School Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (OCBS)

Abstract

The School Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (OCBS) is a specialized psychometric instrument designed to measure the discretionary and voluntary behaviors exhibited by teachers within a school setting that contribute positively to organizational effectiveness, but are not explicitly recognized or required by formal reward systems. Developed by DiPaola, Tarter, and Hoy, the scale operationalizes the psychological construct of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) within the unique context of educational environments. The OCBS is typically used by administrators or researchers to assess the overall health, climate, and efficacy of a school organization by quantifying the extent to which faculty members engage in behaviors such as helping colleagues, taking initiative, and participating in extracurricular activities.

Keywords

Organizational Citizenship Behavior, OCB, School Climate, Teacher Behavior, Educational Administration, Organizational Theory, School Management, Teacher Efficacy.

Authors

Michael DiPaola, Megan Tschannen-Moran, C. John Tarter, Wayne K. Hoy.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the School Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (OCBS) is to provide a reliable and valid measure of the degree of discretionary effort and supportive actions demonstrated by faculty members within elementary, middle, and high school settings. This scale allows researchers and practitioners to quantify the level of positive, non-mandated contributions made by teachers, which are crucial indicators of a healthy and collaborative school environment. Understanding OCB is essential for diagnosing organizational strengths and weaknesses, as well as for studying the relationship between faculty behavior and broader concepts such as school climate and student achievement.

Construct

The OCBS measures Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), which describes actions that go beyond the basic role requirements of an employee. In the context of the school, OCB is often conceptualized through specific dimensions related to teacher actions. These dimensions typically include: 1) Altruism (voluntarily helping students or colleagues, e.g., mentoring new teachers or helping students outside of class time); 2) Conscientiousness (adhering to rules and routines, e.g., punctuality and effective use of class time); and 3) Civic Virtue/Sportsmanship (responsible participation in school life and avoiding petty complaints, e.g., serving on committees or making innovative suggestions). The 12 items of the OCBS are designed to capture a broad scope of these behaviors, providing a holistic measure of positive organizational contribution.

Validity

Research supporting the OCBS, particularly studies conducted by DiPaola, Tarter, and Hoy, indicates strong evidence for the scale’s validity. **Construct validity** was established by demonstrating that the scale scores relate theoretically to other established measures of organizational health, such as school climate and efficacy. Specifically, higher OCB scores are consistently associated with more positive and open school climates. **Content validity** is ensured through the careful development of items derived directly from observations and literature regarding desirable discretionary teacher behaviors. Furthermore, the scale demonstrates **criterion validity** through its capacity to predict organizational outcomes that are theoretically linked to high faculty engagement and cooperation.

Reliability

The School Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale demonstrates acceptable to strong levels of internal consistency. Studies using the OCBS typically report **Cronbach’s Alpha** coefficients ranging above 0.80, indicating high reliability. This suggests that the items within the scale measure a cohesive underlying construct of teacher OCB. The reliability of the instrument has been consistently verified across various educational levels (elementary, middle, and high school), confirming its stability and trustworthiness when applied to diverse faculty populations.

Factor Analysis

While Organizational Citizenship Behavior theory often posits multiple underlying dimensions (such as altruism, conscientiousness, and civic virtue), factor analysis of the 12-item OCBS frequently supports the use of a **unidimensional structure** when applied in the school context. The developers often treat the scale as measuring a single, overall factor of OCB among teachers, contributing to a single, aggregate score. This approach simplifies interpretation for practitioners, focusing on the total level of positive discretionary behavior rather than separating specific facets, although sub-factor analyses may reveal distinct components related to student-focused OCB versus organization-focused OCB.

Instrument

Test Type: Observer-Rated or Self-Report Psychometric Scale

Format: 12 items rated on a 6-point Likert scale.

Language Available: Primarily English (as documented in the foundational research).

Population Group: Educational personnel (Teachers and School Administrators).

Age Group: Adult educators.

Population Details: Teachers in public and private K-12 educational settings (Elementary, Middle, and High School).

Test Methodology: Respondents (often administrators or colleagues observing the teachers) assess the frequency or agreement level of the teacher’s behavior using a 6-point ordinal scale. Raw scores are summed and then transformed into normalized T-scores using specific formulas tailored to the school level (high school, middle school, elementary school) to facilitate comparison across different samples.

Keywords

OCB, School Leadership, Teacher Morale, Organizational Effectiveness, Organizational Behavior, Psychometrics, Educational Research, Discretionary Behavior.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Correspondence is often directed through the primary researchers’ institutional affiliations, such as those associated with The Ohio State University or the University of Oklahoma, where the authors held positions at the time of publication.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The scale was developed and validated around the early 2000s, with key publications appearing in 2001 and 2005. The instrument is often made available for non-commercial academic research use, typically requiring permission from the primary author, Dr. Wayne K. Hoy. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.waynekhoy.com/pdfs/ocb-scale.pdf. Information regarding commercial fees should be sought directly from the authors or their associated institutions.

Reference’s

• DiPaola, M., & Tschannen-Moran, M. (2001). Organizational citizenship behavior in schools and its relationship to school climate. Journal of School Leadership, 11 (5), pp. 424-47.

• DiPaola, M, Tarter, C., & Hoy, W. K. (2005). Measuring organizational citizenship in schools: The OCB Scale. In Wayne K. Hoy & Cecil Miskel (Eds.) Leadership and Reform in American Public Schools. Greenwich, CT: Information Age.

• Further information is available at the author’s official website: www.waynekhoy.com.

Items of the School Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale (OCBS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Teachers help students on their own time
2. Teachers waste a lot of class time.
3. Teachers voluntarily help new teachers.
4. Teachers volunteer to serve on new committees.
5. Teachers volunteer to sponsor extracurricular activities.
6. Teachers arrive to work and meetings on time.
7. Teachers take the initiative to introduce themselves to substitutes and assist them.
8. Teachers begin class promptly and use class time effectively.
9. Teachers give colleagues advanced notice of changes in schedule or routine.
10. Teachers give an excessive amount of busy work.
11. Teacher committees in this school work productively.
12. Teachers make innovative suggestions to improve the overall quality of our school.

Response Set:

1= Strongly Disagree, 2= Disagree, 3= Somewhat Disagree, 4= Somewhat Agree, 5= Agree, 6= Strongly Agree

Scoring Notes:

Reverse score items 2 and 10.

Normalization Formulas (T-Scores):

• For high school: [100X (items mean – 3.69)/ 0.19] +500
• For middle school: [100X (items mean – 3.74)/ 0.24] +500
• For elementary school: [100X (items mean – 3.86)/ 0.27] +500