Principal Leadership and Teacher Efficacy

Transformational leadership has a positive impact on teachers’ sense of self-efficacy (or belief in their own ability), a new study confirms.

As defined by the authors, “The main goal of a transformational leader is to increase a group’s level motivation and morality, support a common purpose and be able to develop major social changes”... 

Indeed, “one of the most important duties of a principal is to excite teachers with vision, and encourage them to work altogether as a team.”

More precisely, Gkolia et alia (2018) based their research on a model including six dimensions of leadership:
1. Identifying and articulating a vision
2. Fostering the acceptance of group goals
3. Providing individualized support
4. Intellectual stimulation
5. Providing an appropriate model
6. Highperformance expectations

By contrast, non-transformational leadership encompasses traditional tasks such as managing, supervising, organizing work, and monitoring performance.
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Conducted in Greece, the study collected data from 77 principals as well as 640 teachers (elementary and secondary schools) using the Principal Leadership Questionnaire (PLQ) and the Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). The PLQ consists of 24 questions largely related to the six dimensions above, while the TSES consists of 12 questions divided into three factors: efficacy in student engagement, efficacy in instructional strategies, and efficacy in the management of a classroom.

Overall, the  findings indicate that transformational principals are able to enhance the teachers’ level of self-efficacy--and this even in a highly centralized system.

Source: Gkolia, Koustelios, and Belias (2018), "Exploring the association between transformational leadership and teacher’s self-efficacy in Greek education system: a multilevel SEM model", International Journal of Leadership in Education, 21:2, pp. 176–196.