Organizational Culture of the Educational Institution as a Predictor of Organizational Stress across Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of organizational stress through the lens of organizational culture and practices of psychological well-being implemented by the leaders of educational institutions. This study used data from 457 pedagogical employees working in 18 educational institutions (school and kindergartens) located in the Nevskiy district of St. Petersburg.  A mixed-method approach with interviews and surveys was utilized for data collection. The coping with stress checklist developed by McLean was used to measure the level of organizational stress. The assessment of organizational culture was carried out on the basis of the Denison Organizational Culture Survey, adjusted to the educational environment through this study. The attitudes of the leaders of educational institutions and their practices implemented toward the formation of psychological well-being across school staff members were indicated via interviews.  The results revealed that organizational stress affects negatively educational institutions, increasing employee turnover. Preschool educational institutions are more homogeneous compared with schools in terms of the level of organizational stress across teaching staff. School teaching teams are quite heterogeneous regarding the level of organizational stress. Moreover, the elements of organizational culture coupled with the practices used by the leaders for the development of psychological well-being influence the stress level in each school studied.