Analyzing the relationship between principals’ learning-centered leadership and teacher professional learning: The mediation role of trust and knowledge sharing behavior

Abstract

This study tested the relationship between principals’ learning-centered leadership and teacher professional learning in Iranian primary schools, with a focus on the mediating role of trust and knowledge sharing behavior. Survey data collected from 886 teachers in 121 primary schools, representing a range of socioeconomic status, distributed across three districts in the city of Mashhad. Data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results illustrate significant path relationships between the constructs, linking learning-centered leadership with teacher professional learning. Learning-centered leadership directly influenced the professional learning of teachers, and such a relationship was fully mediated by the teachers’ trust and knowledge-based sharing behavior in these Iranian primary schools. These results provide evidence that principals can enhance teacher learning by emphasizing teaching and learning to develop trust among teachers and foster knowledge sharing.