School leadership in an urban context: complicating notions of effective principal leadership, organizational setting, and teacher commitment to students

ABSTRACT

The present study, situated in a large urban public school district, explores the relationship of teacher perceptions of principal leadership and teacher commitment to students’ academic success and social well-being, as well as whether organizational trust and collective efficacy mediate this association. Structural equation analysis revealed that principal transformational leadership was uniquely associated with organizational trust and efficacy but not with teacher commitment. Transactional leadership behaviors of a principal were directly related to teacher commitment. Findings complicate understandings about the influence of TL on teacher commitment in a district and about conceptions of organizational setting, suggesting that urban school leaders maintaining high performance expectations may foster teacher commitment to students. More significantly, the study highlights the need for further exploration of contingency approaches in understanding leadership within specific school contexts.

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Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1. Data set available from corresponding author upon request.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

G. T. Freeman

GT Freeman, Ph.D. currently serves as President & CEO of The Lincoln Center for Family and Youth, an education and social services agency serving at-risk students. Dr. Freeman holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership from Regent University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

D. Fields

Dail Fields, Ph.D. has served as professor and PhD program director for Regent University, where he is currently engaged as adjunct professor. He has also served as a senior researcher with the University of Georgia. Dr. Fields holds a doctorate from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Johns Hopkins University.