Distributed Leadership View in Schools: A Structural Equation Modelling Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test theoretical model explaining structural relationships between organizational trust, distributed leadership and organizational support as perceived by teachers working at high schools, and school success of these schools. Correlational research design was used in the study assuming that there were cause-effect relationships between four main variables. The study sample was consisted of 352 teachers working at 22 different public high schools in Eskişehir metropolitan area selected through stratified sampling method. The research data was collected via Distributed Leadership Scale, Organizational Trust Inventory and Perceived Organizational Support Scale while Higher Education Entrance Exam score averages of the sample schools were used to determine school success variable. Correlation for data analysis, confirmatory and explanatory factor analysis for structural validity of the scales and Path analysis for testing the constructed models were utilized in the research. Since the constructed model was validated, it was concluded that teachers’ organizational trust directly affect their distributed leadership perceptions, distributed leadership directly influence their organizational support perceptions, organizational support directly affect school success in a positive way. Moreover, it was also revealed that teachers’ distributed leadership perceptions mediated through organizational support have an indirect positive effect on school success.