Abstract:

Organizational culture plays an important role in shaping employees’ behaviour, cooperation and institutional development in educational organizations. However, in many Lithuanian schools organizational culture is still perceived as an abstract concept rather than a strategic resource that supports institutional effectiveness. Educational institutions are often viewed as formal and mechanical systems, while insufficient attention is paid to their sociocultural dimension. As a result, the relationship between organizational values, employees’ behaviour and institutional goals may remain unclear, limiting the potential of organizational culture to support institutional development and the achievement of strategic objectives.

The aim of this study is to analyse the expression of involvement as a trait of organizational culture and its constituent indicators (empowerment, team orientation and capacity development) in Lithuanian general education schools. The research was conducted using the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS), which measures four main organizational culture traits: mission, adaptability, consistency and involvement. The study involved 1817 respondents from all ten counties of Lithuania representing public and private educational institutions, including preschool and general education schools. The sample included teachers, school leaders and administrative staff, allowing a comprehensive assessment of organizational culture perceptions within educational institutions.

The findings reveal that involvement is one of the most highly evaluated organizational culture traits in Lithuanian educational institutions compared with mission, adaptability and consistency. School leaders and administrative staff tend to evaluate involvement and its indicators more positively than teachers. The evaluation of involvement does not differ statistically significantly according to respondents’ length of service, institution size (number of employees), or the type of institution (public or private). However, employees aged over 50 evaluate involvement more positively than younger respondents.

The involvement trait received the highest overall evaluation among organizational culture indicators, with an average score of 4.09 out of 5. The results indicate that employees actively participate in joint activity planning, information sharing, collaborative decision-making and mutual professional support. Continuous professional development and cooperation are also perceived as important factors strengthening organizational capacity and contributing to the achievement of common institutional goals.

Despite these positive results, the study highlights the importance of strengthening the connection between employees’ daily work and the strategic goals of educational institutions, as well as reinforcing shared beliefs about employees’ ability to contribute to institutional development.

Keywords:

Organizational culture, involvement, empowerment, team orientation, capability development.