A quantitative examination of teachers' perceptions of shared leadership in relation to self-reported job satisfaction, efficacy, and teacher leadership

ABSTRACT

Shared leadership builds a team with a shared purpose and vision for a specific organization. The problem addressed in this study was the conflicting research findings regarding how teachers operate under a shared leadership model. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine teachers' perceptions of shared leadership and its relationship to measures of teachers' job satisfaction, efficacy and leadership behaviors and to identify what differences exist between teachers employed in schools implementing this model and teachers employed in schools that are not. A sample of 162 K-12 public school teachers completed a survey reporting their perceptions of shared leadership constructs, job satisfaction, efficacy, and teacher leadership behaviors and identified if they worked in a school applying a shared leadership model. Both hierarchical thinking and a school culture of shared leadership were significantly and positively correlated to almost all job satisfaction subscales and all leadership behavior subscales while systemic thinking was not significantly related to any. School culture of shared leadership was the only one of the three shared leadership variables significantly correlated to teacher efficacy subscales. Results of the MANOVA included that those teachers working in schools not practicing shared leadership reported significantly higher job satisfaction, efficacy, and more leadership behaviors for all variables except job satisfaction rewards and leadership behavior communication. When comparing between schools adhering to shared leadership and those that do not, teachers who reported their school did not adhere to a shared leadership model had better outcomes. The current findings failed to provide support for shared leadership models. Limitations exist related to causation and the non-experimental nature of the survey methods employed;therefore, alternate explanations may exist for the findings. Continued leadership development for administrators is necessary, whether it be towards the goal of fidelity of implementation of shared leadership practices or other evidence-based leadership practices. The data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic;thus, replication of the current study is warranted under more traditional circumstances and once students, teachers, and schools have returned to regular in-person functioning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)