International Journal of Management in Education (30 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• School principals perceived knowledge towards information and communication technology in teaching and learning in Zimbabwean secondary schools  
  by Rosemary Guvhu, Thuthukile Jita, Moruf Abiola Olaide Akintunde 
  Abstract: This study investigated school principals perceptions regarding successful implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) policy in Zimbabwean schools. The research employed a quantitative research design, using questionnaires to collect data from a sample of 260 principals. The paper drew upon the pedagogical leadership (PL) framework in examining principals knowledge in the integration of ICTs across the public secondary school curriculum in Zimbabwe. The findings show a significant relationship between principals ICT knowledge and their ability to support integration of ICTs. Findings also revealed a significant and positive relationship between principals ICT knowledge and their ability to integrate ICTs. The more the school principals ICT knowledge, the higher their ability to integrate ICTs into pedagogical practices. The paper recommends that the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education provides clear policy guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of principals in the implementation of ICT policy in schools. More continuous professional development training programmes should be organised to equip principals with requisite ICT knowledge and expertise to be utilised in support of ICT infusion into pedagogical practices.
  Keywords: information and communication technology (ICT); knowledge; perception; school-principal leadership; teaching and learning; Zimbabwean secondary schools.
  
  
• A Study of Organizational Determinants Influencing the Employees' Behavior in Educational Sector: A scoping review  
  by Imran Ahmed Shah, Rashid Ali Khuhro, Haroon Bakari 
  Abstract: The current study aims to study key organizational determinants that would eventually enhance the behavior of employees in the educational sector, particularly in terms of increased job satisfaction and reduced turnover. The study reviews existing literature systematically to present insights into the organizational determinants that best shape employee behaviour. Only credible databases are used while extracting relevant studies. The study yields the conclusion that educational institutions must ensure fair treatment of employees at all levels, along with practicing distributed leadership throughout the organization. Moreover, the servant leadership style is affirmed to be the best for upper management in order to enhance employee behavior and garner their commitment towards the organizational objectives. The contribution of the study lies within its implications of generalizability since the context of diverse nations has been reviewed. On the other hand, it also directs opportunities for future researchers employing increasing the number of studies to be reviewed.
  Keywords: Job satisfaction; educational sector; employee behaviour; organizational determinants.
  
  
• Why lecturers do not produce adequate scientific publications: an empirical study in private universities in Indonesia  
  by Meirani Harsasi, Manuntun Parulian Hutagaol, Lukman Mohammad Baga, Illah Sailah 
  Abstract: This research aims to analyse why lecturers of private universities in Indonesia are still lagging behind in the number of publications, although there are more lecturers in private universities than lecturers in public universities in Indonesia. Its designed using a mixed method research of quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative research is done by collecting data through a questionnaire, while the qualitative research is carried out through interviews to reinforce the results of quantitative research. Using simple random sampling method, there were 208 respondents of lecturers were obtained for the quantitative research. For qualitative research, interviews were conducted with 8 informants. Using conjoint analysis, the results indicate that motivation and teaching workload are the most important attributes. The finding contribute to the field of higher education management, how private universities can encourage lecturers to produce more scientific publications.
  Keywords: lecturers; motivation; research; scientific publication; teaching workload;.
  
  
• Inhibitors of e-learning in engineering education: an interpretive structural modeling approach  
  by Pramod V.R., S.R. Devadasan, Murugesh R. 
  Abstract: Modern engineering educationalists face the challenges of training and educating, engineering graduates on the state of the art fast developing technological infrastructure and processes. In order to face this challenge, the adoption of e-learning process in engineering education has been widely recommended. This is due to the reason that e-learning process has the benefit of teaching and training the engineering graduates who are situated in different parts of the world by posting state of art information in internet portals. Despite this unique benefit, e-learning has not been effectively adopted in engineering education. This situation indicates the need to identify the inhibitors of adopting e-learning in engineering education and their relationships. In order to meet this requirement, the research reported in this paper was carried out. While beginning this research, ten inhibitors of e-learning adoption in engineering education were identified. Subsequently, the views of engineering educationalists about the importance of inhibitors were gathered. By making use of these data, an interpretive structural model was developed. This model indicated the relationship between these inhibitors. Further, driving power-dependence diagram was drawn by referring the final reachability matrix of interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique developed during this research. The diagram indicated that out of the ten inhibitors, seven inhibitors play powerful role in preventing the adoption of e-learning process in engineering education. Among all, financial constraint was found to be playing a powerful role in inhibiting the adoption e-learning process in engineering education. The identification of these powerful inhibitors and their relationships through the application of ISM will facilitate the modern engineering educationalists to successfully incorporate e-learning process in engineering education for educating and training the engineering graduates in large number on the state of art technologies and processes.
  Keywords: Engineering Education; E-learning; Interpretive Structural Model; Inhibitors; Interrelationship; Digraph; Driving power-dependence diagram.
  
  
• Challenges and opportunities in incorporating entrepreneurial competences into pre-university schools for all  
  by Andrej Šorgo, Kosta Dolenc, Mateja Ploj Virti? 
  Abstract: While the core ideas about the importance of including entrepreneurship in education are sufficiently elaborated, a problem arises in the day-to-day practice of an individual teacher working in the school. Who is competent enough to teach about entrepreneurship? Teachers or entrepreneurs? The research was conducted online using Google form application on a sample of 165 university students. The aim was to investigate the difference between the groups of pre-service teachers and students of non-pedagogical programs. When we correlated the desire to work in education with the desire to start a business, we found that there was literally no evidence of correlation. However, we can predict that those who possess adequate theoretical knowledge about the entrepreneurial perspective stemming from the interest will not entering the teaching profession and those who choose to enter the teaching profession do not possess such knowledge. The results lead us to conclude that in order to teach entrepreneurship competences to all students, a completely separate compulsory course should be created, taught by pedagogically qualified entrepreneurs.
  Keywords: entrepreneurship in education; entrepreneurial competences; pre-service teachers; non-pedagogical students.
  
  
• Do teacher characteristics matter? Findings from the PISA performance of Kosovar students  
  by Arif Shala, Albulene Grajcevci, Fadil Latifi 
  Abstract: PISA continues to be the international assessment program which fundamentally influences educational policies and approaches globally. This triennial assessment program provides information on the Reading Literacy, Mathematics and Science performance of 15-year-old students in various world economies. Kosovo participated for the first time in the PISA 2015 and for a second time in 2018, with both years being ranked among the lowest performing countries. The present paper aims to explore the link between teacher characteristics and PISA student performance while comparing the student performance in 2015 and 2018. The findings demonstrated that teacher characteristic are linked to student performance both in PISA 2015 and PISA 2018. Techer characteristic such as providing feedback, showing an interest in students, providing help and assistance in most lessons are linked to higher achievement of students across all domains and years, compared to cases when teachers rarely or never show interest, provide feedback and help. Additionally, the findings showed that Kosovar students performed worse in the PISA 2018 compared to PISA 2015. To elaborate, while there is a small increase of roughly 4 points in Reading Literacy and Mathematics between 2018 and 2015, this increase is not significant. The performance in science has decreased in 2018, compared to 2015 and this decrease is significant. Furthermore, the performance gap between public and private schools has increased significantly, by almost 100 points, with private schools continuing to perform higher across all domains.
  Keywords: teacher characteristics; PISA; performance; teacher feedback; Kosovo.
  
  
• Adopting Enterprise Resource Planning in Higher Education: A SWOT Analysis  
  by Mohamed Soliman Mohamed Soliman, Noorliza Karia 
  Abstract: The higher education institutions (HEIs) need for the digital transformation is to stay competitive. The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, through its robust platform, can provide them with their competitiveness. However, there are many barriers and concerns associated with ERP adoption, which should be eliminated. That explains why ERP adoption is relatively slow among Egyptian HEIs so far. Therefore, the current researchs main objective is to employ the SWOT analysis as a situational investigation to describe the current situation of Egyptian HEIs based on a descriptive analysis. The current study also aimed at reflecting a better understanding of ERP adoption among HEIs to ease any substantial changes required. This study explored 112 Egyptian HEIs towards their internal and external potentials of adopting ERP systems. The findings showed a reflective perception of ERP systems, demonstrating HEIs are technologically ready for the adoption. They have a cheerful ERP readiness, although HEIs managers are still uncertain, expecting some ERP inhibitors. Therefore, ERP adoption is principally contingent on perceiving benefits and value and eliminating any difficulties or security concerns that delay the adoption decision. Finally, this study recommends Egyptian HEIs for ERP adoption to be competitive; however, it highlights some further research work in the ERP setting.
  Keywords: Higher education; SWOT; ERP adoption; ERP value; ERP readiness; ERP benefits; competitive advantage; Egypt.
  
  
• Human resource management practices in higher education: A literature review using co-word analysis  
  by Phong Dong Nguyen, Luc Tan Phan, Huong Xuan Ho, Angelina Nhat-Hanh Le 
  Abstract: This article aims at providing a conceptual structure and the evolution of human resource management research in higher education from 1966 2019. By using co-word analysis, the current study analyzes 352 publications related to human resource management practices in higher education from the Scopus database. Thematic networks reveal that research on human resource management in higher education can be categorized into five themes, namely human resource management systems and societies and institutions, teaching and the field of application of human resource management in education, educators performance and motivation, innovation and sustainable development in universities, and educational decision-making and personnel management. Based on dominant keywords and a further content analysis of each identified theme, future research directions such as applications of emerging technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning) in human resources management, decision-making systems, green human resource management, and personnel management in higher education are recommended. This study is one of the first attempts to use co-word analysis to explore insight into the structure of human resource management research in higher education and to visualize all subfields and their interrelationships. It thereby provides a robust roadmap for further investigation in this field.
  Keywords: co-word analysis; higher education; human resource management.
  
  
• Exploring Organisational Culture in Higher Educational Institutions: a comparative study  
  by Marina Sousa, Maria João Raposo, Jorge Mendonça, Beatriz Corchuelo Martínez-Azúa 
  Abstract: The concept of organisational culture has been the object of increasing attention of the scientific community. In this study we analyse the organisational culture of two higher education institutions, one from Portugal and another from Spain, and how it has changed - or should be expected to have changed - following a modification in their legislative frameworks and mission definition, imposed coercively by their governments in the transposition of European directives. To achieve this study, the concept of Competing Values Framework (CVF) and Organisational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) was used. The main conclusion of this study is that it is not clear that there has been a statutory change oriented towards the implementation of a market model and there has clearly not been a significant change in the pre-existing organisational culture in these two institutions, which may indicate weak levels of organisational effectiveness.
  Keywords: higher education; organisational culture; institutional change; competing values framework; organisational culture assessment instrument; comparative study; Portugal; Spain.
  
  
• What really matters? Factors impacting international student satisfaction: the case of the UK  
  by Rachael Merola, Robert Coelen, W.H.A. Hofman 
  Abstract: This study explores how international student satisfaction is affected by certain aspects of the learning and living experience, including university reputation, size, and proportion of international students, as well as student gender and stage of study. It draws on data from undergraduate international students enrolled in full time, on-site programs at 32 universities located in the United Kingdom that administered the International Student Barometer (ISB) in Fall 2017 (N=11,652). Multi-level linear regression revealed that international student satisfaction was predicted by stage of study, the reputation of the university, and the proportion of international students enrolled. Comments from the survey are used to better understand these findings. This study gives institutional leaders insight into what factors influence the international student experience, allowing them to better prepare for the challenges confronting international higher education today.
  Keywords: education management; international student; student satisfaction; student experience; rankings; league tables; student life.
  
  
• The impact of personal factors and firm dynamics on knowledge workers counterproductive work behaviour  
  by Simona Leonelli, Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din Jalal, Um-E-Roman Fayyaz 
  Abstract: The paper empirically tests the impact of abusive supervision and organizational tenure on emotional exhaustion and counterproductive work behaviour of knowledge workers as well as investigating the moderating role of psychological capital in the relationship between abusive supervision and organizational tenure and emotional exhaustion. Data were collected from a sample of knowledge workers, i.e., teachers, in Rawalpindi and Islamabad via a two-wave onsite-based survey. The final sample consisted of 243 teachers. Structural equation modelling analysis was used to test the hypotheses. Our results show that supervisors abusive supervision is positively related to employees counterproductive work behaviour and that supervisors abusive supervision and employees organizational tenure are positively related to employees emotional exhaustion. Additionally, employees psychological capital moderates the relationship between employees organizational tenure and their emotional exhaustion. Ultimately, employees emotional exhaustion partially mediates the relationship between supervisors abusive supervision and employees organizational tenure and their way of engaging in counterproductive work behaviour. The paper adds to the knowledge about the antecedents to employees counterproductive work behaviour in the field of knowledge management research.
  Keywords: Abusive supervision; Organizational tenure; Psychological capital; Emotional exhaustion; Counterproductive work behaviour; knowledge workers.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2022.10040460
   
  
• Mediating role of Teacher confidence between Support system and Satisfaction  
  by Sharon Valarmathi B, Veerta Tantia, Jacqueline Kareem 
  Abstract: Online education in India has witnessed a shift due to the ongoing pandemic, compelling the Indian education sector to adapt to new advancements quickly. This research examines the perception of teachers' Confidence to use technology for teaching and assessment processes. This study's main purpose is to find the relationship between the support system, comprising the institutional support, the teachers support and students support towards teacher satisfaction. It further analyzes the mediating effect of teacher confidence to the support system and teacher satisfaction. The sample for our research consisted of 129 teachers of higher educational institutions. We also used Pearson's correlation, regression, and path analysis for analyzing data in addition to descriptive statistics. We found that there is a significant relationship between Support systems and Teacher satisfaction. Among the three-support systems, institutional support systems did have a significant influence on teachers' satisfaction. On the other hand, teacher confidence had a partial mediator effect on teacher satisfaction, which could translate to higher effectiveness in online teaching. Further, this study presumed that educational institutions were quick to adapt to online teaching due to ongoing pandemic. Teachers have had to gain mastery in the same, familiarizing themselves with new technologies that have evolved rapidly.
  Keywords: Online teaching; Teacher satisfaction; Teacher confidence; Institution support; teacher support; student support.
  
  
• Predicting Organizational Creativity Based on Emotional Intelligence and Psychological Well-being among Irans School Principals  
  by Morteza Raei Dehaghi, Abbas Rohani 
  Abstract: Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence and psychological well-being with organizational creativity on a group of school principals. The statistical population included all school principals in Mobarakeh province in the academic year 2018-2019. The sample size was obtained equal to 113 persons based on the Morgan Table. The research tools were the Bar-On emotional quotient inventory, Reef questionnaire and Torrance test. Gathering data method was Stratified random sampling. Findings showed that there is significant correlation between emotional intelligence and psychological well-being with organizational creativity. Besides, the multi-variable regression analysis revealed that net effects of emotional intelligence and psychological well-being on managers' creativity (R2=0.329), i.e., about 33% of variance or individual differences in principals' creativity, are related to variance of scores of emotional intelligence and psychological well-being. Thus, emotional intelligence and psychological well-being have acted as significant predictors of organizational creativity of the principals.
  Keywords: Organizational Creativity; Emotional Intelligence; Psychological Well-being; School Principals.
  
  
• TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY IN HANDLING VIOLENT EVENTS: ITS IMPACT ON TEACHER WELLBEING  
  by Megan Barr, Sonja Newman, Tammy Hunt, James Hunt 
  Abstract: This study investigates violence in the classroom as a unique job demand of teachers and examines how its effect on teacher wellbeing can be improved through teacher self-efficacy. Teachers from the U.S. completed a cross-sectional questionnaire of their wellbeing, workplace engagement, self-efficacy in handling violent events, frequency of violence experienced, and job characteristics. Findings show violence in the classroom to be a significant predictor of teacher burnout and leaving the profession. Teacher self-efficacy in handling violent events lessens the impact of classroom violence on teacher wellbeing. Additionally, school support in handling violence reduces the impact of the violent event on teacher wellbeing. This has implications for the development of public education policy and highlights the importance of participation in school-wide violence prevention training and teacher victimization training programmes as instrumental parts of pre-service and in-service training curriculum.
  Keywords: teacher wellbeing; self-efficacy; school violence; teacher burnout; teacher training.
  
  
• Teachers' Organisational Citizenship Behaviour: Do Students' Behaviour Patterns and Teachers' Ideology on Student Control matter?  
  by Ariyaratnam Harry Gnanarajan, Navaneethakrishnan Kengatharan, Thirunavukkarasu Velnampy 
  Abstract: Teachers' extra-role voluntary behaviours have been found essential for the effective functioning of schools. The present study pioneers in examining the relationship between student behaviour patterns (SBP) and teachers' organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), and investigates teachers' pupil control ideology (PCI) as a moderator. The structural equation modelling examined the study model. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from 572 teachers in secondary schools in Sri Lanka. The results revealed that teachers' propensity to perform OCBs was not affected by student behaviour, implying that teaching is a vocation devoted to serving the humanity despite challenging circumstances. The results also revealed that custodial teachers seemed to be affected by student behaviour, though PCI had no moderating effect. As many teachers in Sri Lanka advocate more a authoritarian style of discipline, the present study may offer suggestions in the arenas of classroom management, school leadership and teacher education on ways to embrace humanistic perspectives on student control.
  Keywords: organisational citizenship behaviour; student behaviour patterns; pupil control ideology; classroom management; teacher OCB.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2022.10040618
   
  
• Determinants of University Student Dropout: The Case of the Polit  
  by Rodolfo Casadiego-Alazate, Javier A. Sánchez-Torres, Francisco-Javier Arroyo-Cañada, Ana Argila-Irurita 
  Abstract: The aim of the paper sought to identify the factors that influence the dropout risk of university students. We worked with data from a sample of 476 students, including academic, institutional and socio-economic information. Logistic regression was applied to identify the variables with the greatest impact on the dropout risk and thus propose actions that could help mitigate this phenomenon. The model correctly predicted 84% of cases. Among the most important results of this study was that the youngest students taking classes during the day were those who tended to abandon their studies during the first four semesters. Additionally, the effect exerted by age of entry, number of semesters completed, accumulated average, total number of credits approved, financing and obtaining educational aid with the institution was greater when compared with other factors analysed in the present study.
  Keywords: Dropout; Colombia; dropout; university; strategies; enrolment.
  
  
• A Systematic Mapping of empirical MOOC Studies: Research Methods, Perspectives, Themes and Trends  
  by Neeraj Chopra, Rajiv Sindwani, Manisha Goel 
  Abstract: MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have evolved considerably and emerged as a great online self-learning tool. Despite this fact, extant MOOC literature is fragmented and lacks a comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon. For a comprehensive presentation and to highlight the critical research gap, the paper presents MOOC studies published during January 2008February 2021 in chronological order through the Gartner Hype Cycle. 613 studies were shortlisted from two popular academic repositories, namely Scopus and Web of Science by applying well-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study employed a systematic mapping technique to present publication channels, trends and publication outlets. The findings reveal that most of the studies are conducted from students perspective using quantitative research methodology, and maximum research publications are observed in 2018. 23 themes are noticed during the investigation and grouped under three broad categories. The findings present useful insights for academicians, practitioners and researchers.
  Keywords: Online Learning; MOOC; systematic mapping; research methods; research themes; research trends.
  
  
• Educational Leadership for the National Curriculum Implementation: The Case of Kosovo  
  by Osman Buleshkaj, Andrej Koren 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore leadership practice regarding curriculum implementation in ten Kosovo schools and to outline the main strategies devised for enhancing school-based activities. Practical approaches used for leading school-based curriculum implementation were investigated, and efforts of educational leaders in envisioning and leading the curriculum implementation in Kosovo schools were highlighted. Furthermore, different conceptions of successful curriculum implementation from the perspective of participants were examined; six main themes were identified and discussed; a case study methodology was conducted involving school principals, teachers, curriculum coordinators, municipal education officials, and Ministry of Education officials; and three methods of data collection were applied via interviews, focus group discussions, and document analyses. Finally, we explored the participants various perceptions of reality regarding the leadership role in supporting national curriculum implementation in pilot schools in Kosovo.
  Keywords: Leadership; change; curriculum implementation; policy; education; Kosovo.
  
  
• The role of household structure, parental education and income on children schooling in Thailand: a gender-based perspective  
  by Md. Nasir Uddin, Saran Sarntisart, Syed Mahbubur Rahman 
  Abstract: This paper aims to analyze gender inequality in schooling, taking the effects of parental education, income, and household structure, using a nationally representative sample from Thailand. The results show that males underperform females in schooling, even though the contributions of parental education, income, and household structure towards males are higher than that of their counterparts. More specifically, on average, males attain almost a year of schooling less than what females attain. The findings of this paper recommend policies to reduce gender inequality and to improve overall human capital in Thailand by promoting boys' schooling through for instance dedicated stipend program for boys.
  Keywords: gender inequality; education; intergenerational transmission; Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition; Thailand.
  
  
• Do Distributive and Procedural Justice Matter for Job Satisfaction? The Case of State Islamic Higher Education Institutions in Indonesia  
  by Azharsyah Ibrahim, Ana Fitria, M. Shabri Abd. Majid 
  Abstract: To provide better services, many public universities in Indonesia have implemented a new remuneration scheme under public service bodies (Badan Layanan Umum - BLU) management. This study assesses the perception of remuneration distributive and procedural justices and their effects on job satisfaction among staff of the state Islamic higher education institutions (Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Islam Negeri PTKIN) in Indonesia. The study selected 262 staff from 13 PTKIN as the sample of study using a purposive sampling technique. The PTKINs staff perceived that the distributive and procedural justice of the remuneration falls under the "fair" and "quite fair categories, respectively. Besides, distributive justice and procedural justice are found to have a significant positive effect on job satisfaction. These findings suggest that the government should continuously improve the remuneration scheme based on the distributive and procedural justice principles to enhance the satisfaction of the staff of PTKIN in Indonesia.
  Keywords: job satisfaction; distributive justice; procedural Justice; State Islamic higher education institutions.
  
  
• Migrants and School Inclusion: The Main Findings from the RoMigSc Project  
  by Eva Klemen?i?, Simona Bezjak, Aleksander Krauss, Selma Osmanovi?, Nada Trunk Širca, Andrej Koren 
  Abstract: Inclusion in education is one of the most important activities of the integration process and schools can have an enormous impact on migrant integration. The article discusses the role of education in the inclusion of migrants. The research questions focus on: 1) how inclusive education professionals see their schools and local environments; and 2) how big they see their own contributions to the various aspects of inclusion in their schools and local environments. This study uses data from the international RoMigSc project with analysis on a descriptive level. The main findings show that a lack of communication and collaboration arising mostly from language barriers amongst key stakeholders in specific educational environment are the weakest elements in the successful school inclusion of migrants. The implications for practice are that including remedial instruction in the language of instruction, more frequent interactions with migrant parents, and active campaigns on cultural diversity in the local community are needed.
  Keywords: migrants; multi-ethnic environment; school inclusion; school integration efforts; social isolation; language of instruction; student cooperation; parental cooperation; education; RoMigSc project.
  
  
• What Drives Parents to Choose the Cram School from the Perspective of Planned Behaviour Theory-Evidence from Taiwan  
  by Gwo-Hau Ding, Shangchia Liu, Hui Lin Chen 
  Abstract: This study surveys what drives parents to choose the cram school. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour, it proposed a model illustrating how parents of junior high school students are affected from attitude, subjective norms, perceived behaviour control and perceived public education policy changed. An online questionnaire survey was conducted in Taiwan to collect data and partial least square structural equation modeling was used to analyze the validated data and model. The results contribute that the four independent variables can promote the parents behavioral intention to choose cram schools. Cram schools are suggested to employ corresponding business strategy to effectively manage customers intention and relationship.
  Keywords: Public education policy; cram school; theory of planned behavior; supplement education; education reform; Taiwan.
  
  
• CONFLICT MANAGEMENT IN THE ACADEMIC ENVIRONMENT: IS THERE ROOM FOR WONDER?  
  by Nataša Rup?i?, Marli Gonan Božac, Iva Angeleski, MA 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to examine preferences regarding conflict management strategies in the Croatian academic environment in the context of the Bologna process. Conflict management strategies have not yet been empirically addressed among employees in higher education. Data were collected from the only three integrated universities in Croatia. Dutch Test for Conflict Handling (DUTCH) was used as a measurement instrument. This study found that compromising should not be regarded as a separate strategy. The boundary between problem solving and compromising was blurry. We called this approach cooperating, which was the strategy most frequently used. Respondents who perceived low levels of conflict were more inclined to employ the strategy of cooperating. Significant gender effects were detected for yielding and avoiding. Significant age effects were also detected for avoiding. Results regarding the effects of the frequency of experiencing conflicts as well as selected demographic factors have also been presented.
  Keywords: conflict management; cooperating; academia; DUTCH test; Bologna process; Croatia.
  
  
• School as a Learning Organization: Assessing from a Different School Performance Category Perspective  
  by N.O.R. HAFIZA AHMAD, Norliah Kudus 
  Abstract: This study aimed to analyze the variation in the perception of human resources in different school performance categories in implementing learning organization (LO) practices in the secondary schools in Melaka. This study used Learning Organisation Practices Profile (LOPP) model. This study uses a quantitative design and survey method using a questionnaire instrument distributed to 500 respondents who served in thirteen secondary schools selected using cluster and simple random sampling. The data of this study were analyzed using descriptive statistics involving mean calculation and inferential statistic involving One-Way ANOVA. The study findings showed that the mean reading for all three aspects of learning organization practices for human resources serving in excellent category schools is higher than that of human resources serving in good and satisfactory category schools. One-way ANOVA analysis proved a significant difference in perception on the implementation of LO in school organizations between three school performance categories.
  Keywords: Learning Organization; School Performance Educational Transformation; Dynamic Capabilities.
  
  
• Mediating role of readiness for change in the relationship between principal instructional leadership and commitment to change  
  by Nor Azni Abdul Aziz, Soaib Asimiran, Aminuddin Hassan 
  Abstract: The researchs goals are to assess the principal instructional leaderships impact on teachers commitment (normative, continuance, and affective) for change in adopting School-Based Assessment (SBA). Furthermore, this research aims to identify the function of a mediator, notably in teachers readiness for change in the application of SBA. The researchs findings discovered that the developed study model fits with the values of Goodness of Fit Index (GFI) = 0.902; Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.934; Tucker-Lew Index (TLI) = 0.925; and Root Mean Square of Error Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.055. The results showed a significant impact between principal instructional leadership with teachers commitment (normative, continuance, and affective) to change and teachers readiness for change. According to the findings of the mediator assessment, teachers readiness to change was established as a partial mediator in the relationship between principal instructional leadership and teachers commitment (normative, continuance, and affective) to change in the deployment of the SBA methodology. To ensure that changes in education such as SBA will successfully achieve the educational targets, principals need to act as instructional leaders to enhance teachers readiness and commitment in implementing any educational changes.
  Keywords: instructional leadership; commitment to change; readiness for change; school-based assessment.
  
  
• Does smartphone affect work-life balance, stress and satisfaction among teachers during online education?  
  by N. Akbar Jan, Asha Binu Raj, A.K. Subramani 
  Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of smartphone usage on school teachers work-life balance (WLB) in the online mode of education during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic insisted teachers to adopt online teaching using smartphone, which facilitates many teachers to qualitatively manage their work and family responsibilities during the transformed work mode. The target population of the current research is private school teachers working in all levels of school education across major cities in India namely Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. Validated structured questionnaires were administered and primary data was gathered from 478 respondents, who were chosen using a convenience sampling technique. The hypothetical relationships among smartphone use, WLB, personal life, and job satisfaction are found to be positive, whereas work stress is found to have a significantly negative relationship with WLB, personal life, and job satisfaction. Therefore, it is concluded that the pertinent use of smartphones enhances the WLB of school teachers by helping them to meet family and job demands effectively.
  Keywords: Smartphone; work-life balance; WLB; personal-life satisfaction; job satisfaction; India; work stress; COVID-19.
  
  
• Lecturer competencies and student academic performance: examining the moderating role of student motivation  
  by Mohammad Fauzan Bin Superi, M. Muzamil Naqshbandi 
  Abstract: The quality of graduates is often linked to the quality of a countrys higher education institutions (HEIs). Concomitantly, lecturers are regarded as being imperative in producing quality graduates and strengthening HEIs. This study examines the effects of lecturer competencies on student academic performance and tests the moderating role of student motivation in the relationship between lecturer competencies and student academic performance. We used a quantitative approach to meet the objectives of the study and collected empirical data using a questionnaire survey from 210 students enrolled in the HEIs in Brunei. The data, examined through several statistical techniques, reveals a strong relationship between specific lecturer competencies and student academic performance. The findings also show that, of all the lecturer competencies, lecturer motivation interacts with student motivation positively to enhance student academic performance. These findings inform our current understanding of the determinants of student academic performance and provide vital directions for policy-making.
  Keywords: Lecturer Competencies; Student Academic Performance; Student Motivation; Academic Motivation; Academic Achievement; Academic Success; Learning Environment; Student Knowledge Acquisition; Covid-19 pandemic; Goal Orientation; Student Interest; Course Grades; Academic Self-efficacy; Brunei.
  
  
• Perceived organisational support to increase teachers' commitment and performance through work engagement: a case study of an Indonesian vocational school  
  by Erika Yolanda, Laila Refiana Said 
  Abstract: Most research on Indonesian vocational schools has analysed the link and match between curriculum and student competence. However, little attention has been paid to the role of educators in education. This study analysed (1) how perceived organisational support positively affects affective commitment and job performance of vocational teachers; and (2) work engagement as a mediator in the relationship between perceived organisational support and two endogenous variables, affective commitment and job performance. Data were obtained from all teachers (N = 60) in a vocational school that the Government of Indonesia has selected as one of the school revitalisation models. The study of data using Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) revealed perceived organisational support directly affects affective commitment and job performance and indirectly through work engagement. The findings contribute to the research area of school management. Schools can use the results as guidance to improve teachers' commitment and performance.
  Keywords: organisational support; work engagement; affective commitment; performance; teacher.
  
  
• Organisational Culture and Research Ethics in a Vietnamese University  
  by Thu Nguyen-Anh, Justine Mercer 
  Abstract: This paper investigates the relationship between organisational culture and research ethics at a leading Vietnamese university. The results suggest the two elements are mutually reinforcing. Specifically, the values, belief, and assumptions of the organization shape the behaviours of staff and students with respect to research ethics. At the same time, the (un)ethical behaviours that are widely accepted within the organization reinforce the relevant values, belief, and assumptions. Therefore, the more ethical values, belief, and assumptions are embedded in day-to-day practice (i.e. academic integrity and fairness; and to evaluate research qualitatively as well as quantitatively), the better the implementation of research ethics is. By the same logic, when the opposite values (i.e. academic dishonesty, unfairness, and a privileging of quantitative evaluation and decision-making) dominate, staff adopt negative beliefs and assumptions, making the application of ethics weaker. The paper ends with some recommendations for enhancing positive organisational culture and promoting more ethical practices.
  Keywords: Research ethics; organisational culture; Vietnam; academic integrity; higher education.
  
  
• The development of subject leader servant leadership attributes model using Malaysian context  
  by Kim Peng Teh, Tai Mei Kin, Omar Abdull Kareem 
  Abstract: The main purpose of the study was to develop an empirical substantiated Subject Leader Servant Leadership Attributes (SLSLA) model pertaining critical servant leadership attributes among subject leaders in Malaysian secondary schools. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was applied to identify the underlying factors and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was employed to test the measurement models using Structural Equation Modelling. With a usable data of 606 and 814 respondents for EFA and CFA respectively, the results suggested that the SLSLA model can be explained by five factors namely Self- Competence, Shares Leadership, Accountability, Teacher Capacity Building and Stewardship with normed chi-square = 3.631, GFI= .935, CFI= .958, TLI= .952 and RMSEA= .057. On the one hand, this coherent premier model had advanced useful insights for educational practitioners in designing development programs for subject leaders. While on the other, it had endowed servant leadership with new pertinence to middle management reality in schools.
  Keywords: servant leadership attributes; self-competence; shares leadership; accountability; teacher capacity building; stewardship; subject leaders; middle management.