The Relationship Between Distributed Leadership and Teacher Efficacy in China: The Mediation of Satisfaction and Trust
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The Relationship Between Distributed Leadership and Teacher Efficacy in China: The Mediation of Satisfaction and Trust Xin Zheng1
•
Hongbiao Yin2 • Yuan Liu3
De La Salle University 2019
Abstract This study explored the relationship between distributed leadership and teachers’ sense of self-efficacy, with a focus on the mediating roles of job satisfaction and trust in the principal in the context of mainland China. Five hundred and seventy elementary school teachers in South China participated in a survey. The results show that distributed leadership has indirect effects on teachers’ selfefficacy, and that these effects are significantly mediated by job satisfaction and trust in the principal. The results highlight the importance of distributed leadership and trust in the principal in the Chinese context. Implications for the improvement of leadership practices are discussed. Keywords Distributed leadership Trust in principal Job satisfaction Self-efficacy Mediating effect
& Yuan Liu [email protected] Xin Zheng [email protected] Hongbiao Yin [email protected] 1
Faculty of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
2
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Room 407, Ho Tim Building, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China
3
Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, No.2 Tiansheng Road Beibei District, Chongqing, China
Introduction Distributed leadership has received wide attention since the 2000s. The idea is increasingly adopted as a strategy for schools to build collective capacity for change in United States, England, Australia, Wales, Malaysia, and other countries (Harris 2014; Liu et al. 2018; Spillane 2006). Spillane (2006) defined distributed leadership as leadership practices that focus on the interactions between leaders and followers and the situations where the interactions locate. Indeed, it shifts focus from a single influence to multiple sources of influence (Harris 2014; Spillane 2006). Many researchers and practitioners have embraced this idea of distributed leadership, as in current school settings it is too difficult for a single ‘‘great man’’ such as the principal to deal with every multifaceted and complex organizational task (Harris 2014; Spillane 2006). Some evidence has shown positive relationships between distributed leadership and student learning (Heck and Hallinger 2009; Leithwood et al. 2009), and school improvement (Harris 2014; Spillane 2006). However, researchers still concerned about these positive effects and critics argued that such effects may be rhetoric (Tian et al. 2016). The evidence base of distributed leadership is not robust yet and more empirical studies are needed to identify the effects of distributed leadership across different contexts (Harris 2013, 2014; Tian et al. 2016). However, most studies of distributed leadership have been conducted in Western countries (Harris 2014; Leithwood et al. 2009), and research on distributed leadership in the Chinese context is comparativel
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