Part A: Research Questions/Hypotheses

A. Review and undertake a comparative analysis of the FOUR articles in the First List on
organisational culture in schools, in terms of their:
(a) research questions/hypotheses,
(b) methodology
(c) sampling
(d) data analysis
(e) findings

Title : School culture as a predictor of teacher professionalism

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school
culture and teacher professionalism. A total of 386 teachers employed in 18
primary schools in Ankara participated in this study. "Organizational
Culture Scale" and "Teacher Professionalism Scale" were used to gather
data. Results revealed that primary school teachers' perceptions on task-
oriented culture was higher than support-oriented, success-oriented, and
bureaucratic cultures and that teachers' perceptions on professionalism
were over the midpoint. Support-oriented and task-oriented cultures were
positively and significantly associated with teacher professionalism,
however, bureaucratic school culture was negatively and significantly
associated with teacher professionalism. Results also illustrated that
support-oriented, task-oriented, and bureaucratic cultures were the
significant predictors of teacher professionalism. Results were discussed
with regard to improving teacher professionalism and school culture.

1. What are the primary school teachers' perceptions on school organizational

culture and teacher professionalism?
2. Are there significant correlations between teacher professionalism and the
dimensions of school culture?
3. Are the dimensions of school culture significant predictors of teacher
professionalism?
Methodoloy :

Research Design

This study concentrating on examining the relationships between school

culture and teacher professionalism conducted correlational research
model and made use of a survey for gathering data. Teachers' perceptions
on teacher professionalism was the dependent variable of the study. On
the other hand, the independent variables of the study were the
dimensions of school culture entitled as support-oriented, success-
oriented, task-oriented, and bureaucratic.

Instrumentation

The questionnaire used in this study to gather data consisted of two parts.
The first part elicited personal data regarding participant teachers' gender,
age, years in current school, and seniority. The second part comprised of
the Teacher Professionalism Scale to measure teachers' professionalism
level and Organizational Culture Scale to determine teachers' perceptions
on school culture.

Sampling :

Population and Sample

The population of the study consisted of teachers employed in primary

schools located in the city centre of Ankara in the 2012-2013 educational
year. A total of 386 teachers employed in 18 primary schools and chosen
through simple random sampling method participated in the study. Out of
these 386 teachers, 238 (61.7%) were male and 148 (38.3%) were female.
The arithmetic mean of teachers' age was 36.38 and standard deviation
was 7.37. 40.2% of teachers (n = 155) have been employed in their present
school for 1-5 years while 72 teachers (18.7%) have been working for their
present school for 16 years or more. The seniority of primary school
teachers ranged from 1 to 37, arithmetic mean of seniority and standard
deviation was 12.52 and 7.19, respectively.
Data analysis :

SPPS 15.0 program was used to analyze the data. The analysis of the study
data was performed in a two-step process. In the first step, missing or
wrong data were examined and EM algorithm was used to deal with
missing data. In the next step, research problems were analyzed.
Arithmetic mean scores for the items of each factor were calculated and the
analyses were performed by using these factor means.

Arithmetic mean and standard deviation scores were computed to

determine primary school teachers' perceptions on teacher professionalism
and sub-scales of school culture. Pearson product- moment correlation
coefficients (r) were then computed to examine the relationships between
teacher professionalism and the dimensions of school culture.
Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis was also performed to
predict primary school teachers perceptions on teacher professionalism by
the dimensions of school organizational culture. Beta () coefficient and
results for t-test were considered to interpret the regression analysis
results.

Findings :

Teachers' Perceptions on School Culture and Professionalism

Teachers' perceptions of task-oriented school culture ( = 3.77) was the

highest rated, whereas bureaucratic school culture was the least rated ( =
3.32).

Correlations among Dependent and Independent Variables

Correlation analysis results for determining the relationship between

primary school teachers' perceptions on school culture and
professionalism indicated that support-oriented (r = .33, p < .05) and task-
oriented (r = .23, p < .05) subscales of culture were positively and
significantly associated with teacher professionalism,
bureaucratic school culture was negatively and significantly associated
with teacher professionalism (r = -.21, p < .05)

This study examined the relationships between primary school teachers

perceptions regarding school culture and professional behaviors. The
research results confirm that the perceptions of teachers regarding school
culture are an important variable predicting teacher professionalism. The
first finding of the present study was that the perceptions of the teachers
regarding school culture mostly involved the task culture. In other words,
the primary school teachers thought that a task- focused culture was
dominant in their schools.

Based on this research finding, it can be said that structure and functioning
in schools outweigh interpersonal relations or professional concerns. In
addition, the research results demonstrated that bureaucratic culture had
the lowest level perception among teachers. Adler and Borys (1996) claims
that bureaucracy may reduce creativity in organizations, lead to
dissatisfaction among employees, and have a negative effect on the
motivation levels of employees.
Title : Student perceptions of school culture and achievement: testing the
invariance of a model

Hypotheses

1. A socio-cultural system of the perceived functioning of the organizations tasks,

strategies, and practices.
2. An organizational value system.
3. The collective beliefs and attitudes of the individuals working within the
organization. (Allaire and Firsirotu, 1984; Schein 1990).

Aim

This study examined the generalizability of a previously validated model concerning

how student perceptions of school culture affect student achievement

Design/Methodology/Approach

Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data were collected
from 1,026 eight-grades students in secondary schools on the island of Cyprus. The
a priori proposed model concerning school culture and student achievement was
tested using structural equation model techniques.

Findings

The proposed model was determined to fit the data reasonably well. These results
indicate that achievement scores can be explained by students perceptions od the
schools cultural environment.

Sampling

Data from 1026 Greek-speaking secondary school students obtained from 55

gymnasia (secondary schools) on the island of Cyprus.

31% od the entire population

Mean age : 13.7 years old

Gender : female 48.8 % Male 51.2%
Setting : Urban 67% Rural 33%
School system : Highly centralized, Exam-oriented
Instrumentation

Using TIMSS
- Written Mathematics test (MCQ)
Students knowledge and understanding of mathematics are assessed
through a range of MCQ and constructed-response question formats.

- Background questionnaire focusing on the contexts for students learning in

the subject
Aspects of students homes and school lives, classroom experience, self-
perception and attitudes about mathematics , home-work and out-of-school
activities, home educational supports, and basic demography information.

The assessment time for each achievement test is approximately 90 minutes.

Background questionnaires require 15-30 minutes to complete.

Data analysis
Based on 5 variables/constructs
1. Classroom processes
2. Climate
3. Socio-cultural structure
4. Students beliefs/values
5. Students attitudes
Findings
Title : Teachers leaders impacting school culture

Research Questions/Hypotheses :

- The relationship between teachers leaders quality towards positive/negative

changing of school cultures.

Methodoloy :

Instruments

- The School Culture Review

- Teachers completed SCHOOL CULTURE REVIEW, using a LIKERT type scale
to rate 40 elements of school culture. (culture norms)

Sampling :

Pre K-12 teachers in rural, urbam and sub-urban area in OHIO.

80% female teachers

Teaching experience

- 60% 1-5 years

- 25% 6-10 years
- 14% 11-20 years
- 1% (5 teachers) 20 years and above

School settings

- 59% elementary building

- 14% middle school/Junior high
- 27% high school

Age

- 20% 25 years old and below

- 51% 26-35 years old
- 15% 36-46 years old
- 14% over 46 years old
Race

- 94% Caucasian
- 2.8% African-American
- 1.8% Hispanic

195 teachers

- Currently studying Masters degree in leadership

Data analysis :

- Teachers completed SCHOOL CULTURE REVIEW, using a LIKERT type scale

to rate 40 elements of school culture.

Findings :

Some specific elements of school culture are lacking in the majority of schools, but no
statistically significant outcomes were reported.

Teacher leaders has significant impact potential on schools culture.

The length of teaching experience in the school was not a factor in rating school
climate.

- Teacher isolation was a major concern, along the opportunities for informal
leadership, climate of physical plant, trust, relationship and support.
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Title : The effects of school culture and climate on student achievement

Research Questions/Hypotheses :

Aim :

The purpose of the study was to investigate whether Exemplary, Recognized and
Acceptable schools differ in their school climates, as measured by the 10 dimensions of
the Organizational Health Inventory.

. Exemplaryat least 90% of the students who were tested passed and 1% or fewer
of students dropped out in Grades 712.

. Recognized8089% of the students who were tested passed and 1.13% of

students dropped out in Grades 712.

. Acceptable5079% of the students who were tested passed and 3.15.5% of

students dropped out in Grades 712

. Low-performingless than 50% of the students who were tested passed and over
5.5% of students dropped out in Grades 712.

Methodoloy :

Organizational Health Inventory

- The OHI consists of 80 items,

- 8 for each of the 10 dimensions, with
- each being rated on a 5 point Likert-type scale.

- Organizational health as conceptualized by Matthew Miles (1971) consists of 10 key

internal dimensions: Goal focus, Communication adequacy, Optimal power equalization,
Resource utilization, Cohesiveness, Morale, Innovativeness, Autonomy, Adaptation and
Problem-solving adequacy.

- These 10 dimensions characterize aspects of climate that address the successful inter
- action among the members of the organization as well of the organizationss ability to
deal with stress from the environment. They also provide diagnostic data that can assist
leaders in recognizing the effectivenss of the organization (McLean et al. 2006).
 -
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Sampling :

The sample comprised 29 schools located in a large suburban school

district in southeast Texas. The Texas Education Agency assigned one
of three ratings to the schools based on student performance on the
Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). Test results from
24,684 students were used as the basis for these ratings. Teachers in
each of the schools rated the organi- zational health of their respective
unit using the OHI. A total of 1727 teachers completed the survey. The
individual school was used as the unit of analysis for the study.

Data analysis :

The three categories of schools were compared across the 10 subtests of

the OHI using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). When
warranted, post hoc comparisons using Tukeys Honestly Significant
Differences (HSD) were made.

Findings :

Significant differences were found on all 10 dimensions of the Organizational Health

Inventory, with Exemplary schools out-performing Acceptable schools. No statistical
significance was found between Exemplary and Recognized schools. Statistical
significance was found, with Recognized schools out-performing Acceptable schools on
the Organizational Health dimensions of Goal focus and Adaptation. The findings of this
study suggest that students achieve higher scores on standardized tests in schools with
healthy learning environments.

- The results of the MANOVA indicted significant differences

between the Exemplary, Recognized and Acceptable categories
of schools across each of the 10 subtests of the OHI.
- In other words, each of the schools that demonstrated higher
student achievement as shown by their Exemplary rating also
 demonstrated healthier climates than schools with Acceptable
ratings. The Exemplary schools consistently demonstrated higher
scores on each of the 10 dimensions of organizational health than
Acceptable schools. The schools with higher student achievement
consistently exhibited healthier school climates.
- Exemplary schools were found to possess healthier climates than
Acceptable schools, which reported lower organizational health
scores. The OHI survey measures organizational health by asking
questions that relate to various aspects of the school environment.
Eleven of the 80 questions comprising the OHI refer directly to
the effective performance of the principal as rated by the teachers
of the school.

- More study is needed to address the associations between

principal lead- ership behaviours and Goal focus and Adaptation
within schools. What aspects or styles of leadership are most
closely related to improved Goal focus and Adaptation? This
question is significant because, as stated earlier, it is through their
interactions with the climate that principals most effec- tively
have an impact on students achievement (Hallinger and Heck
1998). Hackman and Wageman (2007) suggested that different
leaders can behave in their own unique manner and still achieve
effective leadership results.

- This study is limited in that the sample is small (29 schools) and
that there were no Low-performing schools in the sample. In
addition, the sample was composed of high schools and middle
schools, as well as elemen- tary schools. A larger sample which
includes one level of school may reveal data that strengthens the
findings of this study.
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