Existing research has shown that managerial networking can positively affect organizational performance. Moreover, it has pointed out contextual variables, concerned with the characteristics of an...Show moreExisting research has shown that managerial networking can positively affect organizational performance. Moreover, it has pointed out contextual variables, concerned with the characteristics of an organization (or its environment) as a whole, that may impact this relationship. However, individual characteristics of public managers have been overlooked. This study examines the moderating effect of public managers’ job-related attitudes – specifically work autonomy, work engagement, and work commitment – on the relationship between managerial networking and organizational performance. Given the positive effects of job-related attitudes according to the existing literature, I argued that these three variables can strengthen the positive effect of managerial networking on performance. The study is conducted in the research context of Dutch primary education, investigating the networking behavior of school principals. Using a preexisting data set of 862 school principals, obtained through a survey sent to all primary schools in the Netherlands in 2013, I tested my hypotheses through multiple regression analysis. Results revealed that in this research context, only work commitment significantly strengthened the relationship between managerial networking and school performance. To obtain a more comprehensive picture of the exact working of the proposed effects in this study, I recommend that future research includes additional variables in the analysis, such as other performance indicators, and internal management, and performs longitudinal research.Show less
Aim: The lack of empirical evidence to support the interaction between theories on transformational leadership, goal clarity, job performance and employee motivation makes it necessary to obtain...Show moreAim: The lack of empirical evidence to support the interaction between theories on transformational leadership, goal clarity, job performance and employee motivation makes it necessary to obtain this. The dataset is used to get more insight into these interactions in the field of educational settings. Methods: Data was collected through two surveys, a self-perceived leadership survey, and an employee-perceived leadership survey. The first was distributed to school principals only, who in turn were asked to distribute the employee-perceived survey to at least five of their direct employees (N = 208). To test the hypotheses, multivariate linear regression analyses and a moderated mediation regression analysis were conducted. Results: H1, H2 and H3 are accepted, as the linear regression analyses prove there is a statistically significant correlation. Employee motivation does have a mediating effect and partly explains the indirect effect between goal clarity and job performance. Transformational leadership does not have a moderating effect on the relationship between goal clarity and employee motivation. Also, there is no significant moderated mediation effect for the proposed model. H4 and H5 are thus rejected. Conclusion: The analysis confirms the indirect effect of employee motivation in the relation between goal clarity and job performance. Goal clarity provides employees with a clear and specific goal. Knowing the expected tasks increases motivation and therefore their job performance. According to the moderated mediation regression analysis, there is no significant moderated mediation in our proposed conceptual model. Transformational leaders do not have the expected positive effect on employee motivation. The results are in contrast with the theory on transformational leadership, as it is argued that transformational leaders have a motivating and enriching effect on employees through their abilities to support, communicating the organization's mission, and stimulating (Bass & Riggio, 2006).Show less
This thesis systematically reviews research published from 1999 to 2012 examining the effects of cooperative learning on the academic achievement of primary pupils. The literature search is...Show moreThis thesis systematically reviews research published from 1999 to 2012 examining the effects of cooperative learning on the academic achievement of primary pupils. The literature search is described. Eleven studies which followed a randomized controlled trial or a quasi-experimental research design were included according to pre-established criteria and were afterwards reviewed. Sample characteristics, cooperative interventions and outcomes on primary pupil’s academic achievement are reported. Results showed (a) the positive effects of cooperative learning interventions on primary pupils’ academic achievement in comparison to traditional instructional methods, (b) the positive effect of cooperative methods on the academic subject of language in primary education and the potentially positive effects of this method in science and math and (c) the potentially positive effects of teacher training in cooperative methods on primary pupils’ academic achievement. However, the scarce amount of experimental studies found limit conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of cooperative learning.Show less
