School climate and teachers' organizational commitment in high schools

Abstract

The overarching purpose of the present study was to examine school climate dimensions and organisational teacher commitment with the hope of understanding the functionality of schools taking cognisance of poor performance of learners in the annual matric examination in South Africa. The study was underpropped by adopting the theoretical framework by Meyer and Allen (1997); Meyer, Morin, and Wasti (2017), Tri-Component Commitment Model (TCCM) in gaining an insight about work environment (school climate) and organisational behaviour (teacher commitment). The study assumed a qualitative interpretivist-paradigm and a phenomenological research design. I made a convenient and purposive selection of nine Grade 12 teachers from the three Education Districts in Tshwane Education Districts of Gauteng Province. The criteria for selection was premised on teachers with teaching qualification(s), teachers teaching Grade 12 terminal class and teachers with at least two years of teaching experience in Tshwane Education Districts. Data collection was through a semi-structured interview, observation field notes and reflective research journal, and a thematic analysis was employed for data analysis. Four themes emerged in the present study due to the thematic analysis together with interpretation. Theme one: Concept of collegial leadership relates to the organisational leadership of the school principal with respect of organisational justices (procedural, distributive and interactional justice) and teacher commitment. Theme two: Professional teacher behavioural patterns emphasises anticipated teacher professional behaviour and commitment taking note of the contemporary development and challenges of education, particularly in the South African context. Theme three: Learner achievement press features discusses varied learner achievement challenges and the extent to which learners exhibit academic prowess initiated by the concerted efforts of school leadership, teachers, learners and parents. Theme four: Level of parental influence on institutional vulnerability, this expresses the extent of school vulnerability on teacher commitment from the school community, parental school involvement, social economic status and parental learner guidance. For recommendation purposes, this study reveals that policy makers, educationists, psychologists, parents and learners could have access to an informed knowledge about the object of inquiry in the present study. Contribution, limitations and recommendations for possible future research were equally addressed.