Our study aims to develop and validate a multidimensional Innovative Work Behaviour instrument to measure teachers IWB. Current IWB conceptualizations and operationalizations need further attention. Existing measurements miss empirical evidence of the construct validity and moreover do not include a sustainability dimension. Based on a thorough and comprehensive conceptualization of IWB, we first adapted and extended the items of previously used instruments and developed items for a sustainability dimension. Second, we tested the construct validity of this newly developed multi-dimensional IWB instrument in a Dutch context, using Rasch techniques and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The psychometric characteristics were examined in a sample of teachers working in vocational education (N = 440). The results revealed five dimensions of IWB, namely Opportunity Exploration, Idea Generation, Idea Promotion, Idea Realization (differentiated in two sub-dimensions: Criterion-based implementation and learning-based communication) and Idea sustainability (differentiated in two sub-dimensions: External dissemination and internal embedding). The dimensions were reliably measured (α .84-.94) using 44 items. This new instrument, which builds on recent conceptualizations of IWB as well as on the pivotal innovation models of Farr (1989) andFullan (2007), offers for an international group of researchers a conceptually sound and valid tool to validate explanatory models of innovative teacher behaviour. For practitioners in the domain of educational innovation, it offers the opportunity to diagnose, in a sound way, the extent of the necessary conditions of teachers IWB for an educational innovation to succeed.

The twenty-first century labour market requires employees that proactively shape innovations and solve complex problems. Professionals in the education sector are expected to perform innovative behaviour that not only entails the generation, but also the realization and sustainable implementation of new ideas. In a sample of 458 employees in Dutch secondary and higher vocational education (abbreviated in Dutch to MBO and HBO, respectively), this study investigated the relation between environmental factors (namely task variety, management support and exposure to innovation) and Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) across the different phases of the innovation process, including a sustainability phase. Results of hierarchical regression analyses showed that management support and exposure to innovations served as a predictor for all phases of IWB. Teachers with supportive managers and a high degree of exposure to innovations showed higher scores on innovative behaviour across all phases. Linear regressions revealed a significant relationship between task variety and IWB. In the hierarchical model, only management suport and exposure to innovations showed significant relations. Background characteristics, such as gender, age, tenure, number of working hours and type of education, for which we controlled during the analyses, played a role in how much IWB is displayed. It can be concluded that a work environment, in which employees are exposed to innovation and are supported is crucial. Additionally, in view of the role background characteristics play, it is recommended to select teachers with specific profiles for the different phases of the innovation process.