Copyright is owned by the Author of the thesis.  Permission is given for 
a copy to be downloaded by an individual for the purpose of research and 
private study only.  The thesis may not be reproduced elsewhere without 
the permission of the Author. 
 
AN ETHNOGRAPIDC STUDY OF SCHOOL CULTURE, 
TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION AND 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT IN A SELECTED 
NEW ZEALAND SECONDARY SCHOOL 
A THESIS SUBMITTED TO 
THE FACULTY OF EDUCATION 
MASSEY UNIVERSITY 
FOR THE DEGREE OF 
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
JOSEPH TZE-KIN MAK 
1998 
Printed for Wayne Edwards <HEdwards@mail.massey.ac.nz> 
Errata 
to the thesis of Joseph Tze-Kin Mak entitled "An Ethnographic Study of School 
Culture, Teachers' Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commibnent in a Selected New 
Zealand SecondaJ:y School" 
Page 36, line 1 The concept of culture w received increasing attention ... 
Page 203, line 20 the senior school is con? with the new national qualifications 
Page 244, line 8 I found the job allowa. me to have some input 
Page 319, line 15 something to do with specifici.tr and precision. 
Page 331, line 1 How can we succeed in doing it1 
Page 333, line 19 as a palml the back 
. .  
Page 360, line 8 There was one interesting point which was. worth noting 
1 
I 
I 
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Title of the thesis :  An Ethnographic Study of School Culture, Teachers ' Job 
Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in a Selected New 
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NAME AND ADDRESS DATE 
i i  
ABSTRACT 
Mak, J . T . K .  1 998 . 
An Ethnographic Study of School Culture, Teachers ' Job Satisfaction and 
Organizational Commitment in a Selected New Zealand Secondary School. 
Ph. D .  (Education) Thesis submitted to The College of Education, Massey 
University , New Zealand . 
This thesis describes a study of the school culture of a public secondary 
school for girls in a New Zealand provincial city . The main aim of this study was 
to investigate the relationship between school culture and teachers ' j ob satisfaction 
and organizational commitment in a New Zealand secondary school .  The study 
sought to identify the elements of school culture which have an effect on teachers ' 
job satisfaction and organizational commitment . In particular, the study also 
investigated the ways in which these cultural elements affect teachers ' job 
satisfaction and organizational commitment , and the way in which the school 
culture can be shaped to enhance teachers ' job satisfaction and to foster teachers' 
commitment . 
The present research was an ethnographic case study in which the culture 
of one secondary school was studied by using the ethnographic research approach 
for cultural description and interpretation (Geertz, 1 975) . 
With the emphasis on participant observations in the field as the main 
research technique, the study also employed both formal and informal informant 
interviews of people in the school and document analysis as data gathering 
techniques . The researcher spent a substantial period of time at a selected New 
111 
Zealand secondary school for a period lasting more than one school year in the 
field as a participant observer, observing the cultural life of the school as it took 
place in the participants' daily living in order to provide a " thick description" of 
this cultural life from the perspectives of the participants themselves (Glaser and 
Strauss , 1 967) . 
The concept of the interpretive paradigm (Morgan, 1980) was used to 
interpret the data which were gathered in the fieldwork phase of the study in order 
to discover the reality from the perspectives of the participants . 
The concept of grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967) was adopted in 
that there was no preconceived theoretical construct to be proved or disproved 
during the study (Schatzman and Strauss , 1 973), but the study was guided by a 
selected group of relevant concepts constituting the conceptual framework for the 
research processes . This group of concepts included the concepts of culture , job 
satisfaction, organizational commitment , ethnography , interpretive paradigm, and 
grounded theory approach . 
Four cultural themes were generated in the present study which related 
school culture to teachers ' j ob satisfaction and organizational commitment: 
1 .  Congruence of school values with teachers ' professional goals ;  
2. Mediating factors enhancing teachers ' identification with the school; 
3. School values and teachers ' need satisfaction; 
4 .  Mediating factors enhancing teachers ' job satisfaction 
THEME ONE: 
lV 
CONGRUENCE OF SCHOOL VALUES WITH 
TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL GOALS 
The congruence of basic philosophy and core values of the school culture with the 
personal needs and professional values of the individual teachers is important for 
the development of teachers' commitment to the school as an organization. This 
congruence of school philosophy and core values of the school with the personal 
needs ,  professional values and expectations of teachers fosters teachers ' acceptance 
for the school values and their identification with the school . And this teachers ' 
acceptance of the school values and their identification with the school is an 
essential condition for the development of teachers' commitment to the school as 
an organization. 
THEME TWO: MEDIATING FACTORS ENHANCING TEACHERS' 
IDENTIFICATION WITH THE SCHOOL 
The processes leading to teachers' acceptance for the school values and their 
identification with the school are also mediated by a number of cultural factors : 
a strong and positive cultural leadership; a collaborative culture with participative 
decision making process; and the effective means of reaching cultural consensus 
which include wide consultation network and open communication channels. 
. v 
THEME THREE: SCHOOL VALUES AND TEACHERS' NEED 
SATISFACTION 
The degree to which teachers are satisfied with their job depends very much on the 
extent to which teachers' personal needs as a teacher at schoo l are gratified and 
their professional goals and expectations of their job are met. Teachers' personal 
need s ,  their professional goals and expectations of their job as a teacher are 
influenced by their understanding of the teaching pro fession and thei r  perception 
of the ro les as a teache r .  And, teachers' ro le perceptio n is in turn affected by the 
basic philosophy and co re values of the schoo l ' s  culture . 
THEME FOUR: MEDIATING FACTORS ENHANCING TEACHERS' 
JOB SATISFACTION 
The processes of need satisfaction and goal achievement in teachers, as stated in 
Theme Three , are mediated by a number of cultural factors which can be classified 
into two categorie s :  
4(a) cultural relations which include : teachers ' relatio nships with their students , 
supervisors and co lleagues ;  and 
4(b) o ther cultural factors which include : the organizational characteristics of the 
schoo l ,  professional autonomy , recognition of contribution and achievement 
and the professio nal support and encouragement provided by the school 
leaders . 
Vl 
These four cultural themes provide answers to the following four research 
questions being addressed in the present study : 
1 .  What are the elements of school culture which affect teachers ' job 
satisfaction and organizational commitment? 
2 .  H o w  d o  these identified cultural elements affect teachers ' organizational 
commitment? 
3 .  How do these identified cultural elements affect teachers' job satisfaction? 
4 .  What are the implications o f  these research findings for school 
administrators who seek to shape and sustai n  a school culture which 
enhance teachers' satisfaction in their job and their commitment to the 
school as an o rganization? 
The study concludes with a cultural theory of teacher' s job satisfaction and 
organizational commitment generated from the cultural elements which were 
identified from the data and the cultural themes derived from the data analysis in 
the present study . An examination of the methodology was also considered with 
some d irections for further study . 
v i i  
ACKNOWLEDGE:MENTS 
This thesis would not have been possible w ithout the cooperation and 
support of a number of people , and I hereby acknowledge my appreciation for 
their contributio ns .  
I was honoured to be awarded the Massey U niversity Vice-Chancellor' s 
Docto ral Scho larship , and wish to thank the Committee not only for the financial 
suppo rt but also the encouragement and recognition this provided fo r the present 
research. 
I convey , in particular, my gratitude fo r the guidance , support , constructive 
criticism , friendship , experience and insight provided by my supervisors Associate 
Pro fessor Wayne Edwards (O . B . E . )  and Dr Wilhelmina Drummond ,  fo r it was 
upo n them that fel l  the considerable task of overseeing the research throughout all 
of its phase s .  
To my chief supervisor, Associate Professor Wayne Edwards ( O . B . E. ) ,  in 
particular, sincere thanks are offered fo r the academic guidance and supervision, 
personal care, concern, support and encouragement he has been providing " l ike a 
father "  throughout my doctoral stud ies , his understanding of the difficulties 
encountered by a Ph D student like me who undertakes doctoral studies in his mid?
career stage w ith a young family to look after . 
Vlll 
To the Principal , the members of the staff and the Board of Trustees , 
parents and students a t  the New Zealand Girl s '  High School in which the present 
study was undertaken. They so willingly took me into their confidence, accepted 
me i nto their groups and so openly talked fo r such lengths of time , and in 
considerable detail o f  their cultural experiences, perceptions and fee lings at their 
schoo l worl d . This thesis owes much more than an expression of gratitude to all 
participants at this institution. 
F inally , to my family who have pro vided the understanding and support, 
often under adverse conditions, I dedicate this thesis . To my children, Clarence 
and C lara, my warm thanks are noted fo r your understanding and patience when 
your dad was working "at Massey " " all the time " "day and night " instead o f  
having sports w ith you over the weekends or sharing with you your favourite 
books and games in the evening s .  To my wife ,  Barley , in particular, I present this 
thesis as but a smal l  token in return fo r her infinite patience , understanding , 
support and care of so many aspects of family life .  
1X 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
PART I: RESEARCH BACKGROUND 
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW OF THE 
RESEARCH 
INTRODUCTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE OF THE STUDY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 
NATURE OF THE STUDY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 
CONFIDENTIALITY AND ANONYMITY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 
STATEMENT OF AIMS AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 
DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  
JOB SATISFACTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  
SCHOOL CULTURE 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12  
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 14  
PART II: CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATIONS 
AND LITERATURE REVIEW 
X 
CHAPTER2 THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7  
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE . . . . . . . . .  1 8  
THE FLOURISHING OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE 
STUDIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20 
INFLUENTIAL STUDIES OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE . .  2 1  
DEFINING THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24 
THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE OF CULTURE . . . . 24 
CONCEPT OF CULTURE APPLIED TO ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . . .  26 
DEFINITION OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE . . . . . . . . . 2 8  
FUNCTIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE . . . . . . . . . .  3 1  
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING SCHOOL 
CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3 3  
SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3 5  
CHAPTER3 THE CONCEPT OF CULTURE APPLIED TO 
STUDIES IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 6  
ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES ON SCHOOL CULTURE IN NEW 
ZEALAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3 7  
OVERSEAS ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDIES ON SCHOOL CULTURE . . . 44 
QUANTITATIVE SURVEY RESEARCH ON SCHOOL CULTURE . . . .  5 6  
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 
CHAPTER 4 J 0 B S A T I S F A C T I 0 N A N D 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 2  
x i  
JOB SATISFACTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3  
DEFINING JOB SATISFACTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 63 
APPLICATIONS OF JOB SATISFACTION 0 o 0 0 o 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 65 
ANTECEDENTS  AND  DIMENSIONS OF  JOB  
SATISFACTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 66 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1  
DEFINITIONS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 0 0 0 0 0 .  7 1  
ANTECEDENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 0 0 0 0 7 3  
CATEGORIES OF ANTECEDENTS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 78 
CONCLUSION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 1  
CHAPTERS RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN SCHOOL 
C U L T U R E, T E A C H E R S '  J O B 
SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT 
INTRODUCTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 84 
TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 85 
SCHOOL CULTURE AND TEACHERS' JOB SATISFACTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 87 
SCHOOL CULTURE AND TEACHERS' ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 89 
COMPARISON OF FACTORS AFFECTING TEACHERS' JOB 
SATISFACTION AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 0 0 0 9 1  
CONCLUSION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 94 
PART Ill: RESEARCH DESIGN AND 
METHODOLO.GY 
I 
CHAPTER 6 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 
WHY QUALITATIVE METHODS IN CULTURE RESEARCH? 0 0 0 0 0 0 95 
x i i  
ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 8  
DEFINING ETHNOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 
CHARACTERISTICS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . 1 00 
HOLISTIC APPROACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 1  
NATURALISTIC DATA-COLLECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 02 
ECLECTIC A N D  MULTIMODAL STRATEGIES . . . . . . . . . . 1 03 
I N T E R P R E T I V E  P A R A D I G M  -- T H E  N A T I V E  
PERSPECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 04 
GROUNDED THEORY APPROACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 05 
TESTING OR LEARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 05 
THE THEORY-BUILDING PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 08 
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  ?: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 0 
CHAPTER 7 ETHNOGRAPHY IN ACTION 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 2 
THE FIELDWORK PROGRAMME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 2 
SELECTION OF THE SITE OF STUDY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 2 
GAINING ENTRY TO THE SITE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 4 
EARLY ORIENTATION AND MAPPING THE FIELD . . . . . . 1 1 6 
DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 1  
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 22 
INFORMAL C ONVERSATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 27 
SEMI-STRUCTURED INFORMANT INTERVIEWS . . . . . . . . 1 29 
DOCUMENT COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . 1 33 
DATA ANALYSIS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 6  
OVERVIEW O F  THE RESEARCH PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 1  
PART IV: PRESENTATION AND 
DISCUSSION OF DATA 
CHAPTERS 
' 
xiii 
IDENTIFICATION OF CULTURAL 
ELEMENTS AT ALICE GIRLS' IDGH 
SCHOOL 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 52 
A PROFILE OF ALICE GIRLS ' HIGH SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 59 
THE BACKGROUND OF THE SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 9  
THE SCHOOL HEROES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 60 
THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND FACILITIES . . . . . . 1 66 
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE REFLECTED IN THE PHYSICAL 
ENVIRONMENT AND FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 72 
SUMMARY OF BASIC PHILOSOPHY A N D  CORE VALUES 
REFLECTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 77 
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS OF CULTURAL LIFE AT ALICE 
GIRLS ' HIGH SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 78 
CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE REFLECTED IN THE 
PARTICIPANT OBSERVATIONS OF CULTURAL LIFE 
AT ALICE GIRLS ' HIGH SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 85 
CULTURAL ELEMENTS I DENTIFIED FROM INFORM AL 
CONVERSATIONS WITH PARTICIPANTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 90 
THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE OF THE S CHOOL . . . . . . . . 1 9 1  
STUDENTS ' BEHAVIOURAL NORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 93 
TEACHERS' INTRINSIC REWARDS FROM STUDENTS . . . . 1 94 
TEACHERS ' RELATIONSHIPS WITH THEIR SUPERVIS ORS . 1 97 
POSITIVE C OLLEGIAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONGST THE 
STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 99 
RECOGNITIONS OF TEACHERS ' CONTRIBUTIONS AND 
ACHIEVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 
WAYS OF C OPING WITH CHANGES AN D EDUCATIONAL 
REFORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 
ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS AND TEACHERS' 
PROFESSIONAL AUTONOMY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 
A STRONG CULTURAL LEADERSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  206 
CONGRUENCE OF SCHOOL GOALS AND CORE VALUES 
WITH TEACHERS ' PROFESSIONAL GOALS AND 
EXPECTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 
PARTICIPATIVE DECISION MAKING PROCESSES . . . . . . . 2 1 1  
WIDE CONSULTATION AND OPEN COMMUNICATION 
PATTERNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 2 
THE MAIN AREAS OF FOCUS AND CULTURAL FACTORS 
IDENTIFIED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 5 
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 7  
x i v  
CHAPTER9 SCHOOL CULTURE AND TEACHERS' 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 1 9 
THE D EVELOPMENT OF CULTURAL THEMES . . . . . . . . . . . . .  220 
SCHOOL VALUES AND TEACHERS ' COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . .  224 
CONGRUENCE OF GOALS AND VALUES FOSTERS 
TEACHERS ' ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . 225 
MATCHING SCHOOL GOALS AND VALUES WITH 
T E A C H ERS ' P R O F E S S I O N A L  N E E D S  A N D  
EXPECTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 
ARTICULATION OF BASIC PHILOSOPHY AND S C HOOL 
VALUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  228 
INVOLVEMENT OF TEACHERS IN THE D EVELOPMENT OF 
SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY AND CORE VALUES . . . . . . 2 3 1  
THE I MPORTANCE OF THIS MATCH O F  SCHOOL VALUES 
AND GOALS TO TEACHERS ' ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23 1 
CONSISTENT UPHOLDING AND MANIFESTATIO N  OF 
SCHOOL GOALS AND CORE VALUES OF TH E 
SCHOOL CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  232 
UPHOLDING AND MANIFESTATIONS OF CORE VALUES O F  THE 
SCHOOL C ULTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3 3  
T H E  C U R R I C U LU M  A N D  E X T R A-C U R R I C U L A R  
ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234 
TEACHERS ' ROLE PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS . .  242 
M A N I F ES T A T I O N  O F  T EA C H ER S ' O R G A N I Z AT I O N A L  
COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  248 
EXAMPLES OF C ULTURAL EVENTS REFLECTING BASIC 
PHILOSOPHY AND CORE VALUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 
C O M M U N I T Y  P A R T N E R S H I P  A N D  P A R E N T A L  
INVOLVEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 1 
MATCHING OF SCHOOL VALUES WITH TEACHERS ' 
PROFESSIONAL VALUES AND EXPECTATIONS 
FOSTERS TEACHERS ' COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . .  263 
CONCLUSION 267 
XV 
CHAPTER 10 MEDIATING FACTORS OF TEACHERS' 
ORGANIZATIONAL COl\1MITMENT 
INTRO DUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 
CULTURAL LEADERSHIP AND TEACHERS ' ORGANIZATIONAL 
C OMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27 1 
ARTICULATION AND EMBODIMENT OF SCHOOL 
PHILOSOPHY AND CORE VALUES . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 
CREATING A SHARED VISION AND A SENSE OF 
DIRECTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 
LOOKING F ORWARD AND PLANNING AHEAD . . . . . . . . 277 
BUILDING GROUP IDENTITY AND A SENSE OF 
BELONGING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 
A C U LTURE OF COLLABORATION AND TEACH ERS ' 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  282 
MEDIATING FACTORS O F  TEACHERS ' IDENTIFICATION 
WITH THE S CHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 
D E V E L O P M E N T  O F  T E A C H E R S ' O R G A N I Z A T I O N A L  
COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  294 
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 
CHAPTER 11 SCHOOL CULTURE AND TEACHERS' JOB 
SATISFACTION 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 
SCHOOL VALUES AND TEACHERS ' NEED SATISFACTION . . . . . 3 02 
TEACHERS ' ROLE PERCEPTION , PROFESSIONAL VALUES 
AND EXPECTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 
TEACHERS ' ROLE PERCEPTION, INTRINSIC REWARDS 
AND JOB SATISFACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 05 
MEDIATING FACTORS OF TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTIO N  . . . . 3 1 5 
THE POSITIVE COLLEGIAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG 
STAFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 6 
PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT , RECOGNITION OF ACHIEVEMENTS 
AND TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2 3  
xvi 
PROFESS I O N A L  SUPPORT AND TEACHERS ' JOB 
SATISFACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 
PROFEsSIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE PRINCIPAL . 3 25 
PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY THE MIDDLE 
MANAGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 
RECOGNITIO N  AND TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTION . . . .  3 32 
THE D EVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTION . 3 3 6  
CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 7  
PART V: CONCLUSION 
CHAPTER 12 CONCLUSION 
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 9  
TOWARDS A CULTURAL MODEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 
SCHOOL CULTURE AND TEACHERS ' ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  344 
C ONGRUENCE OF GOALS AND VALUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 
DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHERS ' ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 
SCHOOL CULTURE AND TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTIO N  . . . . . 347 
SCHOOL VALUES AND TEACHERS ' NEED SATISFACTION 348 
MEDIATING FACTORS FOSTERING TEACHERS ' JOB 
SATISFACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349 
IMPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 0  
T H E  PLACE O F  THE STUDY I N  RELATION TO THE 
LITERATURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 57 
THE METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY RECONSIDERED . . . . . . . 360 
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 64 
CONCLUDING REMARKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 65 
BffiLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 67 
xvii 
APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408 
FIGURE 2 . 1 
FIGURE 4 . 1 
FIGURE 4 . 2  
FIGURE 4 . 3  
FIGURE 5 . 1  
FIGURE 5 . 2  
FIGURE 7 . 1 
FIGURE 7 . 2  
FIGURE 7 . 3  
FIGURE 7 . 4  
FIGURE 7 . 5  
FIGURE 9 . 1 
FIGURE 1 0 . 1 
FIGURE 1 0 . 2  
xviii 
LIST OF FIGURES 
A C O N C E P T U A L  F R A M EW O RK F O R  
ASSESSING SCHOOL CULTURE . . . . . . . . . . .  34 
CLASSIFICATION OF ANTECEDENTS OF 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . .  74 
JOB CHARACTERISTICS M ODEL . . . . . . . . . . 76 
FACTORS AFFECTING ORGANIZATIONAL 
COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  78 
C L AS S I F I C A T I O N  OF A N T E C E D E N T S , 
CORRELATES , AND CONSEQUENCES OF 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . .  93 
A MODEL RELATING SCHOOL CULTURE, 
TEACHERS ' JOB SATIS FACTION , AND 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . 94 
THE DATA ANALYSIS PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . 140 
VERIFICATION OF CULTURAL THEMES . . . . 143 
GENERAL OUTLINE OF A NATURALISTIC 
STUDY PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 
THE PROCESS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS 
AND D EVELOPM ENT O F  GRO U N D ED 
THEORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 49 
OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROCESS . . . 1 50 
CONGRUENCE OF VALUES AND GOALS . . . . 267 
M E D I A T I N G  F A C T O R S  E N H A N C I N G  
TEACHERS ' IDENTIFICATION WITH THE 
SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  293 
D E V E L O P M E N T  O F  T E A C H E R S ' 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . 296 
FIGURE 1 1 . 1  
FIGURE 1 1 . 2  
FIGURE 1 1 . 3 
FIGURE 1 1 . 4  
FIGURE 1 2 . 1 
XlX 
D E V E L O P M E N T  O F  T E A C H E R S ' 
P R O F E S S I O N A L G O A L S A N D  
EXPECTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 0 
TEACHERS ' POSITIVE JOB EXPERIENC E  . . . . 3 1 1  
MEDIATING FACTORS OF TEACHERS ' 
POSITIVE JOB EXPERIENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 5  
D EVELO P M E N T  O F  T E AC H ER S ' J O B  
SATISFACTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 6  
A CULTURAL MODEL OF TEACHERS ' JOB 
S ATISFACTIO N  AND ORGANIZATIONAL 
C OMMITMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 
TABLE 4 . 1 
TABLE 5 . 1  
TABLE 7 . 1 
TABLE 7 . 2  
TABLE 7 . 3  
TABLE 8 . 1 
TABLE 8 . 2  
TABLE 8 . 3  
TABLE 8 . 4  
TABLE 8 . 5  
TABLE 8 . 6  
XX 
LIST OF TABLES 
C ATEGORIES OF FACTORS AFFECTING 
TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTION . . . . . . . . . . . 70 
C OMPARISON OF FACTORS AFFECTING 
TEACHERS ' JOB SATIS FACTI O N  A N D  
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . .  92 
S U M M A R Y  O F  P A R T I C I P A N T  
OBSERVATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 26 
C A T E G O R I E S  A N D  N U M B E R S  O F  
DOCUMENTS COLLECTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 3 5  
TRIANGULATION CHECKPOINT . . . . . . . . . . 145 
A SUMMARY OF MAIN DATA/ CULTURAL 
ELEMENTS IDENTIFIED IN DOCUMENT 
ANALYSIS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO THE 
RESEARCH FOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 3 
A SUMMARY OF MAIN DATA/ CULTURAL 
ELEMENTS IDENTIFIED IN PARTICIPANT 
OBSERVATIONS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO 
THE RESEARCH FOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 55 
A SUMMARY OF MAIN DATA/ CULTURAL 
ELEMENTS IDENTIFIED IN INFORMANT 
INTERVIEWS AND THEIR RELEVANCE TO 
THE RESEARCH FOCUS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 57 
A SUMMARY OF CULTURAL ELEMENTS 
REFLECTED IN THE EARLY HISTORY AND 
HEROES OF THE SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 65 
A SUMMARY OF CULTURAL ELEMENTS 
REFLECTED IN PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 
AND FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 3  
A SUMMARY O F  CULTURAL ELEMENTS 
R E F L E C T E D  I N  T H E  P A R T I C I P A N T  
TABLE 8 . 7  
TABLE 8 . 8  
TABLE 8 . 9  
TABLE 9 . 1 
TABLE 9 . 2  
TABLE 9 . 3  
TABLE 9 . 4  
TABLE 9 . 5  
TABLE 9 . 6  
TABLE 1 0 . 1 
TABLE 1 0 . 2  
XXI 
OBSERVATIONS OF CULTURAL LIFE AT 
ALICE GIRLS ' HIGH SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 84 
A SUMMARY OF THE SOCIAL FACTORS 
I DENTIFIED AND THEIR EFFECTS ON 
TEACHERS ' WORK ATTITUDES . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 1  
A SUMMARY O F  THE CULTURAL FACTORS 
IDENTIFIED AND THEIR EFFECTS ON 
TEACHERS ' WORK ATTITUDES . . . . . . . . . .  2 1 4  
A SUMMARY O F  CULTURAL ELEMENTS 
I DENTIFIED IN THE MAIN AREAS OF FOCUS 2 1 6  
A SUMMARY O F  THE ARTICULATION AND 
MATCHING OF BASIC PHILOSOPHY AND 
CORE VALUES OF THE SCHOOL AND THEIR 
EFFECTS ON TEACHERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  226 
A SUMMARY O F  THE CORE VALUES UPHELD 
AT SCHOOL AS REFLECTED IN THE 
CURRICULUM OFFERINGS AND THE EXTRA?
C URRICULAR ACTIVITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 1 
A SUMM ARY OF TEAC HERS ' ROLE 
PERCEPTION AND THEIR PROFESS IONAL 
VALUES AND EXPECTATIONS . . . . . . . . . . .  247 
A SUMMARY OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE 
REFLECTED IN SENIOR-PRIZE GIVING 
CEREMONY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 
A SUMMARY OF CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE 
REFLECTED IN PARENTS ' EVENING . . . . . .  260 
A SUMMARY OF THE MATCHING OF BASIC 
PHILOSOPHY AND CORE VALUES OF THE 
SCHOOL WITH TEACHERS ' VALUES AND 
ROLE PERCEPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 
A SUMMARY OF THE CONTRIBUTING 
FEATURES OF CULTURAL LEADERSHIP AT 
SCHOOL AND THEIR EFFECTS ON TEACHERS ' 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT . . . . . . . . 273 
A SUMMARY OF THE CULTURAL FEATURES 
OF DECISION MAKING PATTERN ,  THE 
MEANS OF REACHING CONSENSUS AND 
THEIR CULTURAL FUNCTIONS AT S CHOOL . 284 
TABLE 1 00 3  
TABLE 1 1 . 1  
TABLE 1 1 . 2 
TABLE 1 1 . 3 
T H E  D I M E N S I O N S  O F  T E A C H E R S ' 
ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT AND THE 
XXll 
CONTRIBUTING CULTURAL FACTORS 0 0 o 0 0 2 9 1  
THE ANTECEDENTS O F  TEACHERS ' JOB 
SATISFACTION AND THE CONTRIB UTING 
CULTURAL FACTORS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1  
A SUMMARY O F  TEACHERS ' ROLE 
PERCEPTION AND INTRINSIC REWARDS 0 0 0 304 
A SUMMARY OF THE MEDIATING CULTURAL 
FACTORS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON 
TEACHERS ' JOB SATISFACTION 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1