A comparative study of the perceptions held by selected educational personnel toward school district organization

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct an analysis of the perceptions of organizational climate in the school districts held by educational administration, school district central office staff, elementary and secondary principals, and elementary and secondary teachers within selected school districts throughout the North Central Association service area. The rationale for the study emanated from the concept of contemporary administrative theory that organizations possess an internal environment similar to that of an individual's character or personality. The definition of climate utilized in this study of organization was rendered by Webster (1964, p. 23) as: the prevailing temper, outlook, set of attitudes, or environmental conditions characterizing a group or period. Specifically, the study was designed to determine: 1. if there were statistically significant differences among the perceptions of study respondents on two successive applications of the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire. 2. if differences of perception do exist between the various categories of participants relative to the organizational climate of the public schools. The investigation utilized a scheme and device (OCDQ) developed by Andrew Halpin and Donald V. Croft for the categorization of organizational and administrative activities into a readily understandable and useable classification system. This framework of organizational analysis distinguished, defined and described eight subtests which related to principal and teacher behaviors. In addition, six organizational climate typologies were defined..