The relationships between school autonomy gap, principal leadership, teachers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between school autonomy gap, principal leadership, school climate, teacher psychological factors, teachers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment under the context of school autonomy reform. A path model has been developed to define the relationships between principal leadership and teachers’ outcomes via mediating variables. Multiple-group comparison was used to explore the effect of school autonomy gap in this process. We collected the data through a survey carried out in 26 senior secondary schools in China. In total 528 teachers and 59 principals and assistant principals participated. The results suggest a significant influence of instructional and transformational leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment, mediated by the indirect impact of school climate and teachers’ self-efficacy. School autonomy gap, which is closely related to principal leadership, emerged as an important influence in the path model.