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This blog post reports from a study of Norwegian high school teachers’ affective commitment to their school organisation. This commitment embodies a sense of belonging and loyalty that drives teachers to excel for their students and institutions. Teachers with strong affective commitment actively shape school culture, collaborate with peers and rise to challenges. An important context factor for the study is the implementation of Norway’s new national curriculum guidelines (LK20). Successful educational reform often centres on curriculum design, resources or training. However, an emotional connection – known as affective commitment to the school organisation – plays an important role in determining a reform’s success or failure.

Key components of the study

Our study (Eriksen & Elstad, 2025) builds on a survey among 223 high school teachers in Oslo, working on four different schools mirroring the diversity between schools in the area. We used structural equation modelling, suitable for analysis of relationships between factors in complex data sets, to investigate teachers’ affective commitment to the school organisation as dependent variable. We identified three critical factors as independent variables: teachers’ decision-making autonomy, agency in curriculum implementation, and trust in the relationships with school leaders. Our three main hypotheses, based on current research, were that it would be positive statistical relations between the dependent and the independent variables, and that we would find positive statistical relations between the independent variables.

Autonomy and affective commitment

The study found a strong link between teachers’ decision-making autonomy and their affective commitment. Teachers who felt in control of their professional choices – from teaching methods to assessments – demonstrated higher emotional attachment to their schools. This can be seen as a positive reflection of the Norwegian system where teachers are granted autonomy in the choice of teaching methods since the curriculum is formulated in a manner that is open to interpretation and individual adaptation, a situation that has been further emphasised with the new curriculum LK20. On this contextual basis we also expected a strong relationship between agency for the curriculum implementation and affective commitment to the school organisation.

Findings about principal–teacher trust, curriculum agency and affective commitment

Interestingly, the study revealed a weak direct link between teachers’ sense of agency in implementing new curricula and their overall commitment to their schools. Despite substantial teacher involvement in the development process of new national curriculum guidelines agency did not strongly predict emotional attachment. This suggests that involvement alone is not sufficient; genuine agency occurs when teachers feel engaged and valued. The study found that agency’s influence on commitment primarily works through enhanced relationships with leaders and increased autonomy. However, we could not find a statistically strong relationship between principal–teacher trust and affective commitment to the school. This can indicate that the direct relationship between teachers and their leaders is a modest factor in predicting affective commitment to the school. Instead, we found a strong relationship between principal–teacher trust and teacher autonomy. Our interpretation of this finding is that when teachers trust their leaders, they feel more autonomous, which boosts their commitment. This is a cyclical dynamic – trusted leaders empower teachers, leading to increased commitment, which fosters a positive school culture (Bryk & Schneider, 2002), and our findings underscore the importance of effective leadership.

‘Trusted leaders empower teachers, leading to increased commitment, which fosters a positive school culture.’

Implications for educational practice

Given the critical role of affective commitment to the school organisation, educational leaders and policymakers can consider to develop and implement strategies that support teachers’ emotional ties to their schools. Important possibilities would be to foster environments where teachers are empowered to make decisions about their teaching methods and curriculum adaptations. This autonomy not only boosts commitment to the school organisation but can also enhance morale and job satisfaction, leading to a more engaged workforce. Another recommendation is that principals and school leaders are aware of the importance of building trust with teachers through transparent communication and collaborative decision-making processes. Building strong relationships fosters an environment where teachers feel supported, respected and valued – factors vital for their commitment.

We conclude that fostering teachers’ affective commitment is important in educational settings undergoing curriculum reforms. By emphasising autonomy, and strengthening principal–teacher relationships we can improve teachers’ dedication to their schools and ultimately enhance the educational outcomes for students.

This blog post is based on the article by Harald Eriksen and Eyvind Elstad, published in the Curriculum Journal.

References

Bryk, A., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. Russell Sage Foundation.

Eriksen, H. & Elstad, E. (2025). Understanding factors influencing Norwegian high school teachers’ affective commitment to their school in an age of curriculum change. Curriculum Journal. Advance online publication.