Favouritism behaviours of school principals: teachers’ perceptions on the causes and consequences of favouritism in Turkey

ABSTRACT

This study aims to reveal the causes and consequences of school principals’ favouritism behaviours based on teachers’ perceptions, and definitions about favouritism behaviour within schools. A descriptive phenomenological design was applied. Data were gathered via face-to-face interviews conducted with 15 public middle school teachers in Turkey. The data was then examined through content analysis. The participants defined the characteristics of favouritism behaviour as injustice, inequality, ignoring, partiality, and privilege, with types of favouritism classified as indicators of distribution, administrative process, and communication-interaction. The causes of favouritism behaviours were stated as a desire to protect the individuals they are with, to increase the power, to gain interest, and to cover their own incompetence. It was determined that favouritism behaviours have negative effects on both an individual and institutional level. Based on the findings, it was suggested to develop specific management strategies in order to prevent negative consequences of favouritism behaviours.

KEYWORDS:

• Favouritism
• school principal
• school
• teacher

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Adem Sakçak

Adem Sakçak is a religious culture and moral knowledge teacher at Edebali Middle School in Kocaeli/Turkey. He received his MA in Educational Administration from Kocaeli University. His research interests include Favouritism in Educational Organizations.

Yaser Arslan

Yaser Arslan is a research assistant in the Faculty of Education at Kocaeli University. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Kocaeli University, Turkey. His research interests include Happiness at Work, Diversity Management, and Organizational Image.

Soner Polat

Soner Polat is a professor in the Faculty of Education at Kocaeli University, Turkey. His research interests include Peace Education, Intergenerational Learning, Organizational Image, and Organizational Justice.