Factors affecting teachers’ informal workplace learning: The effects of school climate and psychological capital

Abstract

Although teacher informal workplace learning (IWL) has been widely confirmed as a key driver of teachers’ professional development, the mechanism of IWL remains underexplored. This study examined how school climate and psychological capital influenced five types of teacher IWL activities. The sample included 1296 teachers from Shanxi Province, China. Of the five dimensions of school climate examined, collaboration and instructional innovation had the most powerful effects. Decision making was positively related to learning through stakeholder interaction, but negatively related to learning through colleague interaction and reflection. Psychological capital was a key mediator of the effects that school climate had on IWL.