The Impact of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour on Psychological Outcomes: Implications for Teachers and Students

Hannam, Rachel (2006). The Impact of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour on Psychological Outcomes: Implications for Teachers and Students PhD Thesis, School of Psychology , University of Queensland.

       
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Author Hannam, Rachel
Thesis Title The Impact of Organisational Citizenship Behaviour on Psychological Outcomes: Implications for Teachers and Students
School, Centre or Institute School of Psychology
Institution University of Queensland
Publication date 2006
Thesis type PhD Thesis
Supervisor Dr Nerina Jimmieson
Abstract/Summary The overall aim of this research program was to examine whether there are psychological consequences when teachers perform organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), both for the teachers themselves and for their students. OCB is discretionary workplace behaviour which, in the aggregate, enhances organisational effectiveness (Organ, 1988). Examples of OCB specific to the teaching profession may include organising extra-curricular activities, undertalung optional training, and spending time with students outside official teaching hours. Although the vast majority of OCB research has positioned OCB as a consequence of various individual differences and organisational practices (Chen, Hui, & Sego, 1998), the current thesis positions OCB as an antecedent of important outcomes both for the individual performing them as well as for their clientele. For the purpose of the current research, the psychological outcomes for teachers hypothesised to be affected by engaging in OCB were (1) job competence, (2) job satisfaction, and (3) personal accomplishment. For students, the psychological outcome hypothesised to be affected by teacher OCB was quality of school life. Chapter 1 focuses on defining OCB and discusses related conceptualisations of these forms of workplace behaviour. The extensive literature on the individual and organisational antecedents of OCB is reviewed, followed by a discussion of the smaller body of research concerning the consequences of OCB for organisations, their clients, and their employees. Several apparent gaps in the OCB literature that are addressed by the current research program are noted. Chapter 2 draws on several theories of work motivation as well as empirical evidence to support the proposition that OCB may impact upon the teacher outcomes of job competence, job satisfaction, and a sense of personal accomplishment. These include self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000), job characteristics theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1980), achievement motivation theory (McClelland, 1976), and self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1986). Indirect empirical evidence for the argument that OCB affects teacher outcomes is also presented. An argument is also made that job competence is a more proximal outcome of engaging in OCB, whereas job satisfaction and personal accomplishment are more distal outcomes. In other words, job competence is said to mediate the impact of OCB on job satisfaction and personal accomplishment. Finally, given previous research showing that OCBs are often followed by social recognition from others (e.g., Schnake & Dumler, 1997), an argument is made for the moderating role of non-material rewards (namely, praise and recognition) in the OCB-teacher outcomes relationship. Chapter 2 ends with an overview of the current research program as a whole. Chapter 3 presents the results of Study 1, which involved the development of a teacher OCB measure that was used throughout the remainder of the research program. The handful of studies that have specifically investigated teacher OCB are reviewed. These studies suggest that OCB in the teaching profession may be somewhat different to OCB in other occupations and may require measures specific to the profession. A pool of items was derived from various existing OCB measures and piloted during focus group discussions with primary school teachers. The final 24- item OCB questionnaire was then distributed to 538 primary school teachers employed by the State Education Department in Queensland, Australia. Teacher OCB was expected to occur at three levels: (1) OCB directed towards one's students, (2) OCB directed towards one's coworkers, and (3) OCB directed towards the organisation (i.e., school) as a whole. Results of both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested that teacher OCB could be categorised according to these three levels. However, three separate organisation-directed subscales emerged. Thus, the final teacher OCB measure contained five subscales: (1) student-centred behaviour, (2) coworker-centred behaviour, (3) consideration, (4) civic virtue, and (5) professional development. Chapter 4 presents the results of Study 2a which, using cross-sectional survey data from 538 primary school teachers, aimed to test whether the five forms of teacher OCB had positive main effects on teachers' levels of job competence, job satisfaction, and personal accomplishment. A series of hierarchical multiple regression analyses provided support for these main effects. Study 2a also tested for the mediating role of job competence in the relationship between OCB and job satisfaction, and OCB and persona1 accomplishment, and found partial support for this proposition. Finally, a mediated moderation model (Baron & Kenny, 1986) was tested, whereby praise and recognition was proposed to strengthen the positive relationship between OCB and job competence, which would, in turn, enhance job satisfaction and personal accomplishment. No support was found for the mediated moderation model. However, praise and recognition was found to have positive main effects on all three teacher outcomes. Chapter 5 describes Study Zb, which tested the hypotheses presented in Study 2a using a longitudinal design involving 222 teachers. Data for Study 2b was collected approximately 6 months after Study 2a data collection was complete. The focal hypotheses for this study proposed that Time 1 (TI) OCB would have a positive effect on Time 2 (T2) job competence which would, in turn, have a positive effect on teachers' job satisfaction and personal accomplishment at T2. Additionally, T1 praise and recognition was expected to strengthen the relationships between T1 OCB and T2 job competence, in the prediction of T2 job satisfaction and T2 personal accomplishment. In all analyses, the psychological outcome score from T1 was used as a control variable to assess any effects that T1 OCB had on T2 psychological outcomes over and above the T1 effects. Some evidence emerged for the longitudinal effects of OCB on job competence and job satisfaction. The mediated-moderated model involving praise and recognition was not confirmed. However, praise and recognition at T1 continued to have a positive effect on T2 psychological outcomes. Chapter 6 describes Study 3, which investigated the psychological consequences of teacher OCB on students' quality of school life (SQSL). SQSL was measured using five subscales from Ainley and Bourke (1992) which asked students to respond to questionnaire items concerning their general satisfaction, their satisfaction with student-teacher relations, their sense of achievement, opportunities for learning, and their levels of school-related psychological distress. This study involved 171 teachers and their students (N = 3018). Hierarchical linear modeling (Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992) was used to assess the relationships between OCB and SQSL. Furthermore, given the findings that emerged in Studies 2a and 2b regarding the effect of OCB on teachers' sense of job competence, job competence was proposed to mediate the effects of OCB on student outcomes. Some support was found for the main effects of OCB on SQSL, as well as for the mediating effect of job competence in this relationship. It was also revealed that teachers' sense of job competence exerted strong main effects on SQSL. Finally, Study 4 is described in Chapter 7. Study 4 refined the measure of praise and recognition used in Studies 2a and 2b by specifying various sources of praise and recognition for teachers. This study aimed to test whether various sources of praise and recognition interacted differentially with OCB to predict teacher outcomes. Teacher OCB was again measured with the same instrument used in the previous studies. Job competence, job satisfaction, and personal accomplishment were also measured with the same scales as used in Studies 2a and 2b. However, four new measures of praise and recognition were developed. These new measures assessed teachers' perceptions of receiving praise and recognition from four sources; namely, (1) principals, (2) coworkers, (3) students, and (4) students' parents. In a sample of 222 teachers, moderate support was found for the prediction that the source of praise and recognition is important in moderating the relationship between OCB and teacher outcomes. Specifically, praise and recognition from principals and parents enhanced the positive relationship between some forms of OCB and teacher outcomes. No evidence was found to suggest that praise from students or coworkers had an enhancing effect on the relationship between OCB and teacher outcomes. Chapter 8 is the final chapter, which presents a general discussion of the research findings, with particular emphasis on the contributions that they make to the OCB and employee well-being literatures. Limitations of the five studies are discussed, as well as suggestions for future research examining the psychological consequences of performing OCB, both for employees and their clients. Practical implications of the findings, especially for the teaching profession, are also discussed.

 
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