The School’s Climate as a Mediator between the Principal’s Personality and the Attitude toward Sex Education in the Arab Sector in Israel

Abstract

This study examined the school climate as an intermediary between the principal’s personality and the attitude toward sex education in the Arab sector. The main research question was to what extent can the school climate mediate between the personality and the principal’s attitude toward sex education, in the Arab sector in Israel? The study involved 128 principals from the Arab sector in northern Israel. The principals answered four questionnaires: organizational climate, personality characteristics, sex education, and a demographics questionnaire.The findings of the study showed a relationship between the level of openness and extroversion of school principals and their attitudes toward sex education. As for the extroversion index, it was found that the relationship was positive among male principals and negative among female principals. The findings also showed that the personality of the school principal is mediated by the school climate when examining the extroversion measurement only. It was further found that the school climate does not mediate a change between the level of openness and the principal’s attitudes toward sex education. These results can be useful for decision-makers, such as the Ministry of Education and management training institutions, for evaluating and delivering training for in-service principals.