The effect of management of diversity in schools on organizational change openness according to teachers' perceptions

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of diversity management in schools on organizational openness to change according to teachers' perceptions. In the study, it was examined whether teachers' views differed according to gender, marital status, education level, education levels, and professional seniority variables. The population of the study consists of 1382 teachers working in 73 public primary, secondary and high schools in Çubuk District of Ankara province in the 2020-2021 academic year. Research data were obtained with the online participation of 328 teachers. Relational survey model was used in the study. The data collection tool includes personal information form, diversity management scale and openness to change scale. "Management of Diversity Scale" developed by Balay and Sağlam (2004) and "Schools' Openness to Change Scale" developed by Smith and Hoy (2007) and adapted into Turkish by Demirtaş (2012) were used as data collection tools. SPSS 22.0 program was used to analyze the data. Mann Whitney U test was used to compare scale scores according to variables with two categories, and Kruskall Wallis H test was used to compare scale scores according to variables with three or more categories. Spearman correlation analysis and simple linear regression analysis methods were used for the relationship between the scales. The findings obtained as a result of the research are as follows: The diversity management perceptions of the teachers participating in the study are at the level of "agree"; the perceptions of individual attitudes and behaviors, organizational values and norms, administrative practices and policies, which are the sub-dimensions of the scale, are at the level of "agree". Teachers' perceptions of schools' openness to change are at the level of "moderately agree"; "moderately agree" in the sub-dimensions of teacher's openness to change and school environment's pressure for change, and "mostly agree" in the sub-dimension of principal's openness to change. A statistically positive and significant relationship was found between the management of diversity scale and all of its sub-dimensions and the general level of openness to change and all of its sub-dimensions.