Toward an organizational model of change in elementary schools: The contribution of organizational learning mechanisms

Chen Schechter, Mowafaq Qadach

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    50 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Purpose: This study explored a theoretical model that links teachers' perceived uncertainty and teachers' sense of collective efficacy with organizational learning mechanisms (OLMs) in elementary schools. OLMs serve as a mediator construct. Research Design: For testing the primary theoretical model, 801 teachers from 61 elementary schools (33 urban and 28 suburban) in Israel's largest district responded to the research instruments. The authors used structural equation modeling to determine whether OLMs mediate between teachers' perceived uncertainty and their sense of collective efficacy. Findings: A significant model, which included direct and indirect effects of teachers' perceived uncertainty on teachers' sense of collective efficacy, emerged for the urban school context. Although OLMs (storing, retrieving, and putting to use of information) served as a prominent mediating variable in the urban school context, OLMs did not play a mediating role in the research model for the suburban school context. Conclusions: This study strengthens the feasibility of the OLMs framework, based on information processing, to provide a concrete description of organizational learning processes in schools. The study provides a deeper understanding of how OLMs can serve as a significant link between the dynamic school environment and teachers' attitudes, which may ultimately improve teachers' work and students' learning.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)116-153
    Number of pages38
    JournalEducational Administration Quarterly
    Volume48
    Issue number1
    Early online date6 Sep 2011
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Feb 2012

    Keywords

    • collective efficacy
    • organizational learning
    • organizational learning mechanisms
    • uncertainty

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