Distributed leadership, professional collaboration, and teachers’ job satisfaction in U.S. schools

Abstract

This study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) to investigate relationships among distributed leadership, professional collaboration, and teachers' job satisfaction in U.S. schools. Data are from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2013 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Results revealed teachers’ perceptions of distributed leadership were significantly, positively associated with their job satisfaction after accounting for other individual and school culture variables, with reciprocal mediation between distributed leadership and professional collaboration. This study has policy implications for leadership in disadvantaged schools in addition to research implications, particularly regarding how leadership is reflected in the responses of different school stakeholders.