The Hierarchical Linear Relationship of Individual and Organizational Variables with the Professional Identity of Teachers in Special Education Schools

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the hierarchical linear relationship among the professional identity, individual variables, and organizational variables of teachers in special education schools. Method: 453 responses from 33 special schools were used. All data analyses were using the SPSS 23.0 and HLM 8.1 programs. Results: First, 65.3% of the total variance in professional identity was explained by individual-level variance and 34.7% of the variance in that was organizational-level variance. Second, the effects of career, external scanning of informal learning activities and learning agility were significant. Third, the effects of average academic achievement, leadership and personal development of organizational learning capacity were significant. Conclusion: As the professional identity of special school teachers differed depending on individual teachers and school organization, not sure when these two characteristics should be considered.