Mustafa Toprak

Mediation Effect of Schools' Psychological Climate on the Relationship between Principals' Leadership Style and Organizational Commitment

Abstract Educational organizations are facing new challenges due to global changes affecting countries economically, cultural and socially. This wave of changes is creating new demands from schools and school leaders must look for ways to meet these demands and to direct their employees towards organizational goals. School climate and teachers’ commitment to organization, which are two significant assets for organizational performance, are influenced by how leaders use their leadership capabilities in organizational processes. This study aims to assess the mediating effect of psychological climate on the relationship between leadership styles and teachers’ commitment. The results show that psychological climate is a partial mediator in that relationship. In other words, principals’ leadership abilities influence organizational commitment both directly and through psychological climate. As a result, it is indicated that to increase teachers’ commitment, leaders must focus on increasing positive psychological climate

Positive Psychological Capital and Emotional Labor: A Study in Educational Organizations.

Abstract This study aims to explore the effects of teachers’ psychological capital competencies on their emotional labor competencies based on their perceptions. It follows a quantitative research design adopting survey method. Data were collected from 266 teachers working in Siirt Province, Turkey. The results show that teachers have high levels of positive psychological capital (all self-efficacy, optimism, trust, extraversion, and hope dimensions) and though relatively low compared to psychological capital competencies, they often display emotional labor behaviors. It was also found out that PsyCap competencies teachers possess have an impact on their tendency to display emotional labor behaviors. The study presents valuable theoretical and practical implications for research on PsyCap and emotional labor at school organizations.

Effective classroom management and faces: a search for relationship

Classroom atmosphere is highly affected by emotions shared between teachers and students and a positive classroom atmosphere is vital for effective classroom management. As emotions are displayed through teachers’ facial expressions, how they are used in different situations influence the overall effectiveness of classroom management. This study aims to reveal facial expressions preferred by teacher candidates towards class situations during science teaching. Qualitative data collection tools were used during the study and “Holistic Single Case Design” method was used. The population of the study consists of 45 science teacher candidates studying in a university in South-east of Turkey chosen by purposive sampling method. The study revealed that teacher candidates would show happy (11 participants), ecstatic (7 participants), stoic (7 participants), talking (11 participants), serious (11 participants) and thinking (1 participant) facial expressions as such respectively. They also stated that they would show stoic (11 participants), serious (9 participants), angry (7 participants), surprised (6 participants), sad (4 participants) and intense (3 participants), scared (1 participant) and furious (1 participant) facial expressions when they encounter a negative event when they encounter a negative event as such respectively.

Mismatch between teachers’ need for change and change in practice: what if what they see is not what they want?

Abstract Turkey launched what is known as the 12-Year Compulsory Education Act in the 2012–2013 Fall term. This initiative has received criticism from different stakeholders, specifically from educators, who are among the most affected. Criticism from teachers shows a discrepancy between what is being changed and what teachers believe should be changed. This study is an attempt to explore this discrepancy and analyse teachers’ opinions about recent reform efforts, in addition to what they propose to change in the Turkish education system. This mixed-method study was carried out in the 2014–2015 academic year. Three hundred and fifty-three teachers took part in the quantitative phase, while qualitative data were collected from 13 teachers working in Gaziantep province. Data were collected through a survey and semi-structured interviews. Results of the study have shown that a great majority of teachers think that there must be some kind of change in the system, but the changes, they proposed, were not in line with the changes that were initiated within the context of 12-Year Compulsory Education Act. It was also discovered that when teachers do not see implementation of the changes they propose, they tend to find little value in implemented changes.

Amidst fury, regret, and remorse: An analysis of university students who were placed in disliked majors

This study is an attempt to uncover the factors leading students to study in the majors they dislike. Using a qualitative design, the study aims to explore the forces that cause students to make career choices against their will, and to investigate their future plans during their struggles with their parents and disliked majors. The study was conducted with 13 first-year university students who studied different majors within a school of education. Since the foci of the study were students who disliked their majors and were placed in teaching departments against their will, a purposive sampling technique was used during the selection of participants, and data were analyzed through the content analysis technique. The study revealed that the students had been placed into disliked majors under the simultaneous influence of either one or several forces, such as parental pressure to keep their children geographically close, perceived employment opportunities, life-time job security given to teachers at public schools, fatigue, and failure to get a high scores to be placed in their preferred choice. The study presents suggestions for educational policy-makers by discussing determinants of teaching career choices, by making specific references to parental influences on their children’s decision-making, and by showing that some teacher candidates are placed in teaching majors by making random choices.