Faculty Change Orientation Scale (FCOS)

Abstract

The Faculty Change Orientation Scale (FCOS) is a specialized psychometrics instrument designed to measure the receptivity to and resistance against organizational change within K-12 educational settings. Developed by Kearney and Smith (2008), the scale provides a nuanced assessment by distinguishing between the attitudes of three primary stakeholder groups: the faculty, the principal, and the surrounding community. This multi-dimensional approach is critical for understanding the dynamics of school improvement and the successful implementation of new initiatives.

The scale consists of 19 items distributed across three distinct factors, utilizing a 6-point Likert scale response format. High internal consistency, as demonstrated by robust Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, confirms its reliability for research and administrative diagnostics in educational environments.

Keywords

Faculty Change Orientation Scale, FCOS, school improvement, organizational change, educational leadership, principal openness, faculty resistance, community press, educational administration, psychometrics

Authors

S. Kearney, P. A. Smith

Purpose

The primary purpose of the FCOS is to systematically assess the overall orientation toward innovation and change within a school system. It is intended for use by researchers and educational administrators seeking to diagnose organizational barriers or facilitators of change.

By segmenting the change orientation into specific components—faculty, principal, and community—the instrument allows for targeted interventions aimed at minimizing resistance and maximizing the adoption of effective school reforms and policies. Understanding these specific orientations is essential for managing successful change processes in academic institutions.

Construct

The FCOS measures the psychological construct of Organizational Change Orientation within the context of schooling. This construct is operationalized through three empirically derived, distinct dimensions:

• Faculty Openness to Change: Measures the extent to which teachers and staff welcome, embrace, and are receptive to substantial changes, new rules, and innovative ideas.
• Principal Openness to Change: Assesses the principal’s commitment to and enthusiasm for change initiatives, contrasting receptivity with tendencies to balk at or resist new suggestions.
• Community Press for Change: Reflects the degree to which the surrounding community (e.g., PTA, parents) actively pushes for or influences innovation and change within the school.

Validity

While detailed validity metrics (e.g., criterion or predictive validity) are not explicitly provided in the source material, the development of the FCOS was grounded in a theoretical and empirical analysis of change orientations in schools, suggesting strong construct validity. The clear delineation of items into three separate factors confirms that the scale effectively measures the intended, distinct psychological dimensions of change orientation among different school stakeholders. This empirical structure is vital for ensuring the scale accurately reflects the complex realities of organizational change dynamics.

Reliability

The FCOS demonstrates high levels of internal consistency across all subscales, indicating robust reliability. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients reported are exceptionally strong, supporting the use of the scale for reliable measurement in research settings:

• Faculty openness to change: 0.95
• Principal openness to change: 0.87
• Community press for change: 0.87

Factor Analysis

The instrument’s structure was confirmed through factor analysis, which identified three primary factors corresponding to the three measured dimensions. The item distribution across these factors is specified as follows (items marked with an asterisk [*] require reverse scoring):

• Faculty openness to change (9 items): Items 1, 2, 5, 6*, 8, 10*, 13*, 14*, 15.
• Principal openness to change (6 items): Items 3*, 7*, 9, 11*, 12, 19*.
• Community press for change (4 items): Items 4, 16, 17, 18*.

Instrument

Test Type: Attitude Scale / Organizational Climate Survey

Format: 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 6 (Strongly Agree).

Language Available: English (as per original publication).

Population Group: Educational personnel (faculty, teachers, administrators) and school community members.

Age Group: Adults (Professional staff).

Population Details: Designed for use in K-12 school environments to assess attitudes toward change and innovation.

Test Methodology: Self-report survey instrument administered to relevant stakeholders within the school community.

Keywords

Faculty attitudes, principal resistance, organizational culture, innovation adoption, educational psychology, reliability, validity, change initiatives, school reform

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: N/A (Information not provided in source material)

Affiliation Email addresses: N/A (Information not provided in source material)

Correspondence Address: N/A (Information not provided in source material)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The instrument was published in 2008. The original instrument details and scoring instructions were made available online by Wayne K. Hoy. The original PDF can be downloaded here: http://www.waynekhoy.com/pdfs/change_scale.pdf

Permissions and fee requirements for use should be directed to the corresponding author or the publisher, Information Age Publishing, based on the reference provided.

Reference’s

• Kearney, S., & Smith P. A. (2008). A theoretical and empirical analysis of change orientations in schools. In Wayne K. Hoy & Michael DiPaola (eds.). Studies in School Improvement. Greenwich, CN: Information Age.

Items of the Faculty Change Orientation Scale (FCOS)

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

1. In this school, faculty welcomes change.
2. Faculty in this school embraces new ideas.
3. In this school, the principal balks at new suggestions.
4. This community pushes for innovation.
5. In this school, teachers are receptive to substantial changes.
6. In this school major change is resisted.
7. In this school, the principal is slow to change.
8. Teachers in this school readily accept changes to new rules and procedures.
9. In this school, the principal is committed to major change.
10. Faculty in this school rejects all but minimal changes.
11. In this school, the principal often resists changes suggested by parents.
12. The principal in this school embraces change initiatives.
13. The rhetoric of change in this school is strong, but actual change is negligible.
14. Faculty in this school would rather fight than switch.
15. In this school, the faculty relishes innovation.
16. In this school, suggestions by the PTA often produce change.
17. Faculty in this school is open to ideas of the parents.
18. Most community members are happy with their schools.
19. In this school, the principal is committed to no change.