title: Teachers' Perceptions of School Organizational Climate as Predictors of Dosage and Quality of Implementation of a Social-Emotional and Character Development Program.
abstract: Organizational climate has been proposed as a factor that might influence a school's readiness to successfully implement school-wide prevention programs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of teachers' perceptions of three dimensions of school organizational climate on the dosage and quality of teacher implementation of Positive Action, a social-emotional and character development (SECD) program. The dimensions measured were teachers' perceptions of (a) the school's openness to innovation, (b) the extent to which schools utilize participatory decision-making practices, and (c) the existence of supportive relationships among teachers (teacher-teacher affiliation). Data from 46 teachers in seven schools enrolled in the treatment arm of a longitudinal, cluster-randomized, controlled trial were analyzed. Teacher perceptions of a school's tendency to be innovative was associated with a greater number of lessons taught and self-reported quality of delivery, and teacher-teacher affiliation was associated with a higher use of supplementary activities. The findings suggest that perceptions of a school's organizational climate impact teachers' implementation of SECD programs and have implications for school administrators and technical assistance providers as they work to implement and sustain prevention programs in schools.
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health and Human Sciences, Oregon State University, 457 Waldo Hall, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA. malloym@onid.orst.edu.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malloy
authors.affiliation: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97330, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acock
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: DuBois
authors.affiliation: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97330, USA.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vuchinich
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60608, USA.
authors.forename: Naida
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Silverthorn
authors.affiliation: Adler School of Professional Psychology, Chicago, IL, 60602, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97330, USA. brian.flay@oregonstate.edu.
authors.forename: Brian R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Flay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D041923:Adolescent Development; D002641:Chicago; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D004644:Emotions; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D015279:Organizational Culture; D011204:Poverty Areas; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013223:Statistics as Topic
keywords: Organizational capacity; Program implementation; School organizational climate; Social-emotional and character development