School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools

Previous research on teachers’ organisational commitment reveals that investigations into this subject have yet to focus on school climate and on what undermines or strengthens high school teachers’ commitment. It is necessary to understand the specific school climate dimensional factors that are po...

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Main Authors: Segun Emmanuel Adewoye, Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: ERRCD Forum 2025-04-01
Series:Interdisciplinary Journal of Education Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijer/article/view/1693
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author Segun Emmanuel Adewoye
Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi
author_facet Segun Emmanuel Adewoye
Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi
author_sort Segun Emmanuel Adewoye
collection DOAJ
description Previous research on teachers’ organisational commitment reveals that investigations into this subject have yet to focus on school climate and on what undermines or strengthens high school teachers’ commitment. It is necessary to understand the specific school climate dimensional factors that are positively associated with high school teachers' organisational commitment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore teachers’ experiences of school climate and their commitment to teaching as a profession. A phenomenological research design was adopted using a qualitative research approach. A non-random purposive and convenient sampling technique was employed to identify 30 high school teachers within the age bracket of 30 to 40. Data was collected using semi-structured individual interviews, which were also audio-recorded. Following the recordings, the interviews were transcribed. The data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings of this study indicated that collegial leadership styles, teachers’ self-identity, organisational culture, and perceived job security are the school climate dimensional factors that predict organisational commitment among South African high school teachers. This implies that teachers' levels of organisational commitment are significantly shaped by their work environment. Therefore, the goal of educational institutions should be to establish a cooperative, respectful, and encouraging work atmosphere that values teachers' contributions in order to enhance organisational commitment.
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spelling doaj-art-fb53068e359b43c9be4422096fcc69792025-08-20T03:18:52ZengERRCD ForumInterdisciplinary Journal of Education Research2710-21142710-21222025-04-0171a14a1410.38140/ijer-2025.vol7.1.141659School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schoolsSegun Emmanuel Adewoye0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8323-0933Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6916-8472University of South Africa, South Africa University of South Africa, South Africa Previous research on teachers’ organisational commitment reveals that investigations into this subject have yet to focus on school climate and on what undermines or strengthens high school teachers’ commitment. It is necessary to understand the specific school climate dimensional factors that are positively associated with high school teachers' organisational commitment. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore teachers’ experiences of school climate and their commitment to teaching as a profession. A phenomenological research design was adopted using a qualitative research approach. A non-random purposive and convenient sampling technique was employed to identify 30 high school teachers within the age bracket of 30 to 40. Data was collected using semi-structured individual interviews, which were also audio-recorded. Following the recordings, the interviews were transcribed. The data was analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings of this study indicated that collegial leadership styles, teachers’ self-identity, organisational culture, and perceived job security are the school climate dimensional factors that predict organisational commitment among South African high school teachers. This implies that teachers' levels of organisational commitment are significantly shaped by their work environment. Therefore, the goal of educational institutions should be to establish a cooperative, respectful, and encouraging work atmosphere that values teachers' contributions in order to enhance organisational commitment.https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijer/article/view/1693school climate organisational commitment teachers’ retentionwork environment academic achievement
spellingShingle Segun Emmanuel Adewoye
Azwihangwisi Helen Mavhandu-Mudzusi
School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools
Interdisciplinary Journal of Education Research
school climate
organisational commitment
teachers’ retention
work environment
academic achievement
title School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools
title_full School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools
title_fullStr School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools
title_full_unstemmed School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools
title_short School climate and teachers’ organisational commitment in South African high schools
title_sort school climate and teachers organisational commitment in south african high schools
topic school climate
organisational commitment
teachers’ retention
work environment
academic achievement
url https://pubs.ufs.ac.za/index.php/ijer/article/view/1693
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AT azwihangwisihelenmavhandumudzusi schoolclimateandteachersorganisationalcommitmentinsouthafricanhighschools