The importance of an explicit, shared school vision for teacher commitment.

This study investigated the relationship of different explicit school visions and the presence of a shared school vision among teachers with teachers' personal commitment to their work. Multilevel analyses of four types of schools show that teachers in schools with an explicit school vision more strongly share the school vision and this shared vision is positively related to their affective and normative commitment. The practical implications of this are discussed. • Schools with an explicit vision based on philosophical/pedagogical principles are compared with mainstream schools. • Teachers-share the school vision more at explicit-vision schools than at mainstream schools. • There is no correlation between the basis of the school vision and teachers' commitment. • Affective and normative commitment are greater at schools in which teachers share the school vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]