The effect of principal leadership on school teachers' group identification: Relational or organizational

Abstract

This study examined the possibility that a principal's leadership is related to different levels of teachers' group identity. The results of a web-based survey of school teachers revealed that the transformational and empowering leadership of principals were positively related to teachers' group identity at the relational as well as the collective level of group identity. The transformational leadership, "providing intellectual stimulation," was positively associated with "identification with the administration" and "identification with the organization" at the relationship level of group identity and at the group level, while "providing individualized support" was positively associated with "identification with the administration" at the relationship level of teachers. A principal empowering leadership was positively associated with teachers' total group identification scores. Based on these results, we discuss principals' leadership that contributes to reducing teachers' sense of busyness and promoting team schools.