Lu Kong Principal’s Role in Building Trust with Teachers for a Better School Climate in Chinese Schools A case study of a high school in Sichuan, China Master’s Thesis June 2010 Department of Education Institute of Educational Leadership University of Jyväskylä JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO Tiedekunta – Faculty Laitos – Department Faculty of Education Department of Educational Sciences/ Institute of Educational Leadership Tekijä – Author Lu Kong Työn nimi – Title Principal’s Role in Building Trust with Teachers for a Better School Climate in Chinese Schools : A case study of a high school in Sichuan, China Oppiaine – Subject Työn Laji – Level Education, with a Specialization in Educational Master’s Thesis Leadership Aika – Month and Year Sivumäärä – Number of pages June, 2010 97, 3 appendices Tiivistelmä – Abstract School climate refers to the quality and character of school life as it relates to norms and values, interpersonal relations and social interactions, and organizational processes and structures. Trust is the essential element to bring harmonious human relationships. The thesis highlights the importance of trust between the principal and the teachers and aims to show that trust can be enhanced by the principal when choosing the right role in the building up of the school climate. Based on the Chinese context, one famous high school is chosen as the case study in this thesis. Both quantitative and qualitative methodologies are selected to get data for the study. The OCDQ-RS of Hoy (1987) is used as the research instrument of the survey while the ethnographic method is used to give qualitative data of the case school. The result shows that the school climate is open but the trust between the principal and the teachers is low. The principal supports the teachers less than he directs them. The analysis of the study is based on the perspective of the Chinese context. In order to improve the situation, suggestion for the principal in the thesis is that the principal needs to empower his teachers, become a role model, pay attention to the teachers’ personal welfare and keep transparency. The suggestions can be used in other schools, but the author of this thesis recommends later studies to carry out bigger survey or involve more interviews in the data for the generalization of the study. Asiasanat – Keywords Trust, school climate, transformational leadership, motivation, job satisfaction, China Säilytyspaikka – Depository University of Jyväskylä, Department of Educational Sciences/Institute of Educational Leadership Muita tietoja – Additional information JYVÄSKYLÄN YLIOPISTO Tiedekunta – Faculty Laitos – Department Kasvatustieteiden tiedekunta Kasvatustieteiden laitos/ Rehtori-instituutti Tekijä – Author Lu Kong Työn nimi – Title Rehtorin rooli luottamuksen rakentamisessa opettajien kanssa - tavoitteena parempi kouluilmasto kiinalaisissa kouluissa Oppiaine – Subject Työn Laji – Level Kasvatustiede, erityisesti opetushallinto ja Pro Gradu-tutkielma oppilaitosjohtaminen Aika – Month and Year Sivumäärä – Number of pages Kesäkuu, 2010 97, 3 liitettä Tiivistelmä – Abstract Koulun ilmastolla tarkoitetaan kouluelämän laatua ja luonnetta: normeja ja arvoja, ihmisten välisiä suhteita ja sosiaalista kanssakäymistä, organisaatioprosesseja ja – rakenteita. Luottamus on oleellinen tekijä harmonisten ihmissuhteiden toteutumisessa. Tutkielma korostaa luottamuksen tärkeyttä rehtorin ja opettajien välillä ja pyrkii osoittamaan että rehtori voi edistää luottamusta valitsemalla oikean roolin koulun ilmaston rakentamisessa. Tutkielman konteksti on Kiinassa ja se on tapaustutkimus yhdestä kuuluisasta kiinalaisesta koulusta. Tutkimuksessa on käytetty sekä määrällistä että laadullista tutkimusmenetelmää tutkimusmateriaalin hankinnassa. Kyselytutkimuksessa käytettiin Hoyn (1987) kehittämää OCDQ-RS – kyselyä, ja laadullinen materiaali hankittiin etnografisella menetelmällä. Tulos osoittaa, että koulun ilmasto on avoin, mutta luottamus rehtorin ja opettajien välillä on vähäinen. Rehtori pikemminkin johtaa opettajia kuin tukee heitä. Tutkimuksen analyysi perustuu kiinalaisen kontekstin näkökulmaan. Tutkimus esittää tilanteen parantamiseksi, että rehtorin tulee valtauttaa opettajansa, tulla roolimalliksi, kiinnittää huomiota opettajien henkilökohtaiseen hyvinvointiin ja ylläpitää läpinäkyvyyttä. Ehdotuksia voidaan soveltaa muissakin kouluissa, mutta tutkielman tekijä suosittelee laajempaa kyselytutkimusta tai lisähaastatteluja tuloksen yleistämiseksi. Asiasanat – Keywords Luottamus, kouluilmasto, koulun ilmapiiri, uudistava johtaminen, motivaatio, työtyytyväisyys, Kiina Säilytyspaikka – Depository Jyväskylän yliopisto, Kasvatustieteiden laitos/Rehtori-instituutti Muita tietoja – Additional information Table of Content Acknowledgement ........................................................................................................ 8 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 9 1.1 Purpose of the Study..................................................................................... 10 1.2 Background of the Study............................................................................... 10 1.3 Significance of the study............................................................................... 12 1.4 Research Questions....................................................................................... 13 2 Literature Review and Theoretical Framework..................................................... 15 2.1 Literature Review ......................................................................................... 15 2.1.1 What is school culture?.......................................................................... 15 2.1.2 What is school climate? ......................................................................... 16 2.1.3 What is trust?......................................................................................... 18 2.1.4 Principal’s role in school climate ........................................................... 19 2.2 Theoretical Framework................................................................................. 22 2.2.1 Motivation............................................................................................. 22 2.2.2 Job satisfaction ...................................................................................... 24 2.2.3 Transformational Leadership ................................................................. 25 3 Research Methods and Procedures ....................................................................... 28 3.1 Quantitative Method and Qualitative Method................................................ 28 3.2 The Research Methods in the Study .............................................................. 30 3.3 The Questionnaire......................................................................................... 33 3.4 The Research Procedure ............................................................................... 34 3.5 Research Validity and Reliability .................................................................. 35 3.6 The Limitation of the Study .......................................................................... 36 4 Data and the Process of Analysis.......................................................................... 38 4.1 Introduction of the Research Instrument........................................................ 38 4.2 The samples.................................................................................................. 39 4.3 Dimensions of OCDQ-RS............................................................................. 41 4.3.1 Calculating the data in OCDQ-RS ......................................................... 43 4.3.2 The Result of OCDQ-RS ....................................................................... 45 4.4 Omnibus-T Scale .......................................................................................... 47 4.4.1 Calculating the data of Omnibus-T Scale ............................................... 47 4.4.2 The Result of Omnibus-T Scale ............................................................. 48 4.5 Data Analysis................................................................................................ 49 5 Analysis and Findings.......................................................................................... 50 5.1 Research Question 1: What is the current school climate in Shishi High School? ..................................................................................................................... 50 5.2 Research Question 2: What is the principal’s role in school climate of this school? .................................................................................................................... 59 5.3 Research Question 3: Does trust exist in Shishi High School?....................... 65 5.4 Additional findings....................................................................................... 67 5.4.1 The Blanks in the questionnaires: laughing, silence and refusing ........... 67 5.4.2 What kind of school climate showed up during the data collection? ....... 70 5.4.3 What is preventing teachers from answering the questions? ................... 71 6 Discussions and Suggestions................................................................................ 74 6.1 Principal needs to empower his teachers ....................................................... 75 6.2 The principal