Examination of Relationships between Instructional Leadership of School Principals and Self-Efficacy of Teachers and Collective Teacher Efficacy.

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between school principals' instructional leadership behaviors and self-efficacy of teachers and collective teacher efficacy. In this regard, a model based on hypotheses was designed to determine the relationships among variables. The study sample consisted of 328 classroom and branch teachers employed in primary schools in Ankara. Instructional Leadership Scale, Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale and Collective Efficacy Scale were used to gather data. Structural Equation Modeling was performed to test the model. Research findings indicated that the model fitted the data well with acceptable goodness of fit statistics. Consequently, instructional leadership had a significant direct and positive impact on collective teacher efficacy. Additionally, it was appeared that teachers' self-efficacy moderated the relationship between instructional leadership and collective teacher efficacy. Several suggestions were presented for improving teachers' self and collective efficacy.Key WordsInstructional Leadership, Collective Teacher Efficacy, Teachers' Self Efficacy, Teacher, and School PrincipalTeachers constitute one of the most important dimensions of innovative acts in education, school development, and effective school movements (Balci, 2007; Ozdemir, 2000). Teachers' beliefs about their self-efficacy (Buyukozturk, Akbaba Altun, & Yildirim, 2010) and collective-efficacy that has been discussed in various researches in recent years (Antonelli, 2005; Cooper, 2010; Mackenzie, 2000) were counted among the most important variables that determines teachers' performance and effectiveness in schools. Researches on teachers' sense of self-efficacy indicate that self-efficacy is closely related to student achievement (Allinder, 1995; Caprara, Barnabelli, Steca, & Malone, 2006; Domsch, 2009; Ross, 1992; Woolfolk Hoy & Davis, 2006), family involvement in education (Garcia, 2004; Hoover-Dempsey, Bassler, & Brissie, 1987), tendency to risk taking and innovation (Basim, Korkmazyurek, & Tokat, 2008; Ghaith & Yaghi, 1997; Ross, 1994), collective efficacy (Goddard & Goddard, 2001), and job stress (Betoret, 2009; Ross, 1994). It can clearly be expressed that the organizational forms and structures of schools, one of the most important organizations of society, have effects on the lives of everyone in the school (Lee, Dedrick, & Smith, 1991). One of the important elements of this organizational forms and structures is school principal's leadership. Previous research on leadership (Armstrong-Coppins, 2003; Cagle & Hopkins, 2009; Demir, 2008; Hipp, 1995, 1996; Lee et al.; Kurt, 2009; Nicholson, 2003; Ross & Gray, 2006; Oliver, 2001; Williams, 2010) states that some leadership behaviors are effective on determining teachers' perceptions of self and collective efficacy. According to related literature, among these leadership behaviors the instructional leadership behaviors, which became popular with the effective school movements (Short & Spencer, 1989), are related to the variables such as job performance (Enueme & Egwunyenga, 2008), student achievement (Alig-Mielcarek, 2003; Gaziel, 2007; Hearn, 2010; Krug, 1992; O'Donnell & White, 2005), teachers' professional development (Blase & Blase, 1999a, 1999b), and teachers' attitudes towards the change (Kursunoglu & Tanriogen, 2009). Although there are some researches indicating that school principals' instructional leadership behaviors are related to teachers' self-efficacy (Derbedek, 2008; Howard, 1996; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2007) and collective efficacy (Brinson & Steiner, 2007), it can be stated that studies in this area are not sufficient especially in terms of instructional leadership. In this regard, more research about teachers' self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and principals' behaviors that affect these efficacy beliefs is needed. It is expected that explaining the relationships between self-efficacy and collective efficacy, and detecting the effects of school principals' leadership behaviors on these efficacy beliefs will significantly contribute to improving school effectiveness and capacity, and increasing student achievement. …

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