Anne Aidla

Relationships between Organizational Culture and Performance in Estonian Schools with Regard to Their Size and Location

Abstract Organizational culture (henceforth referred to as OC) expresses to what extent the members of organization are willing to support each other and also the goals and development of their organization. Previous research has shown that OC has a considerable influence on employees behavior and work results. The aim of the article is to explore the relationships between the OC estimations and actual school performance vis-à-vis the size and location of Estonian secondary schools. The empirical study (n = 558) was conducted in years 2003–2006 among the personnel of 60 Estonian secondary schools. The sample included representatives of school administration, teachers and support personnel. The OC estimations were measured by the OC questionnaire (Vadi et al., 2002). which reveals task and relationship orientations of OC. For measuring performance. the national examination results were used. The results show that managing and improving of the OC could contribute to the performance of schools.

Creating Innovation in the Education Sector: Policy Implications

The aim of this chapter is to propose some policy implications for improving the education sector’s innovation in schools through introducing ideas for leadership advancement, and shaping organizational culture and performance management. This chapter consists of two studies. In the first study, school principals and head teachers (n = 57) and teachers and support personnel (n = 501) from Estonian secondary schools were questioned. In the second study, 2,125 teachers and 296 principals from Estonian general education schools participated. For statistical analysis factor analysis, correlation analysis, analysis of variances and t-test were used. As a result of the two studies, several policy implications can be brought out to raise the effectiveness of general educational system and its ability to support innovation. For ensuring schools’ performance, performance management needs to be taken into consideration in school management. This includes dealing with organizational culture which supports both task- and relationship-oriented approach. Schools should not be only concentrated on achieving academic performance, but on managing and developing school environment. This includes valuing teachers’ work and their part in achieving schools’ objectives. Therefore, more attention should be turned to creating teachers’ motivational system (including pay-for-performance) as well.