Purpose: Although leadership behaviors have been widely examined in relation to teacher outcomes, limited empirical research has explored how different leadership dimensions influence teachers’ morale within highly centralized educational systems such as Thailand’s primary education sector. Existing studies have often emphasized administrative control and procedural compliance, while comparatively less attention has been given to the role of relationship-oriented leadership behaviors in sustaining teachers’ morale within centralized administrative contexts. This study therefore examines the relationship between leadership behaviors within educational administration and teachers’ morale in Thai primary schools in central Thailand. Research design, data and methodology: This study employed a quantitative research design using a survey approach. Data were collected from 417 teachers and educational personnel working in primary schools across central Thailand through anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Leadership behaviors were categorized into task-oriented and relationship-oriented dimensions, while teachers’ morale was examined through Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were employed to examine the relationships between leadership behaviors and teachers’ morale. Results: The findings revealed that both task-oriented and relationship-oriented leadership behaviors were positively associated with teachers’ morale. Relationship-oriented leadership behaviors, particularly motivation and participation, demonstrated stronger predictive influence on teachers’ morale than task-oriented dimensions such as planning and supervision. The regression model explained a substantial proportion of variance in teachers’ morale, indicating that interpersonal and participatory leadership practices play an important role within centralized educational environments. Conclusions: The study contributes empirical evidence to educational administration research by demonstrating that leadership effectiveness within centralized educational systems may involve not only administrative coordination and policy implementation but also relationship-oriented leadership practices that support teachers’ professional well-being. The findings further suggest that balancing organizational structure with human-centered leadership may help sustain teachers’ morale within Thai primary schools.
This study investigates how principals’ instructional leadership influences teachers’ innovative work behavior, with teacher commitment and teacher professional collaboration as mediating mechanisms. Drawing on a cross-sectional survey of 812 teachers working in public schools in Türkiye, structural equation modelling with bootstrapping was employed to examine the direct and indirect effects of instructional leadership. The results indicate that instructional leadership has significant positive effects on both teacher commitment and teacher professional collaboration, which in turn enhance teachers’ innovative work behavior. Furthermore, the findings show that the mediating effects of teacher commitment and teacher professional collaboration are stronger than the direct effect of instructional leadership, underscoring their central role in linking school leadership practices with teachers’ innovative work behavior. By providing empirical evidence from a centralized education system, this study extends the international literature on instructional leadership and teacher innovation. The findings contribute theoretically by clarifying the mechanisms through which principals foster teachers’ innovative work behavior, and practically by offering insights for school leaders and policymakers seeking to cultivate teacher collaboration, strengthen commitment, and stimulate innovative work behavior in schools.
این مطالعه بررسی می‌کند که چگونه رهبری آموزشی مدیران بر رفتار کاری نوآورانه معلمان تأثیر می‌گذارد و تعهد معلم و همکاری حرفه‌ای معلمان به عنوان سازوکارهای میانجی ایفای نقش می‌کنند. با استفاده از یک پیمایش مقطعی از ۸۱۲ معلم شاغل در مدارس دولتی ترکیه، مدل‌سازی معادلات ساختاری همراه با بوت‌استرپینگ برای بررسی اثرات مستقیم و غیرمستقیم رهبری آموزشی به کار گرفته شد. نتایج نشان می‌دهد که رهبری آموزشی تأثیرات مثبت معناداری بر تعهد معلم و همکاری حرفه‌ای معلمان دارد که به نوبه خود رفتار کاری نوآورانه معلمان را ارتقا می‌بخشد. افزون بر این، یافته‌ها نشان می‌دهد که اثرات میانجی تعهد معلم و همکاری حرفه‌ای معلمان قوی‌تر از اثر مستقیم رهبری آموزشی است و نقش محوری آن‌ها را در پیوند دادن شیوه‌های رهبری مدرسه با رفتار کاری نوآورانه معلمان برجسته می‌سازد. این مطالعه با ارائه شواهد تجربی از یک نظام آموزشی متمرکز، ادبیات بین‌المللی رهبری آموزشی و نوآوری معلمان را گسترش می‌دهد. یافته‌ها از لحاظ نظری با روشن ساختن سازوکارهایی که مدیران از طریق آن‌ها رفتار کاری نوآورانه معلمان را تقویت می‌کنند، و از لحاظ عملی با ارائه بینش‌هایی برای رهبران مدارس و سیاست‌گذاران به منظور تقویت همکاری معلمان، افزایش تعهد و تحریک رفتار کاری نوآورانه در مدارس، سهم‌آفرینی می‌کند.
