Enabling School Structure, Collective Responsibility, and a Culture of Academic Optimism: Toward a Robust Model of School Performance in Taiwan.

Purpose – The purpose of this research is twofold: to test a theory of academic optimism in Taiwan elementary schools and to expand the theory by adding new variables, collective responsibility and enabling school structure, to the model.Design/methodology/approach – Structural equation modeling was used to test, refine, and expand an organizational path model of student achievement first developed in the USA.Findings – The proposed organizational model was supported in Taiwan and was consistent with the initial studies done in the USA. Further, two concepts were added to the model, enabling structure and collective responsibility, both of which had significant indirect effects on student achievement through academic optimism. Moreover, the theoretical foundations (efficacy, trust, and academic emphasis) of the latent construct of academic optimism were confirmed again in this sample of schools in Taiwan.Originality/value – The findings support an organizational model of student achievement, which has app...