The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ readiness for change and the factors that contributed to it in secondary schools in the West Gojam Zone. The study used a correlational research design and a quantitative approach. Data were collected from 466 randomly selected teachers using a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and multiple regression). The findings revealed that teachers were ready to implement planned educational changes. The principals made an effort to maintain strong staff cohesion, high organizational commitment, and minimal politicking during the change's implementation. They have also taken advantage of the school's positive track record of change. Process and context factors had statistically significant correlation with readiness for change at p < .05. The four context factors (organizational politicking, history of change, staff cohesion, and organizational commitment) and a process factor (communication of change) contribute to 31.3% of the variations in teachers’ readiness for change. This confirms that teachers’ readiness for change is a function of both context and process factors.
AbdiL (2016) The status of the implementation of school improvement program in primary schools of Ilu Aba Bora Zone, Ethiopia. International Journal of Research in Education and Technology3(4): 50–55.
2.
AlasR (2007) The triangular model for dealing with organizational change. Journal of Change Management7(3-4): 255–271.
3.
AppelbaumSHBerkeJTaylorJ, et al. (2008) The role of leadership during large scale organizational transitions: lessons from six empirical studies. Journal of American Academy of Business13(1): 16–24.
4.
ArdakaniSR (2012) The impact of organizational justice on knowledge sharing intentions. Journal of American Science8(2): 337–340.
5.
ArmenakisAAHarrisSG (2002) Crafting a change message to create transformational readiness. Journal of Organizational Change Management15(2): 169–183.
6.
ArmenakisAAHarrisSGMossholderKW (1993) Creating readiness for organizational change. Human Relations46(6): 681–703.
7.
AsadullahMAAkramAImranH, et al. (2017) When and which employees feel obliged: a personality perspective of how organizational identification develops. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones33(2): 125–135.
8.
AttaMKhanMJ (2016) Perceived organizational politics, organizational citizenship behavior and job attitudes among university teachers. Journal of Behavioural Sciences26(2).
9.
Avidov-UngarO (2010) “Islands of innovation” or “comprehensive innovation.” Assimilating educational technology in teaching, learning, and management: a case study of school networks in Israel. Interdisciplinary Journal of E-Learning and Learning Objects6(1): 259–280.
10.
Aydoğanİ (2007) Değişim süreci ve okul personeli. GAU Journal of Social and Science3(5): 13–24.
11.
BegnaTN (2017) Classroom participation and development of student attitudes: a study of active learning practices in Ethiopian primary education. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE)4(3): 67–85.
12.
BernerthJ (2004) Expanding our understanding of the change message. Human Resource Development Review3(1): 36–52.
13.
BestJWJames KhanV (2005) Research in Education, 7th ed. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India Ltd.
14.
BitewGD (2008). Using “plasma TV” broadcasts in Ethiopian secondary schools: A brief survey. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology24(2): 150–167.
15.
BouckenoogheDDevosG (2007) The role of process, context and individual characteristics in explaining readiness to change: A multilevel analysis.
16.
BouckenoogheDDevosGBroeckHV (2009) Organizational change questionnaire the climate of change, processes, and readiness: development of a new instrument. The Journal of Psychology143(6): 559–599.
17.
BouckenoogheDMenguçB (2010) Organizational politics and the moderating role of organizational climate on change recipients’ readiness for change. In: Conference Proceedings, Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, Regina, Canada.
18.
BrocknerJSiegelPADalyJP, et al. (1997) When trust matters: the moderating effect of outcome favorability. Administrative Science Quarterly42(3): 558–583.
BurnesB (2004) Kurt Lewin and the planned approach to change: a re-appraisal. Journal of Management Studies41(6): 977–1002.
21.
ByrneZSCropanzanoR (2001) The history of organizational justice: the founders speak. Justice in the Workplace: From Theory to Practice2(1): 3–26.
22.
Cassell FullanMSmithG (1999) Technology and the problem of change.
23.
ChishtiSHRafiqMRahmanF, et al. (2010) Impact of participative management on employee job satisfaction and performance in Pakistan. Language in India10(12): 89–101.
24.
ChoiM (2011) Employees’ attitudes toward organizational change: a literature review. Human Resource Management50(4): 479–500.
25.
CoffmanLGParsonageDD'Agostino, et al. (2009) Regulatory effects of ferritin on angiogenesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences106(2): 570–575.
26.
CunninghamCEWoodwardCAShannonHS, et al. (2002) Readiness for organizational change: a longitudinal study of the workplace, psychological and behavioral correlates. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology75(4): 377–392.
27.
DayCGuQ (2007) Variations in the conditions for teachers’ professional learning and development: sustaining commitment and effectiveness over a career. Oxford Review of Education33(4): 423–443.
28.
DessieAA (2015) Teachers’ practices of assessment for learning in science education at East Gojjam preparatory schools, Amhara regional state. Ethiopia. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation.
29.
DhingraRPuniaBK (2016) Impact of organizational culture on employees’ readiness to change a study in Indian perspective. Journal of Management Research16(3): 135–147.
30.
EbyLTAdamsDMRussellJE, et al. (2000) Perceptions of organizational readiness for change: factors related to employees’ reactions to the implementation of team-based selling. Human Relations53(3): 419–442.
31.
EdamoDLNetshitanganiT (2018) Leadership, school improvement and effectiveness: the experiences of the schools community in Ethiopia. Problems of Education in the 21st Century:76.
32.
Fullan (1991) The New Meaning of Educational Change. London: Teachers College Press.
33.
FullanM (1992) Successful School Improvement: The Implementation Perspective and Beyond. London: McGraw-Hill Education(UK).
34.
FullanM (2007) The New Meaning of Educational Change, 4th ed. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
35.
HarrisA (2002) School Improvement: What’s in it for Schools?New York, NY: Routledge Falmer.
36.
HerscovitchLMeyerJP (2002) Commitment to organizational change: extension of a three-component model. Journal of Applied Psychology87(3): 474.
37.
HoltDTArmenakisAAHarrisSG, et al. (2007) Toward a comprehensive definition of readiness for change: a review of research and instrumentation. Research in Organizational Change and Development16: 289–336.
38.
InandiYGiliçF (2016) Relationship of teachers’ readiness for change with their participation in decision making and school culture. Educational Research and Reviews11(8): 823–833.
39.
Iqbal (2011) Impact of organizational change to achieve competitive edge. European Journal of Business and Management3(4): 87–95.
40.
JonesrAJimmiesonNLGriffithsA (2005) The impact of organizational culture and reshaping capabilities on change implementation success: the mediating role of readiness for change. Journal of Management Studies42: 361–386.
41.
KondakciYBeyciogluKSincarM, et al. (2017) Readiness of teachers for change in schools. International Journal of Leadership in Education20(2): 176–197.
42.
KotriJP (2004) Leading change: why transformation efforts fail. (cover story). Harvard Business Review73(2): 59–67.
43.
KotterR (1996) Fast generalized minimum-distance decoding of algebraic geometry and reed-solomon codes. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory42(3): 721–737.
44.
Lahui-AkoB. (2001). The instructional leadership behavior of Papua New Guinea high school principals—A provincial case study. Journal of Educational Administration. doi:10.1108/09578230110392875
45.
LehmanWEGreenerJMSimpsonDD (2002) Assessing organizational readiness for change. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment22(4): 197–209.
46.
LeowKLKhongKW (2009) The study of mentoring and leader-member exchange (LMX) on organizational commitment among auditors in Malaysia. Sunway Academic Journal6: 147–172.
47.
LewinGRMendellLM (1993) Nerve growth factor and nociception. Trends in Neurosciences16(9): 353–359.
48.
LewinK (1951) Field Study in Social Science. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers.
49.
LewisLKSchmisseurAMKeriK, et al. (2006) Advice on communicating during organizational change. Journal of Business Communication43(2): 113–137.
50.
LizarAAMangundjayaWLRachmawanA (2015) The role of psychological capital and psychological empowerment on individual readiness for change. The Journal of Developing Areas49(5): 343–352.
51.
LonescuaEMeruìăaADragomiroiuaR (2014) 21st International economic conference 2014, IECS 2014, 16-17 May 2014, Sibiu, Romania role of managers in the management of change. Procedia Economics and Finance16: 293–298.
52.
MadsenELHobsonMAShiH, et al. (2005) Tissue-mimicking agar/gelatin materials for use in heterogeneous elastography phantoms. Physics in Medicine & Biology50(23): 5597–5618.
53.
MakhdoomIFMehmoodBAttaM (2017) Mediating role of job burnout for the relationship between perceived organizational politics and counterproductive work behaviors among school teachers. Journal of Behavioural Sciences27(2).
54.
MartinAJJonesESCallanVJ (2005) The role of psychological climate in facilitating employee adjustment during organizational change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology14(3): 263–289.
55.
MathewsBPShepherdJL (2002) Dimensionality of Cook and Wall’s (1980) British organizational commitment scale revisited. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology75: 369–375.
56.
MelesseS (2016) Stakeholders’ views about preparation for implementation of school improvement program. Pedagogy6(2): 72–84.
57.
MillerVJohnsonJGrauJ (1994) Antecedents to the willingness to participate in a planned organizational change. Journal of Applied Communication Research22: 59–80.
58.
MitchellR (2015) The implications of school improvement and school effectiveness research for primary school principals in Ethiopia. Educational Review67(3): 328–342.
59.
MulatuMBezabihW (2018) Perceptions and practices of EFL teachers in implementing active learning in English classes: the case of three selected secondary schools in Dawro Zone, SNNPRS, Ethiopia. Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics41: 26–33.
60.
MulunehGSGedifewMT (2018) Leading changes through adaptive design: change management practice in one of the universities in a developing nation. Journal of Organizational Change Management31(6): 1249–1270.
61.
NyhanRC (2000) Changing the paradigm: trust and its role in public sector organizations. The American Review of Public Administration30(1): 87–109.
62.
OregS (2006) Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology15(1): 73–101.
63.
RaffertyAEJimmiesonNLArmenakisAA (2013) Change readiness: a multilevel review. Journal of Management39(1): 110–135.
64.
RaffertyAESimonsRH (2006) An examination of the antecedents of readiness for fine-tuning and corporate transformation changes. Journal of Business and Psychology20: 325–350.
65.
ReichersAEWanousJP (1997) Understanding and managing cynicism about organizational change. Academy of management Perspectives: 48–59.
66.
RhoadesLEisenbergerR (2002) Perceived organizational support: a review of the literature. Journal of applied psychology87(4) 698-714.
67.
RobbinsSPDeCenzoDACoulterM (2001) Fundamentals of Management. Upper Saddle River, NJ.
68.
SanthidranSChandranVGRBorromeoJ (2013) Enabling organizational change–leadership, commitment to change, and the mediating role of change readiness. Journal of Business Economics and Management14(2): 348–363.
69.
ShahNShahSGS (2010) Relationships between employee readiness for organizational change, supervisor and peer relations, and demography. Journal of Enterprise Information Management23(5): 640–652.
70.
SoumyajaDKamlanabhanTJBhattacharyyaS (2015) Antecedents of employee readiness for change: mediating effect of commitment to change. Management Studies and Economic Systems (MSES)2(1): 11–25.
71.
SusantoAB (2008) Organizational readiness for change: A case study on change readiness in a manufacturing company in Indonesia. WWW. IB-TS. ORG.
72.
TuluA (2019) The practice and challenges of school-based teachers’ continuous professional Development: A Case of Government Secondary Schools in Hawassa city, Ethiopia. Educational Research and Reviews14(1): 33–43.
73.
VakolaMNikolaouI (2005) Attitudes towards organizational change: what is the role of employees’ stress and commitment?Employees Relations27: 160–174.
74.
VanhalaMHeilmannPSalminenH (2016) Organizational trust dimensions as antecedents of organizational commitment. Knowledge and Process Management23: 46–61.
75.
WanbergCRBanasJT (2000) Predictors and outcomes of openness to changes in a reorganizing workplace. Journal of Applied Psychology85(1): 132.
76.
WeberPSWeberJE (2001) Changes in employee perceptions during organizational change. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. doi:10.1108/01437730110403222
WondemDT (2015) School based continuous professional development practices at a selected general secondary and preparatory school in Bahir Dar Town. Bahir Dar Journal of Education, 15(2).
79.
ZayimM (2010) Investigating the relationship between primary and secondary-level public School teachers’ readiness for change and perceived organizational Trust. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, METU Institute of Social Sciences, Ankara.
80.
ZayimMKondakciY (2015) An exploration of the relationship between readiness for change and organizational trust in Turkish public schools. Educational Management Administration & Leadership43(4): 610–625.
