Planning, Organizing, Performing: Teachers’ Administrative Work as a Driver of School Performance

This study investigates how teachers’ administrative practices—planning, organizing, implementing, and controlling—relate to organizational performance in Petra District upper basic schools. Using a descriptive–correlational design, a questionnaire was administered to a simple random sample of 117 teachers. Results indicated a medium level of administrative practice alongside high organizational performance. Teachers’ administrative practices were positively and significantly associated with organizational performance; gender differences favored female teachers, while experience showed no significant effects. Positioned within educational studies, the findings link teacher-level administrative competencies to school-level performance, highlighting the role of distributed leadership, process management, and organizational learning in school improvement. Implications include embedding administrative competencies in teacher standards, prioritizing professional development in evidence-informed planning and process control, and establishing school structures (e.g., planning units) to support teachers’ administrative work. Policy and practice should leverage female-led exemplars, clarify role expectations, and align workload to protect time for high-value planning. Future research should employ multi-informant and longitudinal designs, test causal pathways via intervention trials, and examine contextual moderators (school size, leadership style) to guide scalable improvement.