Uncertainty Management among School Administrators and Its Relationship with Proactive Behaviour: Evidence from Public Schools

Abstract

This study examines school administrators’ uncertainty management and its relationship with proactive behaviour in public schools. Using a predictive correlational design, data were collected from 368 principals and vice principals working in public primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary schools in Ankara, Türkiye. The Uncertainty Management Scale and the Proactive Manager Scale were used, and the data were analysed through descriptive statistics, group comparisons, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. The findings showed that administrators reported relatively high levels of uncertainty management, although their tolerance for uncertainty was moderate. Uncertainty management did not differ significantly by gender, educational status, school type, or managerial seniority, whereas principals reported significantly higher levels than vice principals. Proactive behaviour was positively and significantly associated with uncertainty management and emerged as its strongest predictor. Administrative position also made a significant contribution to the predictive model. The study contributes to educational leadership literature by conceptualising proactive behaviour as an adaptive leadership resource through which school administrators may navigate uncertainty within centralised and policy-intensive educational systems.

Keywords

• uncertainty management
• proactive behaviour
• school administrators
• educational organizations

Okul Yöneticilerinde Belirsizlik Yönetimi ve Proaktif Davranışla İlişkisi: Devlet Okullarından Bulgular

Abstract

Bu çalışma, devlet okullarında görev yapan okul yöneticilerinin belirsizlik yönetimi düzeylerini ve bunun proaktif davranışla ilişkisini incelemektedir. Yordayıcı korelasyonel desende yürütülen araştırmanın verileri, Ankara’daki devlet ilkokulu, ortaokulu ve liselerinde görev yapan 368 okul müdürü ve müdür yardımcısından toplanmıştır. Araştırmada Belirsizlik Yönetimi Ölçeği ile Proaktif Yönetici Ölçeği kullanılmış; veriler betimsel istatistikler, grup karşılaştırmaları, Pearson korelasyon analizi ve aşamalı çoklu regresyon analizi ile çözümlenmiştir. Bulgular, okul yöneticilerinin belirsizlik yönetimi düzeylerinin görece yüksek, belirsizliğe tolerans düzeylerinin ise orta düzeyde olduğunu göstermiştir. Belirsizlik yönetimi; cinsiyet, eğitim durumu, okul türü ve yöneticilik kıdemine göre anlamlı biçimde farklılaşmazken, okul müdürlerinin puanlarının müdür yardımcılarından anlamlı düzeyde daha yüksek olduğu belirlenmiştir. Proaktif davranışın belirsizlik yönetimiyle pozitif ve anlamlı düzeyde ilişkili olduğu ve belirsizlik yönetiminin en güçlü yordayıcısı olarak öne çıktığı görülmüştür. Yönetsel pozisyonun da yordayıcı modele anlamlı katkı sağladığı belirlenmiştir. Araştırma, proaktif davranışı okul yöneticilerinin merkeziyetçi ve politika yoğun eğitim sistemlerinde belirsizliği yönetmelerine ve bu koşullarda hareket edebilmelerine olanak sağlayan uyarlanabilir bir liderlik kaynağı olarak kavramsallaştırması bakımından eğitim liderliği alanyazınına katkı sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• belirsizlik yönetimi
• proaktif davranış
• okul yöneticileri
• eğitim örgütleri

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