1. education
2. school

International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Research. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
Available online at http:// www. ijpbrjournal.com
ISSN 2322-4002 ©2015 Victor Quest Publications
Teachers Perception of Organizational Climate: Gender Differences
1
2
3
Roghaiyeh Shahani Shalmani , Ali Qadimi , Praveena K. B. , Moslem Cherabin
4
1- Counselling Center, Tehran University, Iran.
2- Department of Studies in Psychology, Azad University, Oloom tahghighat, Qazvin, Iran.
3- Asst. Professor in Education, University of Mysore, India.
4- Department of Studies in Education, University of Mysore, India.
Abstract
This article explores the teachers’ perception of organizational climate. The first
aim of this study was to examine the association of gender and teachers’
perception of organizational climate, and the second purpose was to examine the
influence of type of school on job teacher’s perception of organizational climate.
A total of 822 school teachers were selected by using cluster sampling method,
from schools in Mysore city, India. The instrument used to measure the
Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ), developed by Halpin
and Croft (1963). Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics and
contingency coefficient. The results revealed that gender and type of school had
significant association with teachers’ perception toward school organizational
climate at 0.05 levels.
Keywords: Gender, Type of School, Organizational Climate, Teachers
Introduction
One of the key factors that motivate employees and increase their performance and productivity is
organizational climate. Of particular note about the Indian sector is that climate affects most significantly
whether or not a manager attempts to apply what he or she has learned upon returning to his or her job
following a management development experience (Baumgartel, 1981). According to Burke and Litwin
(1992) climate is a perception that individuals have of how their local unit is managed and how effectively
they and their day-to-day colleagues work together on the job. Organizational Climate provides the
indispensable foundation of knowledge that is absolutely essential if one hopes to achieve success in job
performance. Basically, high levels of job performance are predicted when there is a match between the
growth needs of an individual, a measure of an employee’s desire to obtain growth satisfaction from
his/her work, and the motivating characteristics of the job being performed (Sultata, 2009). Burke and
Litwin (1992) defined climate in terms of perceptions that individuals have of “how their local unit is
managed and how effectively they and their day-to-day colleagues work together. School organizational
climate is defined as homeostatic state of an organization composed of elements representing different
levels of analysis (Argyris, 1958).
Organization refers to a group of persons who are oriented towards achieving a common objective.
Climate means the tendency suggestive of the mood and temper of a social organization or a political
group. Climate may also be defined as a set of properties of the work environment, which are specific to a
particular organization, that may be assessed by the way the organization deals with its employees and
it’s societal and task environments. Thus, the psycho-emotional environment in which the process of
education takes place in schools is known as its organizational climate.
Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
Gender and Organizational Climate
The organizational climate can be perceived as a factor in the center of circle including culture,
ecology, individuals, organizing and social system which surround the organization and as an institution
effected by them (Taymaz, 2003). The climate surrounding organization shows the good intentions of
organization members and their level of loyalty to the organization.
Brown (2001) in his study determined the relationship between organizational climate and job
satisfaction. It was found that there was a significant relationship between organizational climate and
teacher job satisfaction. There were significant correlations found between the characteristics of job
satisfaction and the characteristics of organizational climate. He further ascertained that, no significant
relationship was observed of the variables of gender, years of teaching experience, educational level and
ethnicity with climate and job satisfaction. The study revealed that open climate and higher job satisfaction
are positively with each other related.
Sodhi (2010) studied teacher effectiveness among secondary school teachers of Punjab in
relation to their school organizational climate, gender, location, teaching experience and stream (science,
social science and languages). He found that there is no significant difference in teacher effectiveness of
secondary school teachers across gender, location, stream and teaching experience groups. The findings
of Gul (2008) showed that “gender” and “academic title” were not important in the perception of
organizational climate. Torres, Seghieri and Nuti (2012) examined the organizational climate from gender
differences among healthcare professionals and managers in healthcare organizations in Tuscany (Italy).
Their starting point was to know how men and women perceived their work environment and how different
climate dimensions affect their behavior. Moreover, the findings showed that there are “gender”
differences in the perception of organizational climate between Teaching Hospitals and Local Health
Authorities.
In a most recent study, Oztekin and Isci (2013) indicated that there was no significant difference
between school principals’ efficacy and teachers’ gender, professional seniority, length of service in the
current school, field of experience. On the contrary, school climate differentiated in terms of gender in
sincerity dimension. It was found that female teachers’ perceptions were more positive in view of sincerity
dimension than those of male teachers. However there was no significant difference between school
climate and teachers’ professional seniority, length of service in the current school, field of experience.
Method
This study ties to investigate association between gender and six type of perceived organizational
climate namely: (open, autonomous, controlled, familiar, paternal and closed climates) of school teachers.
A descriptive method of research was used in the current study.
Participants
The research was conducted in 40 schools in Mysore city, Karnataka State, India. All the teachers
working in schools in Mysore city constituted the population of the present study. Regarding the total
number of teachers working in primary level in Mysore city which was 1057, the sample size for primary
level was 434 and total number of teachers working in high schools was 788, the sample size for high
school level was 388. As a result, 1000 survey questionnaires were distributed among teachers; 822
questionnaires were statistically usable. From 822 teachers, 410 teachers were male and 412 teachers
were female.
Instrumentations
The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ) was developed by Halpin and Croft
(1963). The instrument is composed of 64 items which the two researchers settled on after reviewing in
excess of 1000 statements which were felt to characterize behaviors commonly found in elementary
schools. Seventy-one schools were used for their standardization process. Six geographical areas of the
United States were utilized. The instrument is widely used in determining climate in elementary schools
today. The OCDQ is divided into eight subtests; four are concerned with the principal as a leader and four
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Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
are directly related to the teachers as a group. By employing factor analysis the researchers identified
eight climate dimensions which they used to determine six organizational climates. The eight dimensions
area (1) disengagement, (2) hindrance, (3) esprit, (4) intimacy, (5) aloofness, (6) production emphasis, (7)
thrust, and (8) consideration. The first four dimensions relate to the teachers as a staff or group and the
remaining four are focused on the principal as an educational leader. The six climates identified by Halpin
and Croft ranged from "open" to "closed" along a continuum. The climates described are: (1) open, (2)
autonomous, (3) controlled, (4) familiar, (5) paternal, and (6) closed. The questionnaire is a four point
Likert type, namely: Rarely Occures (R O), Sometimes Occurs (S O), Often Occurs (O O) and Very
Frequently Occurs (V F O).
Following the original procedure used by Halpin and Croft, each of the respondent's answers were
to be identified by its subtest; each subtest dealing with one of the eight specific dimensions of climate.
The item scores were to be summed and then divided by the number of items in each subtest. Each
quotient was then to be rounded off to a two-digit score for each subtest. The next step was to standardize
the subtest scores according to the mean and standard deviation of the total sample for that subtest by
using the formula:
= standard score
M = sample mean
= sample standard deviation
= subtest raw score
This computation changing raw scores to standard scores with a mean of fifty and a standard
deviation of ten completed the standardization. To determine which of the six climates prototypic profiles
approximated the schools profile the following method was used.
A profile similarity score was calculated to allow a numerical determination of the congruency
between the schools profile and the six prototypic profiles of the six climates. This was done by calculating
the absolute difference between each school scores and each of the prototypic profiles as defined by
Halpin and Croft. In each instance the sum of the absolute differences was confuted between the profile
scores. A low sum would indicate a similarity to the prototypic profile and a high sum would show that the
profiles were dissimilar.
Table 1: Prototypic Profiles' for Six Organizational Climates, Ranked in Respect to Openness vs.
Closeness (Anderson, 1965)
Group’s Characteristics
Climate
Leader’s Group’s Characteristics
Disenga
gement
Hindrance
Esprit
Intimacy
Aloofness
Production
Emphasis
Thrust
Considerati
on
Open
43
43
63
50
42
43
61
55
Autonomous
40
41
55
62
61
39
53
50
Controlled
38
57
54
40
55
63
51
45
Familiar
60
42
50
58
44
37
52
59
Paternal
65
46
45
46
38
55
51
55
Closed
62
53
38
54
55
54
41
44
Reliability of the test was established by both split-half and test-retest method. This was found to be
.86(N=40).Correlating the total scale scores using Pearson’s product Moment Coefficient of correlation
method assessed validity of the scale. This was found to be .84 (N=40). The subscale validity was also
determined using the same method the subscale scores. This was .78(N=40).
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Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
Hypotheses
Hypotheis 1: There is no significant association between teacher gender and perceived organizational
climates (open, autonomous, controlled, familiar, paternal and closed climates) among school teachers.
Hypotheis 2: There is no significant association between type of school and perceived organizational
climates (open, autonomous, controlled, familiar, paternal and closed climates) among school teachers.
Result
The analysis of data has been presented under following tables:
Table 2: Organizational Climate and Gender Cross tabulation
Gender
Organizational Climate
Male
Female
Count
25
26
Open
% of OC
49.0%
51.0%
Count
55
25
Autonomous
% of OC
68.8%
31.3%
Count
67
50
Controlled
% of OC
57.3%
42.7%
Count
18
9
Familiar
% of OC
66.7%
33.3%
Count
111
118
Paternal
% of OC
48.5%
51.5%
Count
134
184
Closed
% of OC
42.5%
57.5%
Count
410
412
Total
% of OC
50.1%
49.9%
Test statistics: CC=.169; p=.001
Total
51
100.0%
80
100.0%
117
100.0%
27
100.0%
229
100.0%
318
100.0%
822
100.0%
Male teachers’ percentage is highest in Autonomous type of climate (68.8%) and lowest in closed
type of organizational climate (42.5%). Private school teachers’ percentage is highest in closed type
(57.5%) and lowest in Autonomous type of climate (31.3%). In the table 2, looking across the row for the
‘Open’ Organizational Climate shows that female teachers at 51% of the total sample had perceived open
climate in schools. Male teachers at 49% of total sample had perceived open climate in schools. In
Autonomous type of climate male teachers (68.8%) had higher score than female teachers (31.3%). In the
case of controlled type of organizational climate, male teachers at 57.3% had higher score than female
teachers (42.7%). Other types of organizational climate were in between as indicated by the table. Table
4.10 showed that, there is a significant association between gender and organizational climate (CC=.16;
P=.001). In this context, the null hypothesis that there is no significant association between teacher
gender and organizational climate (open, autonomous, controlled, familiar, paternal and closed climates)
among school teachers is rejected.
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Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
Table 3: Organizational Climate and Type of School Cross tabulation
Type of School
Organizational Climate
Total
Government Private
Count
28
23
51
Open
% of OC
54.9%
45.1% 100.0%
Count
61
19
80
Autonomous
% of OC
76.3%
23.8% 100.0%
Count
87
30
117
Controlled
% of OC
74.4%
25.6% 100.0%
Count
6
21
27
Familiar
% of OC
22.2%
77.8% 100.0%
Count
98
131
229
Paternal
% of OC
42.8%
57.2% 100.0%
Count
130
188
318
Closed
% of OC
40.9%
59.1% 100.0%
Count
410
412
822
Total
% of OC
49.9%
50.1% 100.0%
Test statistics: CC=.288; p=.001
Government school teachers’ percentage is highest in Autonomous type of climate (76.3%) and
lowest in familiar type of organizational climate (22.2%). Private school teachers’ percentage is highest in
Familiar type (77.8%) and lowest in Autonomous type of climate (23.8%). In Open (54.9%), Autonomous
(76.3%) and Controlled (74.4%) types of organizational climate, Government schools had higher score
than Private school teachers. On the other hand, in Familiar (77.8%), Paternal (57.2%) and Closed
(59.1%) types of climate Private school teachers had higher score than Government school teachers. As
shown by the table 4.11, organizational climate and type of school are significantly associated (CC=.28;
P=.001). According to the results, the null hypothesis that there is no significant association between type
of school and organizational climate (open, autonomous, controlled, familiar, paternal and closed
climates) among school teachers is rejected.
Government school teachers’ perception of school climate is highest in Autonomous type of
climate (76.3%) and lowest in familiar type of organizational climate (22.2%). Inverse, Private school
teachers’ percentage is highest in Familiar type (77.8%) and lowest in Autonomous type of climate
(23.8%). In Open, Autonomous and Controlled types of organizational climate, Government schools had
higher score than Private schools. On the other hand, in Familiar, Paternal and Closed types of climate
Private schools had higher score than Government schools.
Discussion and Conclusion
According to the results teachers’ gender and school types are associated to perceived
organizational climate. Previous studies revealed that there are gender differences in perceived
organizational climate. Iqbal (2011) found that researchers must consider other personal factors such as
age, educational level, job rank, and job tenure when studying organizational climate as they were all
found to have a positive and significant relationship with various organizational climate dimensions. Sodhi
(2012) stated that female teachers of senior secondary school have higher mean scores compared to their
male counterparts with open, autonomous and familiar types of climate respectively whereas male
teachers show better mean scores as compared to their female counterparts with control, paternal and
closed types of climate respectively.The findings of Gul (2008) showed that “gender” and “academic title”
were not important in the perception of organizational climate. Inverse, Brown (2001) in his study
ascertained that, no significant relationship was observed of the variables of gender, years of teaching
experience, educational level and ethnicity with climate and job satisfaction. Njoroge (2003) and Gunbayi
(2007) findings also revealed the same results.
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Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
Torres, Seghieri and Nuti (2012) examined the organizational climate from gender differences
among healthcare professionals and managers in healthcare organizations in Tuscany (Italy). The findings
showed that there are “gender” differences in the perception of organizational climate between Teaching
Hospitals and Local Health Authorities.
Ndanuko (2012) ascertains there is a significant relationship between school organizational climate and
gender of a head teacher. From all schools headed by a male, 61.1% had organizational climate that
approached an open climate. Of all the schools headed by a female, 90.9% had organizational climate
that approached an open climate. The perception of teachers on the effectiveness of organizational
communication in their schools is high and it differs between teachers in primary and junior high schools
as a function of gender, age, marital status, seniority, and rank (Gunbayi, 2007). Nesbitt, Inglehart and
Sinkford (2002) study predicted that female faculty members differ from male faculty members in their
perceptions of the organizational climate. These results point to the importance of understanding that
there are gender differences in male and female faculty members’ perceptions of the climate in their work
environment.
According to the results, organizational climate and type of school are significantly associated.
Inverse, Zahoor (2012) analyses revealed significant difference between the two groups of respondents
on Organizational Climate. The results clearly pointed out that teachers of government schools are found
to be more disengaged in their work than their counterparts. It shows that teachers of government schools
have a greater tendency to be not in so much in gear of the task at hand as private schools are. They are
more “not in it” than teachers of private schools. It seems that the climate of government schools is though
loaded with human factors, but is not as task-oriented as the climate of private school is. Shailly (2012)
ascertained the relationship between leadership styles of principals with organizational climate of Private
Schools and Government Schools in New Delhi. As a whole school climate profile did not show any
significant difference in two categories of schools.
On the Other hand, Majority of the government and private college principals opined that open
climate was very highly positive correlated to teacher performance but paternal and closed climates were
negatively correlated to teacher performance. As compared to government college principals, private
college principal like closed climate in their institutions. Majority of the government and private college
teachers disliked closed climate. Teachers of both systems liked the thrust behavior of their heads and
disliked aloofness behavior of their heads. Majority of government and private college students held that
their teachers did not explain subject matter with daily life examples. Teachers did not use effective
teaching aid. Teachers did not try to assess student’s level of understanding. Teachers of both systems
did not respect opposing viewpoints of students (Raza, 2010).
From the obtained results, it can be concluded that teacher gender and type of school are the
factors that can effect on teachers’ perception of leadership behavior and school climate. In recent years
many social scientists, management consultants, and other writers have addressed the topic of gender
and leadership style. Quantitative reviews of researches have established the presence rather than the
absence of overall sex differences (Eagly, 1987; Hall, 1984). These differences, although typically not
large, tend to be comparable in magnitude to most other findings reported in social psychological
research. On the average, sex appears to be a variable that has neither especially impactful nor especially
weak effect on social behavior and that produces findings consistent with laypeople's ideas about how the
sexes differ (Eagly, 1987). The quality of the relationships between managers and employees affects the
employee performance and leadership effectiveness (Chen & Tjosvold, 2005).According to Raza (2010),
teachers who were overloaded with clerical tasks which unrelated to teaching might not able to show high
level of job performance. These teachers were more likely concerned with teaching tasks but feel that
paper work and clerical tasks such as preparing lesson note, keeping class attendance record and
recording test marks were less likely necessary, thus affect their job performance. According to results of
current study, there is significant association between level of school and organizational climate. Primary
schools appear more open with an energetic, lively organization which is moving toward its goals, and
which provides satisfaction for the group members' social needs. Leadership acts emerge easily and
appropriately from both the group and the leader.
Delimitations of the Study
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Intl. J. Phys. Beh. Res. Vol., 4(1), 1-8, 2015
1.
This study delimited to particular region (Mysore, Karnataka State, India) and is not suitable to
generalize to all teachers of India.
2.
The schools participating in this study are those which follow the State regulation in their school
system.
3.
There were a few studies related to teachers’ job performance in the literature to support the
study.
4.
The presented sample in this study was limited to the teachers of urban areas.
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