Teachers' Dispositions Toward Change in a Climate of Uncertainty: Role of Organizational Support and Psychological Safety

• In Event: Cultivating School and District Improvement Through Building the Capacities of Teachers and Principals

Abstract

Uncertainty has become an inevitable byproduct of persistent waves of school reform initiatives. The purpose of this study was to examine whether teachers' decisions to embrace or resist changes are influenced by their perceptions of uncertainty, organizational support, and psychological safety in schools. A structural equation modeling was employed for a random sample of 319 teachers. Findings demonstrated that there was an indirect relationship between teachers' perceived uncertainty and their resistance to change, which was mediated by teachers' perceived organizational support and psychological safety. Perceived organizational support appeared to be the strongest variable, which posed both direct and indirect effects on teachers’ decisions to either resist changes or take initiative and embrace changes. Implications for policy and research were discussed.

Authors

• Ibrahim Duyar, University of Arkansas at Little Rock

• Turker Kurt, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Shaikah Obaid Al-Taneiji, UAE University