Women leadership and its effect on teachers’ emotional labor in Turkish high schools

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between women leadership and teachers’ emotional labor in Turkish high schools. 450 teachers from 11 high schools in Istanbul, Turkey participated in the study. The participants were asked to fill in the Leadership Function Scale and Emotional Labor Scale during the study. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistical techniques including arithmetical mean, standard deviation and Pearson correlation coefficient. To test whether the female principals’ leadership behaviors are significant predictor of teachers’ emotional labor simple regression was used. The results indicated that female principals display leadership functions in a high level. In addition to this, teachers display surface acting rarely and exhibit deep acting and genuine emotions in a high level. Pearson correlation and simple regression revealed that there is a negative correlation between leadership behaviors of female principals and surface acting. However, teachers display deep acting and genuine emotions more frequently when the female principals exhibit leadership function effectively.