Title: The status quo of employee engagement in Jordanian secondary schools: principals' and teachers' perspective

Authors: Nadia F. Kharbat; Rateb S. AlSoud

Addresses: School of Educational Sciences, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan ' School of Educational Sciences, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan

Abstract: This study aimed at identifying the status quo of employee engagement in Jordanian secondary schools from their principals' and teachers' perspective. To achieve the research objectives, the descriptive survey approach was adopted. The randomly selected study sample consisted of (205) male/female principals and (377) male/female teachers, from public and private schools in Amman, Jordan. A 19-item questionnaire was developed on employee engagement divided into four dimensions: communication, growth, recognition and trust. The results of the study indicated that the total degree of the status quo of employee engagement in secondary schools in Jordan from the perspective of their principals and teachers was moderate, as well as all four dimensions of the scale. Furthermore, the findings of the study showed significant differences at (α ≤ 0.05) in the total degree of the study sample's perceptions, attributed to teaching sector and job title, in favour of the private sector and principals respectively. Thus, the researchers recommended setting standards for hiring and assessing school leaders who are responsible for engaging their staff at work, in addition to raising awareness about the significance of the employee engagement factor as a prerequisite for educational development.

Keywords: employee engagement; educational leadership; secondary schools; principals; Jordan.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEBR.2019.101315

International Journal of Economics and Business Research, 2019 Vol.18 No.2, pp.255 - 271

Received: 23 Aug 2018
Accepted: 14 Sep 2018
Published online: 31 Jul 2019 *

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