Designing a Structural Model of Organizational Justice in Iranian Public Education, with the Aim of Applying it at Policy-Making, Management, and Executive Levels
Keywords:
Organizational justice, Iranian public education, PLS-SEM, distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, informational justiceAbstract
Purpose: This study aimed to design and validate a context-specific structural model of organizational justice in Iran’s public education system for use at policy-making, managerial, and executive levels.
Methodology: This applied, quantitative study was conducted among principals, deputies, teachers, and administrative experts working in Iranian public education during the 2024–2025 academic year. Data were collected using a 40-item researcher-developed questionnaire. Content validity was confirmed by experts, and reliability was established through Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability. Given the non-normal distribution of the data, variance-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for analysis.
Findings: The results indicated that organizational justice is a multidimensional construct comprising distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justice. Path coefficients revealed that all four dimensions had significant effects on overall organizational justice, with informational and interpersonal justice demonstrating the strongest explanatory power. Measurement and structural model indices confirmed satisfactory reliability and validity.
Conclusion: The proposed structural model provides a comprehensive and indigenous framework for understanding organizational justice in Iranian public education and can support evidence-based policy reform, managerial redesign, and improved organizational interactions.
Downloads
References
Ardalan, M. R., & Majouni, H. (2021). The Role of Organizational Justice in Job Satisfaction Mediated by Organizational Citizenship Behavior and Psychological Empowerment. Journal of Management in Organizational Education, 10(1), 73-108. https://doi.org/10.52547/meo.10.1.73
Basar, U., & Sigri, Ü. (2015). Effects of Teachers' Organizational Justice Perceptions on Intention to Quit: Mediation Role of Organizational Identification. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 15(1), 45-59. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1057477
Bhatti, O. K. (2024). Örgütsel Adaletin Çok Yönlü Doğasının İncelenmesi: Faktör Analizi ve Yapay Sinir Ağları Kullanarak Bütünleşik Bir Analiz. Business & Management Studies: An International Journal, 12(1), 198. https://search.proquest.com/openview/c351b91b23d33d3586a42316cd0a20d5/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=4368372
Bobocel, D. R., & Gosse, L. (2015). Procedural Justice: A Historical Review and Critical Analysis. In The Oxford Handbook of Justice in the Workplace (pp. 51-87). https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=UhLwBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA51&dq=Bobocel,+D.+R.+and+L.+Gosse+(2015).+Procedural+Justice:+A+Historical+Review+and+Critical+Analysis.+The+Oxford+Handbook+of+Justice+in+the+Workplace:+51-87.+%09.&ots=C9lDLgWOHU&sig=E0Gs1FJPqgT5d5I5LNkj0pWtK6g
Colquitt, J. A., & Rodell, J. B. (2015). Measuring Justice and Fairness. In The Oxford Handbook of Justice in the Workplace (pp. 187-202). https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=UhLwBwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA187&dq=Colquitt,+J.+A.+and+J.+B.+Rodell+(2015).+Measuring+Justice+and+Fairness.+The+Oxford+Handbook+of+Justice+in+the+Workplace:+187-202.+%09&ots=C9lDLgWNQS&sig=WD9AhoJqlOcVhiAxyubM57jPsqw
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Sage Publications. https://www.ucg.ac.me/skladiste/blog_609332/objava_105202/fajlovi/Creswell.pdf
Ebrahimi-Moghadam, N., & Khushchehreh, M. (2017). A Comparative Study of Education in Developed and Developing Countries. Strategic Development Journal, 51(13), 172-198. http://journal-dadpishgan.ir/Article/22610/FullText
Farakhinia, M. H., Rasouli, S. A., & Salimi, L. (2022). A Comparative Study of UNESCO's 2030 Document with the Fundamental Transformation Document of Education in Iran. Iranian Studies in Comparative Education, 5(2), 1850-1870. https://www.magiran.com/paper/2428049/
Ghadiri, A., Memarzadeh, G. R., Ali Pour, H., & Mirsepassi, N. (2019). Identifying and Prioritizing Indicators of a Justice-Based Education and Training System. A New Approach in Educational Management, 10(3), 167-192. https://www.sid.ir/paper/168864/
Ghazali, J., Wahab, S., Khalid, N. A., Jafni, N. H., & Saderi, S. M. (2025). Exploring The Educational Leaders' Perception of Organizational Justice and Its Components. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH), 10(5), e003250. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v10i5.3250
Hafezian, M., Afrasiabi, R., & Khazaei, M. (2021). Ranking the Indicators of a Justice-Based Education and Training System Using the DEMATEL-ANP (DANP) Combined Method. Journal of Elevating Education, 1(1), 10-25. https://ensani.ir/fa/article/467950/
Ibn al-Shahidi, S. Z., Shah Talebi, B., & Nadi, M. A. (2023). Proposing a Model of Informational Justice in the Iranian Public Education System. Innovations in Educational Management, 19(4), 9-28. https://civilica.com/doc/2183254/
Ismetoglu, M., & Argon, T. (2025). Teachers' Views on Sustainable Organizational Justice in Schools. 10th International Conference on Lifelong Education and Leadership for ALL,
Jamali, S., Hasani, M., & Mohajeran, B. (2023). Investigating the Impact of Leadership Style, Organizational Design, and Human Resource Management Practices on Knowledge Hiding: The Indirect Roles of Organizational Justice and Competitive Work Environment (Case Study: Staff of the General Department of Education in West Azerbaijan Province). Journal of Management in Organizational Education, 12(3), 13-35. https://doi.org/10.61186/meo.12.3.13
Kalay, F. (2016). The Impact of Organizational Justice on Employee Performance: A Survey in Turkey and Turkish Context. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 6(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v6i1.8854
Kesavan, L. (2021). The Roles and Functions of Metaphors in the Malaysian Education Blueprint Master's thesis, University of Malaya (Malaysia)]. https://search.proquest.com/openview/65017d6d6b7dd4e68f07aa94c4580d51/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y
Keshavarz-Gharabai, M. (2022). Investigating the Concepts of Organizational Justice and Islamic Justice in Modern Management Approaches. National Conference on Management, Economics, and Islamic Sciences,
Narandaran, H. R. (2018). Stress and Job Satisfaction among School Teachers in Malaysia: The Association with the Psychosocial Working Environment and Organizational Justice Doctoral dissertation, University of Malaya (Malaysia)]. https://search.proquest.com/openview/1ae2e205981bdd23c1ebe155f4059bab/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=2026366&diss=y
Noorikhondan, M., Karimi, M., Ghorbani, M., & Zandeh-Dil, A. (2022). Designing a Model for Increasing Organizational Justice with a Cultural and Ethical Values Approach in the Education Staff of Mashhad. Sociology of Education, 7(1), 174-184. https://www.sid.ir/paper/1063082/
Rahman, M. H. A., & Karim, D. N. (2022). Organizational Justice and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Mediating Role of Work Engagement. Heliyon, 8(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09450
Sakka, F., El Maknouzi, M. E. H., & Jadalhaq, I. M. (2020). Supporting Organisational Justice Through a Legal Framework for Performance Appraisal in the United Arab Emirates. https://ejcls.adapt.it/index.php/ejcls_adapt/article/view/861
Toprakcı, E., Akçay Güngör, A., & Güngör, A. (2023). Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Perception of Organizational Justice and Gender in Educational Organizations in Türkiye. e-Kafkas Journal of Educational Research, 10(3), 611-628. https://doi.org/10.30900/kafkasegt.1312318
Yorulmaz, Y., İliman Püsküllüoğlu, E., Çolak, İ., & Altınkurt, Y. (2021). The Relationship of Organisational Trust with Organisational Justice, Organisational Commitment, and Organisational Citizenship Behaviours in Educational Organisations: A Meta-Analysis. Education and Science, 46(208), 237-277. https://doi.org/10.15390/EB.2021.9806
Zarbi, S., Amir Kabiri, A. R., & Rabiei Mandajin, M. R. (2021). Designing and Explaining a Model of Organizational Justice with an Islamic Values Approach in the Iranian Education System. Applied Issues in Islamic Education, 6(2), 31-54. https://doi.org/10.52547/qaiie.6.2.31
Zarei, M., Soltani-Fallah, A. H., Flahatkar, A., & Bagheri-Dadookalai, M. (2022). Investigating and Explaining the Competency Model of School Managers in the Higher-Level Documents of the Education System. Applied Educational Leadership Journal, 3(2), 1-10. https://ael.uma.ac.ir/article_1767.html
Downloads
Published
Submitted
Revised
Accepted
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mehdi Forghani, Badri ShahTalebi, Mohammad Ali Nadi (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
