The relationship between principal's leadership style and teacher job satisfaction
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the principal’s leadership style (as perceived by the teacher) and the teacher’s job satisfaction.
The sample utilized in this study consisted of 220 public school teachers in West Virginia. Four teachers were randomly selected from each of the state’s 55 counties to participate in the study. Each participant was mailed copies of LEAD-Other and the Job Satisfaction Survey. A total of 70% of the teachers returned the questionnaires.
Principals in the study were classified, according to Hersey and Blanchard’s leadership typology, as: Style 1 (High Task/Low Relationship), Style 2 (HT/HR), Style 3 (LT/HR), or Style 4 (LT/LR).
The major findings emerging from the descriptive and analytical treatment of the data were:
(1) West Virginia teachers most frequently perceived their principals to be Style 2 leaders (38%).
(2) Teachers who perceived principals to be Style 2 leaders were significantly more satisfied overall (2.80) than those who perceived principals to be Style 3 (2.62), Style 1 (2.53)/ or Style 4 (2.36).
(3) The overall job satisfaction of teachers was not significantly impacted by school location, school size, sex of the teacher or years of experience of the teacher (when considered as variables in isolation).
(4) Significant differences in job satisfaction were evidenced when the demographic variables of school location and sex of the teacher interacted with the leadership style of the principal.
(5) Teachers who perceived the principal to be a Style 2 leader were most satisfied with the “Administration and Supervision” subscale (3.25); and teachers who perceived the principal to be a Style 4 leader were least satisfied with “Administration and Supervision” (1.96).
(6) Teachers were significantly more satisfied with intraorganizational factors such as relations with co-workers (3.00) and pupils (2.88) than they were with extra organizational factors such as community relations (2.32) and financial aspects of the job (2.11).
(7) School-specific satisfaction was significantly higher than district satisfaction. This indicates that many of the factors contributing to lowered job satisfaction are not within the principal’s direct control.
