FOSTERING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES: HUMAN-CENTERED APPROACHES TO ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Abstract

This study examines the role of humanistic approaches in developing positive relational processes of institutions of higher learning and evaluates how they affect the organizational climate and academic performance of organizations. Being the rooted in the modern theory of education and organization, the research takes into consideration the growing issues of learning and teaching within traditional pedagogy in the form of authority which are unable to address the affective, social, and relational needs of students and teachers. Using a quantitative cross-sectional study design, students and faculty in an array of institutions of higher learning were sampled to determine their perception about human-centered practices, organizational climate, and learning outcomes. Core dimensions measured through the help of standardized measures involved empathy, respectful communication, participatory decision-making, trust, psychological safety and academic engagement. Variables were interrelated by a descriptive, correlational, regression, and mediation analysis. Findings indicate that the concept of human-centered approaches has a positive correlation with organizational climate as well as learning outcomes. Organizational climate was also a major predictor of learning outcomes, and mediated the relationship between human-centered approaches and performance at least partially. These results indicate that the practice of people-centered is effective to boost learning by directly affecting it, as well as, indirectly by influencing it through an enabling institutional environment. In turn, the research provides empirical evidence to the body of literature on the relational praxis interdependence, organizational culture, and educational effectiveness. It emphasizes the urgency of focusing on the human aims of educational leadership and policy to not only academic achievement but on the progression of affective well-being, interest, or learning courses that are sustainable. In general, the exploration supports the importance of the relationships in the context of human relationships as the center of the educational systems towards the holistic and lasting results.