School leadership in an urban context: complicating notions of effective principal leadership, organizational setting, and teacher commitment to students

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study, situated in a large urban public school district, explores the relationship of teacher perceptions of principal leadership and teacher commitment to students’ academic success and social well-being, as well as whether organizational trust and collective efficacy mediate this association. Structural equation analysis revealed that principal transformational leadership was uniquely associated with organizational trust and efficacy but not with teacher commitment. Transactional leadership behaviors of a principal were directly related to teacher commitment. Findings complicate understandings about the influence of TL on teacher commitment in a district and about conceptions of organizational setting, suggesting that urban school leaders maintaining high performance expectations may foster teacher commitment to students. More significantly, the study highlights the need for further exploration of contingency approaches in understanding leadership within specific school contexts.