When innovation in education works: stimulating teachers' innovative work behaviour

Abstract

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.

A predictive structural model of new ways of working on innovative work behaviour: Higher education perspective in the Gulf Cooperation Council

“…For the IWB scale, the results in F I G U R E 3 Structural model for the study variables validity. This confirms the observations of prior studies on higher education (Ayoub et al, 2021;Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020a, 2020b that consider IWB a multidimensional concept.…”

“…Shanker et al (2017) confirmed the significant positive effect of an organizational culture of innovation on IWB Lambriex-Schmitz et al (2020b). confirmed prior exposure to innovation as a key predictor for all phases of IWB.…”

“…They confirmed the significant and positive impact of organizational climate for innovation on IWB. The results of Lambriex-Schmitz et al (2020b) were also validated. They stated that exposure to innovation acts as a key predictor for all phases of IWB.…”

“…, IWB is connected to various processes in which employees generate, create, develop, promote, realize, apply and modify new ideas to improve their work role performance (Baharuddin et al, 2019) According to Ayoub et al (2021), the dilemma in addressing IWB stems from the number of dimensions to be applied, and in which context. The number of IWB dimensions varies among studies: the issue is still debated and remains context-bound in the literature (Ayoub et al, 2021;Baharuddin et al, 2020;de Bruin & Steyn, 2019;de Jong & den Hartog, 2008Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020b;Messmann & Mulder, 2012Scott & Bruce, 1994). As research on IWB in a higher education context is rare, Lambriex-Schmitz et al…”

Integration Aspect of Training Teachers of Art Disciplines in Pedagogical Universities

“…At the same time, higher education is the main responsibility for training flexible, open to new technologies, creative specialists (Bystrova, 2015). However, universities are often criticized for their conservatism, lack of innovative educational programs that will meet the needs of the labor market, students, and society as a whole (Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020;Stukalenko et al, 2013). To solve this issue, higher education institutions are encouraged to create new educational and institutional strategies for training specialists, developing their innovative abilities, and actively engaging in the development and implementation of innovations (Lambriex-Schmitz et al, 2020;Fedorov, 2021).…”