Identifying and ranking the dimensions of knowledge management in education in Mazandaran province

The general purpose of this study was to identify and rank the dimensions of knowledge management in the Education Office of Mazandaran province. In terms of purpose, this research was applied using a mixed methods approach (qualitative and quantitative) with an exploratory design. In the quantitative phase, a descriptive survey method was used. The statistical population in the qualitative phase included 20 principals and education experts, and in the quantitative phase, it involved 2653 directors, deputies, and heads of departments of the education office as well as principals and deputies of schools in Mazandaran province.  In the qualitative phase of the study, 10 participants were selected using purposeful sampling which continued until data saturation, and in the quantitative phase, based on Cochran's formula, 338 participants were selected by cluster-stratified random sampling method. A researcher-made questionnaire including 69 questions was used to collect the data. The face and content validities of the instrument were confirmed by experts, and their composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha were calculated to be above 0.7. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis tests were used to analyze the data. The results showed that knowledge management has the following 9 dimensions: knowledge commercialization, knowledge acquisition, knowledge production and creation, knowledge sharing, management and leadership, organizational technology, human resource development, organizational culture, and knowledge-based strategy. The dimension of knowledge production and creation with a factor load of 0.816 had the highest rank while the dimension of human resources development with the factor load of 0.482 had the lowest rank.