The research aim was firstly to establish the prevailing organisational climate of the primary schools in the North West Province, and secondly, to develop management strategies to establish an effective organisational climate in primary schools. The study was conducted by means of a thorough literature study with a view to place the concept organisational climate in context. Following this, the information gained during the literature study was empirically verified, and certain findings were made based on the data. From the last-mentioned data and findings, a number of management strategies could be developed and certain recommendations were also formulated. In Chapter 1 the problem statement as well as four research objectives were formulated. The research aim was motivated and the research methodology discussed. The chapter division was explained and a number of relevant ethical aspects were discussed. A few contributions made by this study were discussed briefly. The nature of organisational climate was discussed in Chapter 2. Organisational climate was placed in the correct context by discussing a number of relevant concepts, namely: school climate, organisational climate, educational climate, classroom climate, quality of work life, systemic factors and the influence thereof on organisational climate, individual factors, job satisfaction, job performance, work stress and job motivation. The maintenance and the importance of a positive organisational climate also received attention. The determinants of an effective organisational climate received attention in Chapter 3. Determinants such as presented in the literature were discussed. Following this, determinants identified from different measuring instruments were also discussed. The "Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire for Elementary Schools" (OCDQ-RE) was discussed in detail, since this questionnaire was used for the research in question. The research approach and methodology was discussed in Chapter 4. Different research approaches were discussed, namely the interpretivistic, the critical, the positivistic and the postpositivistic approaches. Next, the quantitative investigative method was discussed fully, since this is the manner in which the data in this research were obtained. The statistical data processing was discussed comprehensively. The chapter was concluded with a number of relevant ethical aspects. In Chapter 5 the data interpretation was discussed. The responses were processed statistically and certain findings were inferred from it. The following statistical processing was done: two factor analyses were done, the reliability of the questionnaire was determined, openness indexes were discussed, categorisation was done regarding the prevailing organisational climate in the schools, the practical meaningfulness was reported on and finally, the South African data were compared with that of the American research. A number of management strategies were designed in Chapter 6 to establish an effective organisational climate in the primary school. These management strategies were formulated from existing literature concerning organisational climate, as well as from the processed data in the empirical study. The management strategies were formulated based on the actions and behaviour of the school principal as well as those of the educators.
The research was concluded in Chapter 7 with a summary, findings and recommendations. Firstly, a brief summary of each chapter was given, followed by a few findings, and the chapter was concluded with seven recommendations, each coupled with a motivation. The following important findings stemmed from the research: Research objective ONE: The nature of organisational climate in the primary school.
• Certain aspects such as school climate, educational climate and classroom climate
regarding the organisational climate of the school are intertwined and they form a unit
that determines the organisational climate of the school. • The organisational climate of a school is influenced by a variety of factors. Examples of these factors are as follows: quality of the work life of educators, tangible and non- tangible factors, task, maintenance and development needs, job satisfaction, job performance, job motivation and work stress. However, it is important to take cognisance of the fact that these factors are people driven and that all role-players in the school are responsible for the development, establishment and maintenance of an effective organisational climate. • The importance of an effective organisational climate is accentuated by the creation and maintenance of a positive work life, positive values and norms and effective communication. By meticulously applying these above-mentioned principles, a positive organisational climate will become a reality in schools. Research objective TWO: The nature of the different determinants of organisational climate in the primary school: • The findings in the literature correspond to a large extent with the findings that came to the fore from the measuring instruments. The findings are categorised in two determinants for organisational climate, namely the actions or behaviour of the school principal and those of the educators. Research objective THREE: The current standing of the organisational climate in the primary schools: • The total openness index of the schools in the study population explains the actions and behaviour of the principals, as well as those of the educators, as a mean. • The schools were divided into four categories as follows: Uninvolved organisational climate (22.73%), Closed organisational climate (22.73%), Open organisational climate (21.21%), Involved organisational climate (33.33%). Research objective FOUR: Management strategies for the development and establishment of an effective organisational climate in the primary school: • Four management strategies were formulated concerning the actions or behaviour of the school principal and three regarding the actions or behaviour of the educators. The following important recommendations were made:
Recommendation 1: Principals need to be empowered to fulfil a more supporting role, mainly in the case of black and Coloured educators. Constructive criticism, reasons for criticism and paying attention to the well-being of educators are examples of fields in which principals need to be empowered.
Recommendation 2: Principals need to be empowered to follow alternative managerial styles, rather than an autocratic and "iron-fist" approach. Recommendation 3: Principals need to demonstrate less restrictive behaviour towards educators, especially in the case of Coloured educators. Examples of restrictive behaviour principals need to devote attention to are as follows: educators are expected to serve on too many committees and the amount of administrative work needs to be cut back on.
Recommendation 4: Educators need to be empowered to act more fraternally towards one another. Examples of fields in which empowerment is required are as follows: educators do not accept one another's shortcomings, educators often depart for home directly after school hours, and educators socialise in small, selected groups.
Recommendation 5: The extent to which trusting behaviour occurs among educators requires active improvement. Factors that need attention are as follows: colleagues do not invite one another for home visits, educators do not know one another's home backgrounds, educators socialise during work hours, and educators do not arrange social meetings for one another. Recommendation 6: Educators' attitude towards and involvement in the school's activities need to be addressed actively and improved. The following factors need to receive attention: the problem that educators describe staff meetings as futile, and also that they converse amongst each other during staff meetings. Recommendation 7: Further research is needed regarding the validation of a measuring instrument that is directly meant for the South African context. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/5070 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Vos, Deon |
| Publisher | North-West University |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | other |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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