Mahmut Polatcan, Pınar Özkan and Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş
This paper explores the relationship between transformational principal leadership and individual teacher innovativeness, considering the mediating role of teacher agency (TA) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper explores the relationship between transformational principal leadership and individual teacher innovativeness, considering the mediating role of teacher agency (TA) and the moderating role of teacher trust (TT).
Design/methodology/approach
We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) using survey data collected from 676 teachers at 25 schools in Turkey.
Findings
The results indicated no direct correlation between transformational leadership (TL) and teacher innovativeness but revealed a significant and positive association between TL and teachers' agency, as well as between teachers' agency and innovativeness, suggesting that TA fully mediates the association between TL and teacher innovativeness. Additionally, teachers' trust positively influenced the link between principal leadership and teachers' innovativeness, with the impact of TL on teachers' innovativeness being stronger when trust levels were higher.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the literature, providing an understanding of the mechanisms through which leadership can exert an influence on teacher innovativeness.
Practical implications
This study also suggests that the strength of the influence is likely to vary under different circumstances. Trust among teachers appears to play a key role in the effect of school leadership on teachers, particularly when aiming to support and sustain innovativeness.
Social implications
Trust-based relationships within a school are essential for school principals to influence innovative practices. We conclude that, in the absence of trust as a key component of school climate, achieving a comprehensive understanding of the role of school leadership in fostering teacher innovativeness seems unattainable.
Originality/value
This paper expands existing knowledge regarding the effect of TL in leading teacher innovativeness by indicating the indispensable role of TA and trust.
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Keywords
Mahmut Polatcan, Nedim Özdemir, Ali Çağatay Kılınç, Sally J. Zepeda and Salih Çevik
This study tested a moderated mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher instructional practices. Specifically, the authors focused on the mediating effect of teacher…
Abstract
Purpose
This study tested a moderated mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher instructional practices. Specifically, the authors focused on the mediating effect of teacher professional communities and the moderating effect of instructional climate on the relationship between school leadership and teacher instructional practices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected data from 958 teachers working in 72 middle and high schools in Türkiye and employed multilevel structural equation modelling (MSEM) with Bayesian estimation to predict structural links between the study variables.
Findings
Results affirmed a full mediation model where school leadership practices exerted indirect effects on teacher instructional practices through promoting teacher professional communities. The authors also found significant moderating role of instructional climate in the effect of school leadership on teacher professional communities and instructional practices.
Originality/value
This study illuminates the contextualized nature of school leadership by concluding that the effect of school leadership on teacher professional communities and instructional practices is closely tied to the extent to which a high-quality instructional climate is established in schools.
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Hanifi Parlar, Mahmut Polatcan and Ramazan Cansoy
Professional learning communities that merge under the same goal in schools where social relationship networks are strong can contribute to creating an atmosphere which provides a…
Abstract
Purpose
Professional learning communities that merge under the same goal in schools where social relationship networks are strong can contribute to creating an atmosphere which provides a basis for innovativeness. In this study the relationships between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities were examined through the views of teachers working at public schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of this study, which utilised correlational survey model, were collected from 734 teachers who work in the Umraniye district of Istanbul, Turkey.
Findings
The findings revealed that there is a positive and statistically significant correlation between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities. The results demonstrated that teachers’ perceptions of social capital in schools affected their perceptions of innovativeness climate and that professional learning communities had an intermediary role in this relationship. These findings showed that the richness in social relationship networks provided a basis for the development of innovative teaching practices in schools and the professional learning environments created in schools contributed to this process.
Research limitations/implications
In this study, the intermediary role of professional learning communities on the effect of social capital on innovativeness climate was analysed via teachers’ views. In the literature no study studying the relationship between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities was found.
Practical implications
It can be put forward that there is a need for studies that analyse the effect of the roots of social capital on innovativeness culture to identify other variables that may potentially be relevant. In addition, this study may be a contribution to the literature by providing a study on the concepts of social capital and innovativeness climate, which were studied in the fields of social sciences extensively, in educational settings and this supports the field through theoretical and empirical studies.
Originality/value
This study demonstrated the effects of the concept of social capital on innovativeness climate which provides a basis for innovativeness in educational institutions. This topic is currently on the agenda of the OECD and World Bank. Moreover, this study aims to show the intermediary role of professional learning communities in the relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate.
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Mehmet Şükrü Bellibaş, Mahmut Polatcan, Muaz Özcan and Muhammet İbrahim Akyürek
The present study aims to examine the moderation role of school culture attributes (individualism versus collectivism) in the relationship between paternalistic leadership and…
Abstract
Purpose
The present study aims to examine the moderation role of school culture attributes (individualism versus collectivism) in the relationship between paternalistic leadership and teacher commitment, mediated by teacher well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
The data included 1,152 teachers across 104 schools in Türkiye using a multilevel moderated mediation SEM model to test relevant hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that teacher well-being fully mediates the relationship between perceived paternalistic principal leadership and teacher commitment. Additionally, the collectivist orientation of school culture influences the strength of the association between paternalistic leadership and teacher commitment indirectly through well-being. More precisely, paternalistic leadership has a stronger link to teacher well-being and commitment when teachers identify the culture of their schools as relatively more collectivist.
Originality/value
This study offers empirical evidence of paternalistic school leadership in promoting teacher well-being and commitment depending on the school culture in a non-western country context.
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Waheed Hammad, Mahmut Polatcan and Hosam Morad
Research investigating the impact of school leadership on teachers’ emotions and practices has mostly focused on the leadership behaviors of school principals, thus ignoring the…
Abstract
Purpose
Research investigating the impact of school leadership on teachers’ emotions and practices has mostly focused on the leadership behaviors of school principals, thus ignoring the potential leadership qualities of other school members, especially teachers. The current study aimed to bridge this gap by providing further insight into the link between teacher leadership and teacher outcomes in Egyptian schools. Specifically, the study examined the mediating role of collective teacher efficacy in the relationship between teacher leadership and teacher commitment.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed structural equation modeling and bootstrapping to analyze survey data collected from 497 teachers in primary and middle schools in Damietta city, Egypt.
Findings
The results supported our proposition that teachers’ leadership practices have more indirect than direct effects on teacher commitment through collective teacher efficacy. That is, teacher leadership practices positively affect teachers’ efficacy beliefs, which, in turn, increase their sense of commitment to school.
Originality/value
The study adds a new aspect to the literature by investigating the potential role of teacher leadership in promoting positive teacher attitudes that can have a positive impact on student learning. This is significant given the growing emphasis that educational systems place on enhancing school effectiveness. Specifically, understanding the factors that contribute to teacher commitment can inform strategies for retaining effective teachers and improving the overall quality of the teaching workforce. Additionally, since most of the empirical research on teacher leadership has been produced in Western contexts, it is important to enrich the field with studies conducted in other societies, especially in the Arab region.