Applicability of the Organisational Climate Description Questionnaire – Rutgers Elementary: A South African case study

Abstract

The Organisational Climate Description Questionnaire – Rutgers  Elementary (OCDQ – RE) was used to determine the current organizational climate of primary schools in North-West Province, South Africa. This questionnaire evaluates the actions of principals and educators; the current organizational climate in primary schools can be determined from the results. A quantitative research approach, with 904 teachers from 68 schools, was used to determine the applicability of the measuring instrument. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that certain items measuring directive behaviour in the OCDQ-RE grouped with supportive behaviour of the principal. Hence, in this study, these items were regarded as supportive towards the educators and their work by the respondents. According to Cronbach’s alpha coefficient the questionnaire can be regarded as reliable. Recommendations are made to render
the questionnaire even more applicable for the South African context.

Keywords: improving organizational climate; organizational climate; OCDQ; primary schools; school climate