Structural model of relationship of professional learning community and organizational reliability with mediating role of organizational mindfulness

This research study investigated structural model of relationship of professional learning community and organizational reliability with mediating role of organizational mindfulness: A mixed research in higher education. This study was an explanatory sequential design and ​​an applied research. In qualitative unit, population were the experts of schools of management of public universities of Tehran, sample were 14 experts of management and sampling was snowball and semi-structured interviews were implemented. In quantitative unit, population were the management faculty members of schools of management of public universities of Tehran (351 members), sample were 226 faculty members of schools of management of public universities of Tehran and two-stage cluster sampling and available sampling were implemented. Professional learning community, organizational reliability, and organizational mindfulness questionnaires were executed in 2014-2015. In qualitative unit for collection of mindfulness indicators content analysis and open coding were used. The quantitative statistical methods were exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The structural equation modeling contained one independent latent construct: professional learning community; two dependent latent constructs: organizational mindfulness and organizational reliability. The study demonstrated professional learning community had significant and direct effects on organizational mindfulness (γ­=0/75), organizational reliability (γ=0/25), direct and significant effect of organizational mindfulness on organizational reliability (β=0/68). Results showed professional learning community: collective responsibility for student's learning, collaboration focused on professional learning had direct effect on organizational mindfulness: rapidity and agility, flexibility, accountability, conditional learning, trust and openness; and on organizational reliability: sensitivity to operations, preoccupation with failure, resilience, deference to expertise, reluctance to simplify interpretation, also direct effect of organizational mindfulness on creation of organizational reliability.