RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATEPROFESSOR DR. ZAIDATOL AKMALIAH LOPE PIHIE

DR. ALI KHAMIS ALIPROFESSOR DR. ZAKARIA KASA

FACULTY OF EDUCATIONAL STUDIES UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA

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ABSTRACT The research was an attempt to investigate the relationship between

teacher’s perceptions of organizational climate and occupational commitment. The results revealed that supportive principal behavior positively and significantly correlated with each dimension of occupational commitment. In relation to directive principal behavior, the results showed that no significant relationships existed between teacher’s perceptions of directive principal behavior and occupational commitment. Engaged teacher behavior correlated positively and significantly with all dimensions of occupational commitment. Findings also indicated that frustrated teacher behavior correlates negatively but significant with occupational commitment. The paper will discuss the implication of the findings for improving principal’s managerial behavior and also to discuss strategies to improve teacher’s commitment at the work place. 2

SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

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The school organizational climate has become an important perspective for analyzing the general nature of work environment, school characteristics, and various relationships of school practices and behaviors. Studies of organizational climate were initially used as a general notion to express the enduring quality of a school organizational life (Hoy, Tarter & Kottkamp, 1991).

SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

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- Hoy & Miskel (1987) defined school climate as the relatively enduring quality of the school environment that is experienced by participants, affects their behavior, and is based on their collective perception on behavior in school.

- Hoy & Miskel (1987) defined school climate as the relatively enduring quality of the school environment that is experienced by participants, affects their behavior, and is based on their collective perception on behavior in school.

SCHOOL ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

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The main propositions for this model is that organizational climate consists of:1. Supportive principal behavior2. Directive principal behavior3. Engaged teacher behavior4. Frustrated teacher behavior5. Collegial teacher behavior

From the dimensions of this model of school organizational climate, it is apparent that interpersonal relations, work practices, teachers’ behaviors and principal leadership behaviors in a school organization create the climate of a school organization.

OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT

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- One of the more common definitions of occupational commitment states that occupational commitment refers to a person’s belief in and acceptance of the values of his chosen occupation or line of work, and willingness to maintain membership in the occupation (Ritzer & Trice, 1969; Vandenberg & Scarpello, 1994).

- Occupational commitment as “socially accepted behaviors that exceed formal and/normative expectations relevant to the object of commitment” (p.48).Weiner and Gechmen (1977)

OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT

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Affective occupational commitment (AOC) measured teachers’ desire to remain in the teaching profession, identification with, involvement in the teaching profession, and emotional attachment to teaching profession.

Continuance occupational commitment (COC) measured teachers’ recognition of the costs associated with leaving the teaching occupation, and sacrifice in the profession.

Normative occupational commitment (NOC) measured teachers’ sense of obligation and loyalty to the teaching profession.

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Supportive principal behavior is directed towards both social needs and task achievement of the faculty. The principal is helpful, genuinely concerned with teachers, and attempts to motivate them by using constructive criticism and by setting an example through hard work. Directive principal behavior is rigid and domineering. The principal maintains close and constant monitoring of all teachers and school activities down to the smallest detail. Engaged teacher behavior reflects a faculty in which teachers are proud of their schools, enjoy working with each other, are supportive of their colleagues, and committed to the success of their students.

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Frustrated teacher behavior depicts a faculty that feels burdened with routine duties, administrative paperwork and excessive assignments unrelated to teaching.

Intimate teacher behavior reflects a strong and cohesive network of social relations among the faculty.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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This study endeavored to answer the following research questions:

1.What is the level of overall occupational commitment of public secondary schools teachers?

2.What are the levels of public secondary school teachers’ occupational commitment as measured by affective, continuance and normative occupational commitment?

3.What is the level of organizational school climate as perceived by the public secondary school teachers?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

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4. Is there a significant relationship between occupational commitment (affective, continuance and overall occupational commitment) and age, teaching experience, years in the present school and number of children?

5. Is there a significant difference regarding teachers occupational commitment (affective, continuance and overall occupational commitment) based on their gender, marital status, academic qualification and ethnic group?

6. Is there a significant relationship between teachers’ perceptions of organizational climate and occupational commitment (affective, continuance, normative and overall occupational commitment)?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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- This is a descriptive-correlational study.

- The sample of the study were full time public secondary school teachers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A list of teachers’ names was obtained from the State Department of Education.

- The sample was 510 teachers who had at least one year of teaching experience in their current school.

- The research utilises 2 sets of questionnaire, occupational commitment and occupational climate.

RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS FOR THE STUDYMeasurementMeasurement Scale/ComponentScale/Component Alpha Alpha

CoefficientCoefficientOccupational Occupational Commitment Commitment Questionnaire Questionnaire (OCCQ)(OCCQ)

1.1. Affective Occupational Affective Occupational CommitmentCommitment

2.2. Continuance Occupational Continuance Occupational CommitmentCommitment

3.3. Normative Occupational Normative Occupational CommitmentCommitment

.88 .88

.75.75

.85.85

Organisational Organisational Climate Climate Questionnaire Questionnaire (OCDQ-RS)(OCDQ-RS)

1.1. Supportive Principal BehaviorSupportive Principal Behavior2.2. Directive Principal BehaviorDirective Principal Behavior3.3. Engaged Teacher BehaviorEngaged Teacher Behavior4.4. Frustrated Teacher BehaviorFrustrated Teacher Behavior5.5. Intimate Teacher BehaviorIntimate Teacher Behavior

.79.79

.76.76

.83.83

.76.76

.87.87 13

INTERPRETATION ON THE STRENGTH OF THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS

rr Strength of Strength of RelationshipRelationship

rr2 2 (% of (% of Variance Variance

Explained)Explained)

.75-1.00.75-1.00

.50-.74.50-.74

.25-.49.25-.49

.00-.24.00-.24

StrongStrongModerate to HighModerate to HighLow to ModerateLow to ModerateWeakWeak

56% to 100%56% to 100%25% to 55%25% to 55%6.3% to 21%6.3% to 21%0.0% to 5.8%0.0% to 5.8%

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TABLE 1:RESPONDENTS’ DISTRIBUTION ACCORDING TO AGE, NUMBER OF CHILDREN, TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND YEARS IN THE PRESENT SCHOOL.VariableVariable FrequencyFrequency PercentPercent Mean (SD)Mean (SD) RangeRange

Age (Years)Age (Years)< 30< 3030-4530-45>45>45

82823083084343

18.318.371.271.29.99.9

35.7 (6.7)35.7 (6.7) 21-5421-54

Number of childrenNumber of children001-21-2>2>2

101101165165167167

23.323.338.238.238.538.5

2.1 (1.7)2.1 (1.7) 0-100-10

Teaching Experience Teaching Experience (Years)(Years)<6<66-206-202121

1281282552555050

23.923.958.958.911.511.5

10.9 (7.3)10.9 (7.3) 2-342-34

Years in a Current Years in a Current SchoolSchool<5<55-145-14>14>14

2322321691693232

53.653.639.039.07.47.4

6.0 (4.8)6.0 (4.8) 2-302-30

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LEVELS OF OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT More than half of the respondents (55.4%) indicated a moderate level of affective occupational commitment and more than one-third of the respondents (43%) reported a high level. A great percentage of the respondents (70.4%) reported a moderate level of continuance occupational commitment while nearly one-third of respondents (29.1%) reported a high level. For normative occupational commitment, almost two-thirds of the respondents (66%) showed a moderate level and about one-third of them (33.5%) showed a high level. Furthermore, less than two-thirds of the respondents (62.8%) indicated a moderate level of overall occupational commitment; whereas just above one-third of the respondents (35.1) showed a high level of overall occupational commitment.

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LEVEL OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE More than one-half of the respondents (60.7)

indicated that their principals were moderately supportive and just over 30% of the respondents indicated their principals were lowly supportive.

Related to directive principal behavior, more than half of the respondents (59.6%) perceived that their principals practiced a moderate level of directive principal behavior while more that one-third of the respondents (35.3%) perceived their principals practices a low level of directive principal behavior. 17

The results revealed that supportive principal behavior positively and significantly correlated with each dimension of occupational commitment; affective, continuance, normative and overall occupational with r = .14, .20, .13 and .17, p ≤ .05 respectively. These results showed that the magnitude of correlations between supportive principal behavior and all dimensions of occupational commitment were week. In relation to directive principal behavior, the results in Table 1 show that no significant relationship existed between respondents’ perception of directive principal behavior and each of affective, continuance, normative and overall occupational commitment.

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For the relationship between frustrated teacher behavior and occupational commitment, it was found in table 2 that there was a negative and significant relationship between respondents’ perception of frustrated teacher behavior and each dimension of occupational commitment, affective occupational commitment (r = -.23, p ≤ .01), continuance occupational commitment (r=-.13, p ≤ .01) and overall occupational commitment (r=-.21, p ≤ .01). the data inferred that the relationship between perception of frustrated teacher behavior and each of affective, continuance, normative and overall occupational commitment was weak.

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The results showed that respondents’ perception of intimacy teacher behavior correlated positively with each of affective, continuance, normative and overall occupational commitment.

The relationship of perceptions of intimacy teacher behavior with affective occupational commitment was significant but weak with r=.10 (p ≤ .05), whereas the relationship between perceptions of intimacy teacher behavior and continuance, normative and overall occupational commitment were not- significant.

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TABLE 2: THE CORRELATION COEFFICIENTS OF OCCUPATIONAL COMMITMENT WITH PERCEPTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

VariableVariable AOCAOC COCCOC NOCNOC Overall OCOverall OC

Supportive Principal Supportive Principal Behavior (SPB)Behavior (SPB)

.14**.14** .20**.20** .13**.13** .17**.17**

Directive Principal Directive Principal Behavior (DPB)Behavior (DPB)

-.06-.06 .02.02 -.02-.02 -.04-.04

Engaged Teacher Engaged Teacher Behavior (ETB)Behavior (ETB)

.26**.26** .26**.26** .22**.22** .28**.28**

Frustrated Teacher Frustrated Teacher Behavior (FTB)Behavior (FTB)

-.23**-.23** -.13**-.13** -.18**-.18** -.21**-.21**

Intimacy Teacher Intimacy Teacher Behavior (ITB)Behavior (ITB)

.10*.10* .08.08 .06.06 .09.09

21n =433 * Significant at p .05 ** Significant at p.01Note: AOC =Affective Occupational Commitment, COC = Continuance Occupational Commitment NOC = Normative Occupational Commitment

IMPLICATION Teachers’ level of occupational commitment is at a moderate level. The practitioners should find means to improve the level of occupational commitment as teachers are facing more challenges to carry out more responsibilities during this era of frequent educational reforms. Particularly, more improvement is required on continuance and normative occupational commitment. Furthermore, commitment to occupation is a multidimensional construct and each dimension has its factors that are associated with it. From this, it is recommended that practitioners understand the distinctions of these forms of commitment (affective, continuance and normative occupational commitment) and factors associated with each of them in order to focus on whether they want to establish a policy of teachers’ commitment to their occupation. The practitioners should make clear which form of commitment teachers lack most and which form exists abundantly

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IMPLICATION Supportive principal behavior, engaged teacher

behavior and frustrated teacher behavior have indicate their significant correlations with occupational commitment and its components. Principals in the schools should have a supportive approach to leadership in schools.

The Ministry should focus on giving roles that are relevant to the teaching profession and avoid giving work that teachers consider as irrelevant to their teaching occupations. Furthermore, to have teachers with a positive identification with, attachment to and involvement in their school, teachers’ intimacy should be given due consideration

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IMPLICATION School organization are an important place

for teachers to become committed to their occupation because teachers practice their profession in schools, i.e. their working places. Therefore, principals and practitioners are required to make schools a place where teachers can become committed

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KEPEMIMPINAN DAN IKLIM ORGANISASI SEKOLAH IKLIM ORGANISASI SEKOLAH

Iklim organisasi ialah jumlah kualiti persekitaran dalam sesebuah organisasi. Iklim boleh dikategorikan kepada dua iaitu iklim terbuka dan iklim tertutup (Halpin & Croft, 1963). Iklim organisasi bermula dari bidang psikologi. Ia boleh digambarkan sebagai ‘personaliti’ sesebuah sekolah. Apabila kita melawat mana-mana sekolah kita akan merasa wujud kelainan antara sekolah tersebut dengan sekolah lain.

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IKLIM TERBUKA Menggambarkan sebuah sekolah yang

bertenaga, hidup dan sentiasa bergerak ke hadapan untuk mencapai matlamat. Iklim ini menyediakan rasa kepuasan dalam kalangan ahli sekolah. Tindakan kepemimpinan dilihat lebih mudah dan sesuai untuk kedua-dua pemimpin dan pengikut. Ciri utama iklim terbuka ialah tingkahlaku tulen ditonjolkan oleh ahli sekolah. Ciri-ciri iklim sekolah terbuka menggambarkan wujud kadar rintangan dan kadar terpisah yang rendah antara ahli, tidak menekankan pengeluaran, serta kadar kepercayaan dan pertimbangan yang tinggi diamalkan oleh pemimpin.

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IKLIM TERTUTUP Sikap tidak peduli dalam kalangan staf

menggambarkan iklim tertutup. Organisasi sekolah tidak bergerak. Semangat staf berada di aras rendah kerana ahli organisasi tidak mencapai kepuasan dalam prestasi bekerja serta kepuasan dalam keperluan sosial mereka. Tingkahlaku ahli boleh ditafsirkan sebagai tidak tulen, dan organisasi dalam keadaan pergerakan mendatar. Jadi ciri-ciri iklim tertutup dicirikan oleh suasana di mana wujud kadar rintangan, pengasingan dan pemisahan antara ahli yang tinggi. Terdapat hubungan yang tidak mesra dalam kalangan guru dan guru tidak mempunyai semangat yang tinggi. Pemimpin pula memberi tekanan kepada pengeluaran.

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MENGUKUR IKLIM SEKOLAHWalaubagaimanapun, sebenarnya

darjah keterbukaan iklim sekolah adalah hasil daripada interaksi antara ahli organisasi yang berkualiti. Hoy et.al, (1991) telah menjelaskan iklim sekolah melalui instrumen yang mengukur enam tingkahlaku seperti berikut: yang dipanggil OCDQ-RE (Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire) untuk sekolah rendah.

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1. Tingkah laku Pengetua yang MenyokongTingkahlaku ini menggambarkan pertimbangan

terhadap guru. Pemimpin mendengar pandangan dan cadangan guru. Pujian diberikan dengan jujur dan kerap. Kritikan diberikan secara membina, kecekapan guru dihormati, dan pemimpin menunjukkan minat secara peribadi dan profesional kepada guru.

2. Tingkah laku Pengetua yang DirektifTingkahlaku ini berbentuk ‘rigid’, penyeliaan rapi,

pemimpin mengamalkan pemantauan dan kawalan yang berterusan terhadap kerja dan aktiviti guru dengan terperinci. 29

3. Tingkah laku pengetua yang ‘restrictive’ Tingkahlaku ini menghalang, dan bukan membantu

guru dalam melaksanakan tugas. Pengetua membebankan guru dengan menyediakan kertas kerja, menulis keperluan jawatankuasa, tugas rutin, dan keperluan tugas lain yang mengganggu tanggungjawab pengajaran mereka.

4. Tingkah laku guru yang ‘collegial’ Tingkahlaku ini menyokong interaksi terbuka dan

profesional antara guru. Guru merasa bangga terhadap sekolah, seronok bekerja dengan rakan setugas, bersemangat, menerima dan menghormati rakan sekerja.

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5. Tingkah laku guru yang mesra Tingkahlaku ini menggambarkan hubungan sosial

yang kohesif antara guru. Guru-guru mengenali satu sama lain, menjadi rakan peribadi yang rapat, selalu bergaul bersama, dan menyediakan sokongan antara satu sama lain.

6. Tingkah laku guru yang tidak mesra Tingkahlaku ini menggambarkan aktiviti profesional

yang tidak berfokus dan tidak bermakna. Guru menggunakan masa untuk melaksanakan tugas yang tidak produktif, mereka tidak mempunyai matlamat bersama. Tingkahlaku mereka berbentuk negatif dan selalu mengkritik rakan di sekolah. 31

MENGUKUR IKLIM SEKOLAH MENENGAH

Hoy et.al (1991) juga telah membentuk satu laagi instrumen untuk mengukur iklim sekolah menengah yang dipanggil OCDQ-RS. Lima tingkahlaku digunakan untuk menjelaskan iklim organisasi sekolah menengah seperti berikut:

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1. Tingkah laku Pengetua yang Menyokong (Supportive Principal Behaviour)

Tingkahlaku ini menggambarkan usaha pengetua untuk memotivasikan guru-guru dengan menggunakan kritikan yang konstruktif dan memberi contoh melalui kerja kuat. Pada masa yang sama pengetua akan membantu dan memberi perhatian sebenar terhadap kebajikan peribadi dan profesional guru. Tingkahlaku ini terarah untuk mencapai keperluan sosial dan pencapaian tugas guru. 33

2. Tingkah laku Pengetua yang direktif (Directive Principal Behaviour) Tingkahlaku yang ‘rigid’ dan mempraktikkan penyeliaan

yang menindas. Pengetua tetap mengekalkan kawalan yang rapi dan berterusan terhadap guru dan aktiviti sekolah dengan terperinci.

 3. Tingkah laku guru yang “engaged” (Engaged Teacher

Behaviour) Tingkahlaku ini digambarkan oleh semangat guru yang

tinggi. Guru bangga terhadap sekolahnya, seronok bekerja dengan rakan, dan menyokong rakan sekerja. Mereka bukan sahaja memberi perhatian terhadap satu sama lain, tetapi komited terhadap kejayaan pelajar mereka. Mereka mesra dengan pelajar, percayakan pelajar dan optimistik dengan keupayaan pelajar untuk berjaya.

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4. Tingkah laku guru yang kecewa (Frustrated Teacher Behaviour) Tingkahlaku ini menggambarkan pola umum di

mana wujud campurtangan pihak pentadbiran dan rakan sekerja yang menganggu tugas pengajaran yang asas. Tugas rutin, kertas kerja pentadbiran, dan terlalu banyak tugasan bukan pengajaran. Guru-guru berasa marah dan akan mengganggu antara satu sama lain.

5. Tingkah laku guru yang mesra/intimate (Intimate Teacher Behaviour) Tingkahlaku ini menunjukkan jaringan dan

hubungan sosial antara guru yang kohesif dan kuat. Mereka mengenali dengan baik satu sama lain, berkawan dengan rapat dan mesra. 35

HUBUNGAN STAIL KEPEMIMPINAN DAN IKLIM SEKOLAH

Kuadran III Kuadran II Pertimbangan tinggi Penstrukturan tugas

rendah

Pertimbangan tinggi Penstrukturan tugas

tinggiKuadran IV Kuadran I

Pertimbangan rendah Penstrukturan tugas

rendah

Pertimbangan rendah• Penstrukturan tugas

tinggi

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Penstrukturan Tugas Rendah Tinggi

Rendah

Tinggi

Pertimbangan

Kuadran 1 : Pemimpin ini rendah dalam pertimbangan tetapi tinggi dalam

penstrukturan tugas. Beliau berorientasikan tugas dan hanya berminat dengan perlaksanaan tugas, lupa bahawa ia berurusan dengan manusia yang ada perasaan.

  Kuadran II : Pemimpin ini tinggi dalam pertimbangan dan tinggi juga dalam

menstrukturkan tugas. Beliau berjaya memimpin dengan cekap dan berkesan, mampu mengurus kakitangan dan kerja dengan baik.

Kuadran III : Pemimpin ini tinggi dalam pertimbangan tetapi rendah dalam

menstrukturkan tugas. Beliau mengekalkan hubungan mesra dengan pekerja dan memberi sepenuh perhatian terhadap kebajikan kakitangan, tetapi tidak efektif dalam penyempurnaan tugas.

  Kuadran IV : Pemimpin ini rendah dalam pertimbangan dan penstrukturan tugas.

Cara kepimpinannya menghasilkan kekecohan dan tidak efektif. 37

SCHOOL CULTURE AND SCHOOL CLIMATE

INTRODUCTIONCulture of efficacy is defined as the extent to which the school teachers have

mutual perception that their collective effort will positively impact students.

Culture of trust can be interpreted as the extent to which there is mutual trust between the principal and the teachers, the teachers abd the colleagues, the school personnel, parents and students.

Culture of control means the extent to which students are controlled in relation to the structure and norms of the school. TWO cultures of control:

1. A custodial culture resulting in rigid and highly controlled setting that places too much importance on maintaining order.

2. Humanistic culture of control which encourages students to learn through cooperative interaction and experience.

School climate, on the other hand, can be viewed ad the environment of the school and this includes the formal and informal organisation, teaching and non- teaching staff as well as the students. School leadership plays an influential role in affecting the environment. The “quality and character” of the school is viewed based on the collective perception of what is experienced in school and can be measured via its open or close nature and whether it is a healthy organisation.

STRONG CULTURE, OPEN AND HEALTHY CLIMATE

Open climate share several characteristics:

1) First and foremost, these principals are reflective in nature. They use information gathered from reports, teachers, parents, and community members to develop reasoned approaches for action and help generate new meanings about the changes ahead.

2) Second, they are collaborative. They share leadership with staff at al levels of the organisation because they know that teams of people who share the same goals are more effective than principals who work alone. These principals create time for teams to meet, plan, and teach together.

3) Third, they are intentional in what they do. They have a strong sense of direction and infuse their core values, beliefs, and attitudes into building an inclusive culture in their school. They also pace the rate and number of changes carefully to prevent the teaching staff from becoming overwhelmed.

4) Fourth, they are not afraid to take risks and are willing to try something different. They tend to be actively engaged in pursuing innovative solutions that can help include the minorities, whether due to abilities, culture, language, or ethnic origin.

5) Fifth, they place great importance on relationships. They “go to the extra mile” to work with staff, parents and community members to solve differences and find workable solutions. These principals work hard to build trust and promote changes by sharing information honestly with all involved.

6) Finally, they are accessible to the people in the school community. They are not chained to their desks. Instead, they routinely get involved at the ground level with students, teachers, parents and community members to address issues confronting their school.

UNHEALTHY CULTURE AND CLOSE CLIMATE The culture is unhealthy when there is no

passion and commitment among the school citizens and when the leadership of the school does not lead or enable interactions which lead to higher efficacy among the school citizens.

Toxic culture can also develop when school leadership ignores or neglects changes in the school which should be address.

Failure to address unhealthy school culture can result in the destruction of motivation, commitment and royalty of the students, teachers, administrators as well as parents.

THANK YOU

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