An Investigation Of Theory Z, Administrator Trust And Teacher Burnout In Early Childhood And Day Care Administration

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between organizational characteristics, administrator trust and teacher burnout among Child Development Center Supervisors and Teachers in California. The results could contribute new knowledge to the field of early childhood/day care administration. Procedure: 72 Center Supervisors and 294 Center Teachers were sent questionnaires. The questionnaire for the Supervisors had four parts: demographics, Z organizational characteristics, trust (McDonald\u27s Self-Report Trust Scale), and burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory). The teachers were sent the Maslach Burnout Inventory. The Z organizational characteristic items had been submitted to factor analysis procedures which produced four Z factors. These factors were named by a panel of experts as follows: Involvement, Consensual Decision--Making, Holistic Concern, and Use of a Philosophical Statement. Findings and Conclusions: A statistical analysis of the data by Pearson Product-Moment Correlation procedures resulted in establishing a moderate relationship between Involvement and Decision-Making and Burnout. No correlations were found between Administrator Trust and Burnout or Demographics and Burnout. A multiple regression analysis revealed that Decision-Making, Involvement and Holistic Concern correlated moderately with Burnout. The correlations were such that they cannot be used for prediction but are theoretically useful. The relationships between Holistic Concern, Decision-Making and Burnout were not in the expected direction, according to Theory Z. Involvement and Burnout were related in the expected direction according to Theory Z. Methodological errors prevented retrieval of significant data regarding Trust and Philosophy. However, theory and experience state that these two variables are strongly related to the operation of an organization, and the emotional well-being of workers. Recommendations: 1) It is recommended that follow-up case studies be done on Centers which reported high and low Z factors and those which reported high and low Burnout. 2) It is recommended that the data regarding Burnout be subcategorized according to Maslach\u27s subcategories of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal accomplishment. These subcategories should then be related to the Z factors. 3) It is recommended that the data on supervisor burnout be analyzed according to the procedures in this study and that teacher burnout and supervisor burnout be compared. 4) This study should be replicated in other educational settings for further insights regarding the application of Theory Z to education. 5), Child Development Center Supervisors should be encouraged to value their role in promoting social support in their work organizations. They should be encouraged to define and make daily use of a philosophical position with their staff. Consensual decision-making practices should be developed carefully and with options for optimum effectiveness