Teacher Involvement in Organisational Change: From Engaging Risk to Cooperative Learning

Abstract

The present research aims at analysing the result of how preconditions, teacher reactions, action strategies, and intervening conditions of teacher involvement in the organisational changes manifest. A particular school which had recently implemented changes was chosen for the investigation. The research is based on application of the strategy of the grounded theory. A semi-structured interview was chosen to collect the data. Grounding on the analysis of the research data, the development paths of the teacher involvement in the organisational changes manifesting at the personal and organisational levels were disclosed. The research reveals that the teacher involvement in the changes is determined by various preconditions: boredom, self-assessment, positive encouragement, support, negative reaction of others. Each precondition for the involvement in the changes creates conditions for the manifestation of different teacher reactions and action strategies. The intervening conditions (continuous changes, changing of personal attitudes and organisational culture) acting during the involvement in the changes were revealed in the course of the research. While analysing the process of the teacher involvement in the changes, the result of this process was revealed: from engaging risk to cooperative learning.

1. Introduction

A continuous change taking place in the world in the economic, social, and IT areas influences the educational change as well, which must make a progressive effect on the culture of thinking and performance. This obligates education institutions and teachers working there to react to changes faster than others, to adjust to new conditions and to be open to the change. The provisions defined in the conception of sustainable development [1] oblige top-level managers of different institutions to change their values, attitude and behaviour towards interested parties, understanding that accord in an organisation encompasses more than the implementation of one or another principle. The strategy underlines that education is given a highly important role which is a necessary condition for promoting behavioural changes and giving all citizens general competences required to ensure the sustainable development. In complex situations, individuals must be able to act in a sustainable way, which may cause performance in a different direction, while participating in processes of continuous changes, moving towards sustainable development. The acknowledgement of the ideology of sustainable development and implementation of sustainable development principles in an education institution enable key global changes in modern society. The spread and implementation of the ideas of sustainable development enable sustainability of an organisation, its long-term success, when its interested members maintain consistency, adjusting to constant changes [2,3,4].

Seeking teacher involvement in the processes of changes, learning from each other and sharing experiences, an organisation must hold specific competences which would allow them to constructively and responsibly cooperate with the present-day world. For this purpose, thinking should be changed, one’s attitude should be changed, usually starting from leadership [5,6] and competences of employees required to perform and organise own activities in various complex contexts and situations of these changes.

The competence of cooperation is pointed out as one of key competences encompassing the abilities to learn from others, to perceive and respect needs, attitudes and actions of others, to understand others, to solve conflicts arising inside a group and to promote collective and active solving of problems [7]. Thus, education should be developed for the sustainable development purpose grounded in cooperation-based learning, when teachers seek controlling inertia, and managing changes by setting major goals, which determine sustainable personality development in an education institution in the future. Teachers must be able to understand a complex world where they live in. They must be able to cooperate, express their opinion and act seeking positive changes [8].

Scholars [9,10,11] who investigated changes and management of them in education institutions have it that educational changes dealing with education-related individuals are perceived in different ways because of gained personal experience, different expectations, obtained abilities to interact with others in a multi-layered system of education. Published investigations also demonstrate that educational changes often fail. Various reasons are specified; however, scholars [12,13,14] acknowledge that the employee involvement in implementation of changes is necessary within the course of changes. Changes will be successfully implemented when all participants supporting the cooperative culture in organisation agree with them. Constant cooperative learning of employees while exchanging and sharing gained personal experiences and learning from each other, open engagement with implementation of organisational changes determine its added value and create preconditions for sustainable organisational development in the context of continuous changes [15,16].

The cooperative educational institution performs as a collegial team engaging all participants of the education process with the process of changes seeking common goal, developing competences of teacher teaching and learning as well as cooperation [17]. Within the process of changes, seeking constructive and effective cooperative learning, positive interdependence, promotive interaction, individual accountability, interpersonal and social skills and quality of group processing [18] become the most relative areas. Positive interdependence determines acknowledgement and undertaking of responsibility, which increases individual accountability to seek common goal and makes engagement of other group members with joint activities easier and increases motivation for cooperation. Actually, some weaknesses of this process appear, too, when cooperative learning encompasses domination of some particular members of an organisation, rejection of opinions or own stance being afraid to remain outsiders or just not showing any interest or being bored; moreover, it requires time and energy resources, focusing attention solely on the cognitive dimension of the goal or problem, without regarding the social dimension [19]. Despite this, the promotive interaction takes place when individuals encourage and ease each other’s endeavours to seek organisational goals. Collegial cooperation while other people with their knowledge, skills, attitudes, power, personality traits, etc., engage is a significant, sometimes unavoidable, resource to achieve personal, group and organisational goals. Like the behaviour and style of management of top-level managers makes a high impact on organisational learning and change management, cooperation is treated as the key mediator of the process in organisation [20].

Employee involvement in the processes of cooperative changes, as a phenomenon, is also being dealt with by scholars in various aspects: aiming to understand the employees’ reactions in the process of changes [21,22], to reveal the culture of trust and integrity [23,24], to set measures for diminishing employee resistance [25], to underline the importance of engagement and communication [26], to emphasise the effect of the microclimate [27], to highlight the significance of personal development [28], to explore the manifestation of manager’s leadership [29,30,31,32]. The listed investigations emphasise change-related phenomena in the general context of globalisation, leadership, learning organisation, experiential teaching. Needs for future investigations are expressed in them to allow understanding what conditions for employee self-involvement in organisational changes are required, what barriers keep away from doing it, what determines their involvement. As a result, the present research seeks to reveal how the teacher involvement in the organisational changes manifests.

2. Methods

2.1. Context

Aiming to reveal the phenomenon of the teacher involvement in the organisational changes (preconditions, reactions, action strategies, and intervening conditions) in detail, a particular school which was implementing changes during that specific academic year was chosen. When selecting a school, it was also important that no more than three months passed after the implementation of changes so that the informants could reflect on their experiences [33,34]. The selected school was implementing changes related to the reconstruction of the education process for 9 months.

2.2. Participants

The research sample was formed by applying the mixed purposeful sampling type [35]. At the beginning of the investigation, the initial research sample was formed by applying the criterion sampling. Informants’ engagement with projects being implemented in the organisation, dissemination of experiences within the organisation community, innovativeness of methods employed in the education process, maintained positive assessment positions in terms of school students and parents were regarded. In the course of conducting the research analysis, the sample was being expanded by applying the snowball sampling method until the categories became saturated [33]. Ten individuals performing pedagogical jobs—8 women and 2 men—were surveyed in the research. The individuals who took part in the research are represented by their pedagogical qualification accordingly: three teachers have the lowest qualification category (3–4 years of pedagogical work experience), two are senior teachers (12 years of pedagogical work experience), and five are teachers-methodologists (15–35 years of pedagogical work experience). Research subjects work in a progymnasium where students from 6 to 15 years of age study. The philosophy of school is directed to developing the environment of creative and focused experiential learning. To achieve the main goal of the activity is to develop the spiritual, intellectual and physical abilities of the person, to develop a creative, responsible citizen who has acquired the competencies necessary for successful social integration and lifelong learning.

2.3. Research Methods

The investigation is based on the application of the strategy of the grounded theory. The semi-structured interview was chosen to collect the data. The choice of the said method was determined by the provided conditions for immediate contact, flexibility of the researcher and the informant, an opportunity to collect data from a small group of informants, to use broader research questions and reveal the social reality from the point of view of the surveyed [36,37]. The interview lasted 30–45 min. Semi-structured interview questions aimed at revealing the preconditions for, reactions, strategies of the teacher involvement in the organisational changes which influence the process of change, the intervening conditions and results. The interview questions encompassed the types for the content depiction in terms of the analysed social construct through the following: basic questions of depiction of the content, extending informant’s attitude and obtaining the content [38].

The research data were analysed on the basis of the methodological procedures of the grounded theory. In the course of the grounded theory, the following coding procedures were performed: open coding, when categories were being singled out; axial coding, when categories were being related; selective coding, when a central category was being formed [39]. The following sentences are added to the paragraph in line 130: “The information that describes each research subject was encoded (type of the question was encoded with a letter (A-C-F-H), subject–with a number (from 1 to 10))”. The approach of encoding for the data analysis is described below.

During the open coding, the transcribed research data were divided into separate parts according to the meanings. This allowed for singling out the data units revealing typical research objects, events, and actions. The data units consisted of paragraphs of the interview text, comprising from 1 to 5 sentences. The latter data units were given primary notions (concepts), called labels, which comprised utterances (phrases) of the surveyed, and they were given the “in vivo codes”. The latter notions (concepts) emerged from the lower level of abstraction and became the result of the process of the primary analysis [39]. This technique of the open coding as an example of conceptualisation is presented in

Table 1. Example of the open coding.

Extract from the Interview	Label (In Vivo)	Subcategory	Category
<Why to sweat it out, if one can adjust. When you suggest something, you become guilty or are forced to do that work. If I see that others do not want, I do not show any initiative either>“C-1	“...to adjust. And I do not show any initiative...”	Adjustment	CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR THE PROCEEDING OF THE CHANGE
“in order to solve a problem or a situation that occurred, is to try to view that situation in a different way. I started exploring a school student as a person in depth, trying to understand why he learns, behaves in one or another way. At work, I started deeply exploring the student, his emotional state, condition, started encouraging exploring the self in depth, teaching to know the self, to recognise the occurring problems and search for ways to cope with them” A-1	...to explore a school student as a person in depth...to know the self	Self-assessment
“A very good feeling came to me when after completing it I was also acknowledged by the education department, peers from other education institutions, they supported, encouraged. Nobody should say that support of others means nothing>“F-1	...I was acknowledged... they supported, encouraged...	Encouragement, support
“...I started thinking for myself what I am, what I want from others, what I could want from school students, not loudly acknowledging my fears to myself and not trying to cope with them>”H-1	...I started thinking for myself...	Self-analysis

.

During the axial coding, the focus was put on the analysis of separate categories, merging the subcategories, considering their features and dimensions. Then, relationships among the categories were sought for, and the structural components of the grounded theory: preconditions, reactions, action strategies, intervening conditions, results, were singled out [39].

During the selective coding, the theories (categories) were being integrated and improved to reveal the relationships with auxiliary categories. This stage was carried out by applying the procedure of structural explanation, i.e., characterising the formed image of relationships among the categories in detail [39].

2.4. Research Ethics

The following ethical principles [40] were complied with when conducting the research: principle of respect for person’s privacy (the research participant had the right to decide how much the researcher should or should not know about one, how much of the information to reveal. The surveyed person was given an opportunity to not answer survey questions and terminate the conversation if one feels uncomfortable); confidentiality and anonymity (the research participants were explained that information on the research participants and materials being dealt with are accessible to the researcher only. The information of the research participants was depersonalised and coded); goodwill (the data of the interview analysis were used for the scientific research only); justice (the informants took part in the research voluntarily, approved by their consent form).

3. Results

Referring to the strategy of the grounded theory by Strauss and Corbin [39], the following grounded theory parameters of the teacher involvement in the organisational changes were singled out: preconditions, reaction, strategies, intervening conditions, and results (see

Table 2. Grounded theory parameters of the teacher involvement with the organisational changes.

Preconditions		Reaction	Strategies	Intervening Conditions	Results
(Self-) assessment of personal traits/self-cognition	As an opportunity	Self-criticism	Self-development		Engaging risk
Boredom		Irritation, resolution, surge of energy	Self-directed learning approach	Continuous changes
Positive encouragement, support		Increased responsibility, tolerance, motivation to act	Learning with/from peers
Negative reaction of others	As an obstacle	Shame, fear, doubt, panic, caution, compliance with instructions	Acknowledgement and analysis of mistakes	Personal attitudes and organisational culture	Cooperative learning
		Anxiety	Adjustment

).

Preconditions are the causes that influence the start of the teacher involvement in the changes, making either a stimulating or a suppressing impact. The (self-)assessment of personal traits/self-cognition is the first precondition stimulating the proceeding of changes (<After a conversation I allow myself to be critical. I suppose, well, this was a good expression, the truth was said. Even though from the start the truth was not that so sweet >; Then you think that if there was no criticism, you would probably float by... I started pondering what I am, what I could want from school students, not loudly acknowledging my fears to myself and not trying to cope with them>; <I usually think about my strengths and try to employ them when planning my future actions. It is even easier for me to watch my colleagues, I notice strengths in them, then it is easier to match points of view and start joint work>; <I go to learn so that I could know myself better>; <sometimes, occurring in non-standard situations, I start knowing myself from a different side. The more I know myself, the better I succeed in my work. I tell this to my peers, too, I share my experience. Then, we can work more effectively together seeking the school goal>; <I have such an evening ritual - I self-assess myself: what I did throughout the day, what I succeeded in and what failed>). Such highlighting of personal traits creates conditions for teachers to both have a wish to know themselves better, assess their capacities and plan their performance.

Boredom is another precondition activating the involvement in the changes (<I wish to change myself also when boredom appears, when particular standards, norms and works are imposed and must be done in a way the managers want, like it was in their times>; <how can it be possible to teach the same all over again, it becomes boring not only to children but also to me>; <something it explodes inside-the same again and again. I pulled myself together and said to myself that starting from tomorrow I will do many things in a different way because otherwise this routine makes the process such boring>; <at the beginning I thought that I already knew everything and I would be calm. But several weeks later it became so boring, I even stopped loving myself>). We observe the manifestation of boredom of the teacher in two aspects: through top-down imposed activities (when top-level managers or other colleagues suggest performing specific activities) and through personal experience (when it is no longer interesting to work, routine prevails etc.).

Positive encouragement/support which manifests through words and actions as well as examples is the third precondition (<The principal made my decision easier by saying that I work with a computer easily, I have already mastered many programs...>; <...sometimes my actions were influenced by praising words, for instance, when the principal specified my achievements, works done in public, in front of other peers. Then you want to engage with joint works, to assume responsibility again,>; <endeavours and acknowledgements of school students at the end of a lesson… then I know how I should behave further, i.e., that I must change my practice and not keep stuck to the methods that have been proven>; <...I am encouraged when peers come to ask for a piece of advice or consultation... my opinion, suggestions are significant to them. And then I get a wish to do new work with all, to encourage others >; <...perhaps this is not poetic or subtle at all, however, not the very words impacted me but rather how they were uttered, they simply drive positively. Then when working in the team I also try to find some good words for others>; <when I feel support I notice both myself and peers sharing knowledge, ideas, experience when adjusting, identifying circumstances, own and others’ interests and expectations>; <when we feel encouragement, support, we can cooperate and discuss ideas, prospective actions, predict implementation of them, assess circumstances, opportunities, risk. We can do much>). Encouragement acts as a stimulating power which approves the direction of a person’s performance and gives freedom to take part in the organisational changes as well as to change personal practice in education.

The fourth precondition for involvement in the changes is more of a limiting rather than activating character: it is the negative reactions of people around, which raise doubts, form negative personal attitudes and force adjusting as well as participating in the development (<...a said comment by school administrative staff–that I do not use my potential, I can work better, I was told to ponder on what added value I create. Another time when they ask who would like to do that job, I will definitely not suggest myself>; <Once, in a circle of few peers, the deputy principal said to me an undeserved and unreasoned comment and said that I would definitely not be able to that job. I still had many good ideas but I decided to not share them>; <negative reaction, comments regarding my work expressed by a new, younger colleague behind my back irritated me. I don’t want to engage with joint activities with such ones. I’d rather adjust myself to the existing situation than show my initiative. Why to perfect, learn if you cannot use it under such conditions>; <the unreasoned words said by school students’ parents, the set requirements, accusations, they even don’t want to talk>). Without collegial cooperation, the medium where one can learn, share, express opinion, communicate, cooperate and seek organisational goals is lost.

Reaction. The teacher involvement in the organisational changes causes various reactions. They are part of the changes taking place: self-criticism and disappointment in oneself, irritation, resolution, surge of energy, increased responsibility, tolerance, motivation to act, anxiety, negation, shame, fear, doubt, panic, caution are usually caused by preconditions that suppress changes (<I became disappointed in myself so much that I didn’t want to do anything>; <they say it in front of all so that I must experience that shame>; <if they encouraged each other it would be easier. But now I am afraid to start something new, I’d rather adjust>; <many doubts are inside, I would like to be in a different collective, so that they would be able to accept when I say NO. And I also should learn how to say, I need some courage>; <if I need to say my own opinion in front of others, I start panicking because I know that it is not interesting to some. I’d rather remain cautious and adjust to the most frequently expressed opinion>).

The reactions expressed as resolution, surge of energy, responsibility, tolerance, motivation to act, consistent compliance with instructions are mostly caused by positive preconditions (<I remember like today, it was a real shock to me, the very minute I both lost myself and understood that I needed to decide. These encouraging glances help making steps forward>; <when you see the change that was achieved by all, a somewhat surge of energy arrives... I ceased worrying about details, I tried to be open, brave, self-critical, relaxed and happy for what I have, to feel joy and find a positive side>; <if they trust me and allow me to decide myself on what I will do, then I do it with responsibility>; <Since our work relationships were excellent, the help promised by her calmed me down>; <...it was hard for me to accept other’s opinion, ideas. But when everybody around shared, were open, I even felt ashamed for constantly not tolerating others>; <….I tried to describe the proceeding of work aloud. It appeared that not all can be creators, some need instructions, too>; Now I manage all matters exactly in compliance with the requirements and, for the peace of mind, I inform the principal about everything>). Negative reactions are not always caused by the preconditions that suppress changes (e.g., irritation: <I was irritated by that condition that I spend so much time here and do nothing. I am capable of so much and, most importantly, I don’t want to sit quietly>; <I became irritated so much that they did not allow me to work in quiet, you learnt some things and do them continuously steadily. What is this change for>). The evoked less positive reactions that passed the stage of consideration and acceptance obtained the supporting impact and became positive reactions stimulating the changes (<I don’t like many things, I negate many things. But there are people who so patiently explain, are capable of accepting my negation. So, then I can work with them because I have some time to think over again what I said and I feel that my attitude is important to others>).

Strategies. When involved in the organisational changes, the teacher uses different strategies: self-development, self-directed learning, learning from/with peers, acknowledgement and analysis of mistakes, adjustment. The strategy of self-development is related to the ability to set the final goal requiring purposeful and goal-directed interest in relevant information to achieve it, and such performance gives growth to a person, provides conditions for engagement with the changes (<Then, after the encouragement of the top-manager, I took part in the seminar where I had to work with myself a lot. I am aware until now how to seek goal and how to work with myself>; <...so that I could work better I must be interested again in what is happening now, what innovations presently exist, what is new, what changes>; <Therefore I read much, I select what seems good to me, I put into work and this changes me for better. I started thinking what I am, what I want from others, what I could want from school students. I did not loudly acknowledge my fears to myself and did not try to cope with them>).

The application of the self-directed learning approach in teacher performance manifested as inseparable from a continuous process of change and personality growth (<I consider what I want, what I need, how I want to change the situation. I do not rush to start work without considering. Perhaps this was one of the first prompts to start my career as a teacher>; <only when having planned my activities I can manage to do everything on time and to take an active part in school life>; <it is not easy to start acting with resolution, the lazy part of me sometimes wins, but I know some good pieces of advice to motivate myself>; <I’d rather show initiative myself because I don’t want anybody impose things on me. Thus I feel satisfied with what I do>). The application of this approach provides preconditions to assume responsibility, get to know own powers and difficulties, feel satisfaction with performance, plan time, feel self-confident, etc. This gives sense to the entire proceeding of changes.

The application of the learning with/from peers strategy in performance of teacher emphasises the following aspects: involvement in this process takes place naturally (<having seen this, others come without being invited and engage>), responsibility is assumed easier (<it is easier when we jointly decide to assume responsibility>), a medium where own opinion may be expressed forms (<we all say what worries us, what brings joy, we can give advice to each other grounding on our experiences>), noticing diversity of existing opinions, opportunities (<it is not only me who has good ideas>; <we find several ways to solve a situation>).

The approach of acknowledgement and analysis of mistakes applied by the teacher provided conditions for reflexion, which resulted in the following: acknowledgement of a mistake (<and this is the purpose of mistakes: you live, you make mistakes, you learn>; <you think and understand that you were wrong>), evaluation of own actions (<Now, remembering the situation, I am thinking I was weak, with low self-confidence, unable to properly reflect and I try to say to others who make mistakes that a mistake can teach, only it needs to be analysed>; <I suppose, it is not a shame to correct a mistake, it is more shameful to continue living with the mistake made without acknowledging it>), acceptance of opportunities in relation to the decisions made by others concerning one’s powers (<...if I share my good experience, I hope, perhaps someone will hear and use it>; <I consider everything more, I learnt to present my suggestions in a cooperative way, with an opportunity to change, improve and not as a final result>), projection of prospects in relation to the changing and growth based on a mistake (<Sometimes I would write conclusions in great detail and responsibly>; <Since I make mistakes myself, I must view school children’s mistakes, forgetfulness to do something with tolerance>; <More partnership, trust appear>; <Now, listening to what people say, I try hard to not interrupt them until they finish telling everything what they want to>).

When involved in the changes, the teachers adjusted in various ways. Some of them did it while reproaching themselves with their weakness (<so that they would be able to accept when I say NO. And I also should learn how to say, I need some courage>); others treated it as a rational position, and were even proud of it (<why to sweat it out if it is possible to adjust>). Some adjust while doing no harm to others (<you simply quietly adjust, agree with their opinion, look so that no harm is made to others, and that is all>); others do not care about the community (<I adjust to the top-manager, and what about others–let they decide themselves>). Neutral support is observed, too (<like we must adjust to nature, the same at work–adjust to the majority>); however, this also does not satisfy teachers themselves. They would like to maintain a more firm, daring stance (<I adjust to a situation, but I am not satisfied with myself, I need more courage>).

Intervening conditions. The teacher characterise the factors that stimulate or suppress involvement in the changes as a continuous change (<it seems we already tested one innovation and, you see, we need to change ourselves again>; <yesterday I found out new things and today I read that there are many more efficient ways to teach>; <otherwise we would not change if no changes existed, we would live in a swamp>) and personal attitudes as well as the organisational culture (<if I do not change my point of view, likewise I cannot understand others. Everything stops>; <it is complicated that my values do not coincide with the school values. Either I must accept them or I must initiate that these were important to others, too>). The proceeding of changes is cyclic; therefore, reaction to them and adjustment to the changed environment is cyclic. A new obtained condition becomes too weak for the changing environment again.

Results. The results of the teacher involvement in the organisational changes manifest as an engaging risk, through the changing of one’s attitude towards a mistake, through cooperative learning. The teacher who took part in the changes acknowledge all risk dimensions existing in the entire process: uncertainty (<when taking part in changes, a sense of uncertainty always exists. Only when working in team this sense of uncertainty is like an engine>; <when we were introduced what results will have to be achieved by us, a sense of uncertainty appeared, like in a dream, questions started arising, why exactly do I have to do it? Why do I have to do it exactly like this? It seems that I work badly, therefore I must change myself>; <this sense is tiring, you do not feel certain about anything, I am afraid that something would happen, I am afraid to spoil>), indeterminacy (<at the beginning I did not like that there was no clarity, no guidelines. Only after taking part in the changes and approaching the result I understood that the “frame” was not needed. When one person works, one would need the instructions to feel safer, but when in cooperation, it liberates>; <it seems I had an alarm on. I had a task but did not know what to start from and had doubts about the result>; <absence of the clarity leads to the mobbing>), and vulnerability (<every time you must weigh what you say because everybody always assess you, especially when watching your lessons>; <I wanted to control everything, I would react to colleagues’ opinions, and this forced me to be strong. Even though this is not genuine. But I dared to ask for some help>; <I felt especially vulnerable when I needed to show my direct work to others>).

The engaging risk is perceived by the teacher through subjective factors which manifest through personal preconditions for the involvement in the changes (self-assessment, boredom, support, reactions of others), reactions of teacher (self-criticism, irritation, resolution, caution etc.), applied strategies (self-development, self-directed learning etc.).

The manifestation of cooperative learning is observed in the following aspects: involvement of the teacher themselves (<when I saw that nobody demonstrated own superiority there, I came up and joined>), improvement of own learning skills (<I asked my colleague what time management methods she had>), acknowledgement and assuming of responsibility (<...when my actions are impacted by praising words, for instance, when the principal specified my achievements, works done in public, in front of other peers. Then you want to engage with joint works, to assume responsibility again>; <if they trust me and allow me to decide myself on what I will do, then I do it with responsibility>), and the behaviour of top-level managers (<they assess your thoughts, works, actions, if needed, help to find a way out, suggest, but do not impose their opinion, do not condemn, listen to...>; <...when they do not hurt each other, but are able to say the truth>). Having been involved in the changes, the teachers create a medium for themselves where the striving to dominate above others is absent (<I would go to consult senior peers, and earlier I wanted to show them how to work in a modern way>); they can express and accept opinions of others (<...it was hard for me to accept other’s opinion, ideas. But when everybody around shared, were open, I even felt ashamed for constantly not tolerating others>; <we all say what worries us, what brings joy, we can give advice to each other grounding on our experiences>; <it is not only me who has good ideas>; <we find several ways to solve a situation>).

Based on the research data, the grounded theory on the teacher involvement in the organisational changes was designed for the personal and the organisational levels (Figure 1).

4. Discussion

As the comments on the examples provided above illustrate, our analysis demonstrates that the result of the teacher involvement in the organisational changes manifests from the engaging risk to the cooperative learning. Scholars have it [9,10,11] that the changes being implemented in education usually fail and depend on whether teacher involved in their daily practice and support it. Usually, they resit innovation or apply it with regard to the prevailing norm of practice or to the preferred practice as perceived by them [41]. In relation to why the changes being implemented fail so often, researchers usually emphasise the following causes: top-level managers do not provide conditions for the participants to involved themselves, to change and share gained personal experience, to learn from each other, to cooperate [15,16]. Risk is named as another significant obstacle to involved with the educational changes [42]. Few research works deal with the risk concepts in the education area [43,44]. The investigations [45] emphasise the aspect of risk through the dimension of indeterminacy because the future of teacher “suddenly becomes less secure” [46]. Ponticell [47] pointed out the following risk factors: uncertainty and awareness of loss. In our investigation, the manifestation of one of the key experiences in the teacher involvement in the changes was also related to the aspect of risk. It is stated through the following dimensions: uncertainty, indeterminacy and vulnerability. This is quite a new point of view which reveals why teachers unwillingly involved with the organisational changes. Risk occurs due to perceived indeterminacy and vulnerability related to “whether the other person intends and will act appropriately” [48]. Our research illustrates the factor of vulnerability, when teacher openly demonstrate the lessons being delivered by them. According to Twyford, Ferve, and Timperley [45], we unavoidably make ourselves vulnerable when we reveal own practice to others. If we pay no attention to this, the dominating factor of resistance may not be observed. Therefore, when implementing the organisational changes, it is suggested to regard the risk dimensions perceived by teacher, while foreseeing the measures to eliminate them in advance.

As Hargreaves [49] has it, negative emotional responses are an unavoidable part of the process of the involvement with the changes. However, specific individual and social factors enhance and involved in the changes [50]. Our research illustrates the manifestation of the engaging risk when the teacher involved in the organisational changes. The engaging risk is perceived by the teacher through individual factors which manifest through personal preconditions for the involvement in the changes (self-assessment, boredom, positive encouragement, support, reactions of others), reactions of teacher (self-criticism, irritation, resolution, surge of energy, responsibility, tolerance etc.), applied strategies (self-development, self-directed learning, learning with/from peers, analysis of a situation, acknowledgement of mistakes, adjustment etc.). Based on the research result [50] that openness for learning while risking promoted the experimentation norm, an assumption can be drawn that the preconditions for the teacher involvement in the changes, the reactions, and the strategies are engaging and provide conditions for mitigating the risk.

The mentioned scholars emphasise that social factors enhance and are involved in changes. Our research reveals that the social factors, cooperative learning in this case, are the consequence of the involvement in the changes and not the precondition. Cooperative learning manifests when, in the course of the process of changes, the teacher involves themselves with the process and improves their skills (learn from experience, help their peers to share their experiences, share the decision-making, do not strive to dominate, assume and acknowledge responsibility, learn to provide and receive feedback, and encourage each other). The investigations [18,51,52] conceptualise some of the mentioned aspects: positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, social skills, group discussion. It can be stated that cooperative learning may also be both a strategy seeking the result and the results sought after, when the teacher is involved in the organisational changes.

The manifestation of the discussed results (engaging risk and cooperative learning) has its own path of development (preconditions, reactions of teacher, used strategies and intervening conditions) which manifests at the personal and the organisational levels. Our investigation reveals that the teacher involvement in the changes is determined by various preconditions: boredom, self-assessment, positive encouragement, support, and the negative reaction of others. Each precondition for the involvement in the changes provides conditions for the manifestation of different reactions of teacher and action strategies.

The first precondition (personal level) is related to the analysis of pedagogues’ personality traits, cognition of powers and difficulties that motivate teachers to be involved in the organisational changes. This evokes self-criticism when, having assessed their own capabilities, a person creates a strategy to follow in one’s further actions. It is a selected way, i.e., self-development, for further performance.

The second precondition (personal level) is related to the boredom. The teacher start feeling bored because of unchanging actions, which causes irritation, dissatisfaction and lack of self-realisation. Moreover, these conditions evoke the resolution to change and motivate. This precondition influences the choice of the self-directed learning.

The third precondition is attributed to the organisational level. This precondition of support of positive stimulation motivates for activities, increases responsibility, tolerance when making decisions. These reactions provide conditions to teacher to choose the strategies of self-directed learning and learning from/with peers. The strategy of learning self-directedness is expressed at both personal and organisational levels and concentrates at the person’s striving to learn for life and continuously participate in the changes. The accepted strategy of learning from/with peers allows for an understanding that an organisation is the base to take off and continue participating in the changes while cooperating.

The fourth precondition (organisational level) encompasses negative reactions of others causing the following reactions of teacher: shame, fear, doubts, panic, caution, compliance with instructions, anxiety. In this case, the teacher chooses the strategies of adjustment or acknowledgement and analysis of mistakes.

To conclude, the preconditions of teachers’ involvement in the organizational change are related with their individual needs and the role of the organisation. Teachers’ individual needs are related with self-cognition and self-assessment aspects as well as activity boredom. The beforementioned preconditions create favorable conditions for teachers to get involved into change. The role of the organization (positive encouragement and support) for the involvement of teachers was expressed in either an inclusive or demotivating (negative reaction) manner.

All four preconditions for the involvement in the organisational changes undergo the following intervening conditions through the reactions (they make influence on the choice of specific strategies) impacting the teacher: continuous change, changes of personal attitudes and organisational culture. This means that continuous changes through the application of chosen strategies of self-development, self-directedness, learning from/with peers, and analysis of situations change personal attitudes and also form the organisational culture. And vice versa, the changes in personal attitudes and organisational culture are involved in the process of continuous change. This study reveals a complex package of reactions, strategies, preconditions, and intervening conditions related to the discovery of practical theory.

The spread and implementation of the ideas of the sustainable development enable organisational sustainability, its long-term success, when its interested members comply with consistency and continuity of ideas, adjusting to the continuous changes [2,3,4]. When analysing the teacher involvement in the processes of the changes in the course of the investigation in the aspects of engaging risk and cooperative learning, the sustainability approach is illustrated. During the investigation, the sustainability manifested by applying the methods throughout the process that create positive relationships among people, allow them grow, do not harm others at the present moment and will not harm in the future (learning from each other, sharing experience, ideas, and cooperating). Hargreaves and Fink [53] single out five action principles for achieving sustainability in practice (activism, vigilance, patience, transparency, design). The manifestation of these principles in our investigation can be illustrated:

-

Through pedagogues’ bravery to contradict (when a question on future plans, benefit of activities, etc., occurs);

-

Through self-assessment taking place throughout the process of change (at both personal and organisational levels, assessing threats and required support, points of departure);

-

Through a forming habit to patiently wait for the results and change of attitudes (postponing satisfaction with the results. They treat lessons of the past as resources and not obstacles. They acknowledge their past experience and learn from it);

-

Through manifestation of openness (when talking of both success and failures, difficulties, i.e., seeing the situation in real colours and not through rose-coloured glasses);

-

Through the implementation of changes based on community needs (all sittings, reports are teacher-friendly, the forms, methods are discussed).

When the education results are sought for by applying the principles of sustainability, the conditions for the implementation of both community vision and global priorities are created, and this helps a community to set the limitations and provides conditions to work together [54]. This results in suggesting education organisations to comply with the sustainability principles while implementing the changes, to discuss common visions on sustainability because this is an acknowledged transformational potential of education.

5. Limitations of the Study

This article is based on the approach to reveal the phenomenon of teacher involvement in the organisational changes in detail (preconditions for involvement, reactions, action strategies, intervening conditions, and result). One education organisation which recently implemented long-term changes was chosen for that purpose. Since the comparison of the research results of the grounded theory is of great importance, our research is the one that will contribute to the development of other research theories. Therefore, in this investigation, we revealed the situation in a particular context of research only; more examples were not included for comparison and the aspects solely related to the presented investigation are analysed. Such point of view does not create conditions for drawing generalised conclusions. Continuing investigations in this area, it would be purposeful to expand the research area (to include the results of other studies for comparison) to formulate generalising conclusions about the involvement of participants of the education sector with the changes.