored whether those relationships are moderated by team-member exchange (TMX) relationships.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 86 principals, 357 SMT members and 683 schoolteachers from 86 schools.

Findings

Results confirmed the mediating role of schoolteachers' job satisfaction, showing a positive relationship between SMT empowerment and schoolteachers' job satisfaction, and between job satisfaction and OCB. The moderation of TMX and the overall moderated mediation hypotheses were not supported.

Research limitations/implications

The nature of data collected in the current study precludes any inference concerning the direction of casual links among the study constructs. Therefore, longitudinal studies could be designed, aimed at confirming the direction of links among the variables.

Practical implications

The findings reinforce the impact of schoolteachers' job satisfaction on achieving OCBs. Hence, SMT members carry the responsibility to cultivate satisfied schoolteachers through schools' support mechanisms and guidance in order to achieve schoolteachers' OCB.

Originality/value

The study identifies SMT empowerment as a key factor that may indirectly encourage schoolteachers to invest in OCBs through positive attitudes of schoolteachers' job satisfaction.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 38 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

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