Relationship Between Organizational Trusts Posed by the Principal and the Teachers’ Professional Commitment in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

The present study aims to explore the relationship between organizational trust posed by the principal and the teachers’ professional commitment in higher education institutions in the province of Punjab. The given phenomenon is related to the teachers’ professional commitment, as when the college teachers enjoy the trust of their institutional principals, their professional commitment towards their job is increased. The study follows the positivistic paradigm and quantitative approach through survey method and correlational design. The two variables of the study are organizational trust and professional commitment. The population of the study consists of public-sector college teachers from the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Through a multistage sampling technique, data were collected from 803 public college teachers. The data was collected through two self-developed questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis were applied to answer the study's research questions. The descriptive results reflect that the occurrence of trust in teachers by the principals hardly reaches a moderate level, while the commitment to teaching and teamwork is at a low level. At the same time, the correlation between overall trust and commitment to teaching, teamwork and students’ welfare is significantly positive but moderate. Conclusively, the given levels of trust and particularly of commitment are critically below expectations, while the strength of correlation between the variables is also not very promising. Such results demand immediate initiatives to address the poor professional commitment and enhance the perception of trust among college teachers for the resurgence of the instructional system.