The Relationship between Occupational Skills and Organizational Learning with Principals' Occupational Quality of Life in Birjand Primary Schools of Iran

ABSTRACT: The present study aims to investigate the relationship between occupational skills and organizational learning with principals' occupational quality of life in Birjand primary schools. A correlational-descriptive method was used and statistical population included all primary school principals in Birjand during educational year 92-93 making a population of 92 participants. Standard Neefe questionnaire including five dimensions (Employee Skills and Capabilities, Mental Models, Shared Mission and Vision, Team Work and Team Learning, and Systems Thinking), Whoqol-bref questionnaire of occupational quality of life including 26 questions, and occupational skills questionnaire from principals' occupational skills questionnaire (Farhang, 1997). Including 30 questions were used in the research. Questionnaire validity was content type and the reliability of each questionnaire was estimated 0.91, 0.95, 0.87 respectively, using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Redundancy, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used in order to describe data, while Pearson Correlation Coefficient, independent-t test, and one-way variance analysis (f-test) were used to analyze data. Results from Pearson correlation Coefficient show that there is a significant and direct relation between dimensions of occupational skills (technical, conceptual and human) and occupational quality of life. Moreover, there is a direct and significant relation between occupational quality of life and employee skills and capabilities, shared mission and vision, and systems thinking. There is also a significant and direct relation between principals' technical skills with mental models and systems thinking, employee skills and capabilities with human skills, and conceptual skills with mental models and systems thinking. According to the results, there is no significant relation between technical skills with employee skills and capabilities, shared mission and vision, and team work. There is no significant relation between conceptual skills with organizational models, shared mission and vision, and team work either. Moreover, there is no significant relation between human skills with mental models, shared mission and vision, team work and team learning, and systems thinking. The results show that (according to t test) the rate of occupational skills and occupational quality of life is equal among male and female principals. In addition, the results of f test shows similar occupational skills and quality of life with respect to education.

Occupational Skills, Organizational Learning, Occupational Quality of Life.