an annotated bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

Staff morale continues to be a huge issue within the organizational setting. Therefore, researchers continue to conduct investigations on staff morale with the hopes of finding the means to improve the workplace by establishing a more effective organizational climate. The quality that educators place into their work is influenced by a number of factors, including their psychological and social well-being. Therefore, educators could benefit from utilizing strategies to improve the workplace at the primary level. However, less is known about how some of the management strategies may benefit educators and principals at the secondary level.

Annotated Bibliography

Crane, D., & Green, R. L. (2013). Exploring leader behavior informed by the thirteen core competencies and their influence on teacher job satisfaction. National Forum of Applied Educational Research Journal,26(1), 33-54.

Finnigan, K. S. (2012). Principal leadership in low-performing schools: A closer look through the eyes of teachers. Education and Urban Society,44(2), 183-202. doi:10.1177/0013124511431570.

Friedman, S. D., & Westring, A. (2015). Empowering individuals to integrate work and life: insights for management development. Journal of Management Development,34(3), 299-315. doi:10.1108/jmd-11-2012-0144

Lambersky, J. (2016). Understanding the human side of school leadership: Principals’ impact on teachers’ morale, self-efficacy, stress, and commitment. Leadership and Policy in Schools,15(4), 379-405. doi:10.1080/15700763.2016.1181188.

Lambersky’s article is a qualitative research study about educational leadership and the role that administrators have on the emotional states of teachers and school improvement. He uses words such as teacher morale, burnout, stress, commitment, and self- and collective efficacy to reflect how the principal’s behaviors shape teacher emotions. He argues that the principal can contribute to the emotional well-being of the faculty by following key behaviors. One claim that Lambersky makes in his article is that the principal can influence teacher’s emotions by acknowledging the teacher’s commitment to the job. Lambersky suggests that principals partake in programs that better prepare them for the job, that principals that are currently in the role be provided with appropriate training, and that emotionally savvy leadership practices be placed on the agenda of school leaders.

Lambersky’s article is well-organized and well-written. He uses words such as teacher morale, burnout, stress, commitment, and self- and collective efficacy to make it known throughout the literature what factors can have an impact on teacher morale and the work environment. However, Lambersky fails to address how the emotional states fo teachers and the work environment impacts student success via qualitative measures, which is something that can affect the overall mechanism of the school.

Lambersky’s article is useful in providing a perspective on the impacts that principals have on the emotional states of teachers. In addition, the article was helpful in providing critical factors for improving teacher’s working emotions. For my research, Lambersky’s article has helped me to recognize the important role that the behavior of the principal plays in the overall dynamics of the school and what the principal can do to change teachers emotions and how the school is run. Additionally, he clearly outlines recommendations for better preparing principal candidates for the job, which I as a leader can use to contribute to the overall emotional well-being of the faculty.

Maforah, T. P., & Schulze, S. (2012). The job satisfaction of principals of previously disadvantaged schools: New light on an old issue. South African Journal of Education,32(3), 227-239. doi:10.15700/saje.v32n3a571.

Vos, D., Westhuizen, P. C., Mentz, P. J., & Ellis, S. M. (2012). Educators and the quality of their work environment: an analysis of the organisational climate in primary schools. South African Journal of Education,32(1), 56-68. doi:10.15700/saje.v32n1a520.

In this article, Vos, Westhuizen, Mentz, and Ellis (2012) provided quantitative research, contextualized by a post-positivistic investigative approach of the organizational climate of educators from a random selection of 80 primary schools in the North West Province of South Africa. According to Vos et al. there is a correlation between school climate and the organizational climate of a school. Specifically, there is evidence that educator morale in schools is low. If the organizational climate within the school is unhealthy, this can lead to the school becoming dysfunctional. Vos et al. described school climate as the experience by the educators of their environment as well as that of the learners of their learning environment, both inside and outside of the classroom (Hoy & Miskel, 2008). Organizational climate has to do with the experience by educators on the quality of the environment in which they work (Mentz, 2007). Vos et al. refer to educational climate as the experience of learners on the educational milieu in the school. Lastly, Vos et al. describe classroom climate as the atmosphere wherein interaction between the learner and educator takes place. Determining the school’s organizational climate and formulating effective management strategies to establish an effective organizational climate is, therefore, critical for the educational leader, which for the purpose of this research study is the principal. Additionally, the authors concluded their research with recommendations, which are aimed at improving the organizational climate of primary schools.

Research conducted by other clinicians has addressed the role that the behaviors of principals and school educators contributed to the organizational climate in the primary schools. The research study conveyed is relevant to the current discourse in schools surrounding the impact that educator morale has on the school climate. This study illustrated how a change in management strategies could improve and ensure an effective organizational climate. Vos et al. recognized that the behavior of the principal and the behavior of the educators during different periods in their research required further attention and needed to be improved upon to establish a more effective organizational climate at the primary level. Vos et al. acknowledged that the behavior of the principals and that of the educators minimally contributed to the establishment of a more effective organizational climate. According to the investigation, it was also conferred that the behavior of the principal and educators did not positively contribute towards the development of an effective organizational climate at the primary levels.

Vos et al.’s findings of this research topic are beneficial for professionals in the field of education who work at the primary. This research might also be useful to professionals at the secondary level, as it addresses suggestions to address critical factors such as the behavior of the principal and the behavior of the educator. However, more information is needed to determine if the strategies provided would work at the secondary level in an educational setting that provides educational services to students with disabilities.

References

Finnigan, K. S. (2012). Principal leadership in low-performing schools: A closer look through the eyes of teachers. Education and Urban Society,44(2), 183-202. doi:10.1177/0013124511431570.

Hoy, W. K., & Miskel, C. (2008). Education administration: Theory, research and practice. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Mentz, P. J. (2007). Organisational climate in schools. In: Van der Westhuizen PC (ed). Schools as organisations. Pretoria: Van Schaik.

Answer Preview…………….

Staff morale continues to be a huge issue within the organizational setting. Therefore, researchers continue to conduct investigations on staff morale with the hopes of finding the means to improve the workplace by establishing a more effective organizational climate. The quality that educators place into their work is influenced by some factors, including their psychological and social well-being. Therefore, educators…………

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