Teachers' involvement in and commitment to educational change perceptions: A mixed method study at public schools

Employees' lack of involvement in change initiatives could cause employees to develop negative attitudes towards these changes which, at the same time, could negatively influence their commitment to these changes. Since commitment is known to be a highly important factor determining success of a change initiative, exploring employees' involvement levels in changes occurring in educational organizations is thought to be significant for employees' commitment to changes. This study, which is primarily centered around the question "What is the relationship between employees' involvement in educational changes and their commitment to these changes?" aims to reveal the relationship between teachers' involvement in educational changes and their commitment to these changes. The study was carried out in a highly centralized educational system where a major educational change was initiated on a national scale in 2012-2013 educational year. It follows a causal-comparative model in a mixed method design and was carried out with 573 teachers working in three provincial towns of Gaziantep (Şahinbey, Şehitkamil and Oğuzeli) during 2013-2014 educational year. Commitment to Change Scale and Participation in Change Scale were used as data collection tools in the study. Findings of the study have shown that teachers' level of involvement in 4+4+4 change initiative was low and their commitment to the change was relatively at moderate level. The study also revealed that teachers' involvement in 4+4+4 change initiative positively predicts their commitment to these educational changes. Key words: Educational change, involvement in change, commitment to change, teachers