Development of a collective efficacy measure for use in social service organizations

Abstract

• Summary: The present study summarizes the development of a collective efficacy measure for use in social service organizations: The Collective Efficacy Measure for Social Services (CEMSS). The measure was adapted from Goddard's Collective Efficacy Scale (2002). Factorial validity was assessed for a sample of 278 respondents employed at child welfare and child psychiatric agencies across Norway. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with a random split-half sample of 139 respondents; the second random split-half sample (n = 139) was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Tests for construct validity were conducted using Teamwork, Leadership, and Organizational Culture subscales from the Readiness for Organizational Learning and Evaluation Questionnaire (ROLE; Preskill & Torres, 1999).

• Findings: A six-item scale was identified in the first sample using EFA. The CFA conducted with the second sample, indicated good model fit, χ²(10) = 14.34, p = .16; CFI = .97; RMSEA = .06. Scale reliability for the entire sample was adequate (α = .74). As expected, the six-item scale was significantly correlated with Teamwork, r(250) = .34, p < .01; Leadership, r(273) = .36, p < .01; and Organizational Culture, r(276) = .41, p < .01.

• Applications: The results of the analyses support the use of the CEMSS as a valid measure of collective efficacy. This measure has a variety of possible applications for organizational assessment and research in social service agencies.

Keywords

social work collective efficacy implementation measures methodology organizational structure social work research

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