The level of practicing leadership by exception among school principals in Jordan: the mediating role of organizational effectiveness from the teachers’ perspective

Abstract

Introduction. When school principals practice leadership by exception, they focus on addressing outliers rather than systemic issues and step in only when performance falls short of expectations. Leadership in this style can have a positive or negative effect on the school climate and student achievement, depending on the strength of the school's organizational structure. The ability of the school to efficiently achieve its aims and objectives is what we mean when we talk about organizational effectiveness in this context. This is often influenced by the principal's leadership style. This study sought to identify the level of practicing Leadership by exception among school principals in Jordan: the mediating role of organizational effectiveness from the teachers' point of view. The study participants and method. The researcher used the descriptive-analytical approach. The study population consisted of all school teachers in the Wadi Al-Seer district in the capital, Amman, and their number was (1769); a sample of (288) male and female teachers was selected using the simple random sampling method. Results. Results showed that Jordanian school principals exhibited strong abilities in time management (mean 3.69, STD 0.94), defining responsibility and authority (mean 3.84, STD 0.73), and delegating power (mean 3.81, STD 0.68). Average performance review score was 3.20 with a standard deviation of 0.82. Mean 3.63, standard deviation 0.64) was a high overall average. Time management was the only area where the study discovered a gender gap, with women faring better than men. No other aspects or overall scores varied significantly by gender or level of education. With an explanation for 35.2% of the variance, the performance evaluation dimension was a significant predictor of organizational success. Practical significance. Leadership by exception and its effects on organizational effectiveness as seen through the eyes of Jordanian school administrators and their teachers is the focus of this study, which has important practical implications. The study demonstrates the impact of this leadership style on school functioning by investigating aspects such as responsibility, authority, time management, and performance evaluation. These results have important policy and practical implications for school administration because they show that leadership by exception is prevalent, especially in the area of time management. Improving organizational effectiveness, school climate, and student outcomes may be possible by gaining a better understanding of the function of this leadership style in school dynamics.