TEACHERS' ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: EXAMINING THE EFFECTS OF RELATIONSHIPS, EMOTIONS AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Organizational commitment (OC) has been defined as a psychological state that connects the worker to the organization. Teachers' OC has been considered as closely connected to teachers' work performance and indirectly linked to student achievement, as well as positively associated to school culture and to teachers' perceptions of the fit between one's job demands and abilities. Recently the teacher professional commitment has been linked to teacher responsibility, showing that the willingness to assume personal responsibility for educational outcomes provides the foundation for a psychological bond to the teaching profession. This study aimed to fill the gap in the research of teacher organizational commitment and how it is linked to teacher responsibility, including the influencing factors of relationships and emotions. Preliminary results with a sample of primary school in-service teachers show that teacher OC is significantly predicted by perceived favorable relationships, positive emotions, as well as by teacher responsibility for student motivation. Preliminary findings will be discussed according to previous research and practical implications will be considered.