A new lense: The relationship between teacher leadership style and performance evaluation

The major purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between teacher leadership style, teacher self-evaluations on quality of professional standards, job efficacy, and job satisfaction. Teacher leadership style was conceptualized as having two major dimensions: transformational and transactional as conceptualized by Bernard Bass. Quality of professional standards was assessed by modifying the items on the New York State Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR), a self-evaluation instrument about content knowledge, pedagogical preparation, instructional delivery, classroom management, knowledge of student development, student assessment, and reflective practice. The sample for the study included 151 teachers from a single suburban school district. Transformational leadership accounted for 32% of the variance in QPS, with Intellectual Stimulation accounting for a significant portion of the variance above and beyond that accounted for by the variables collectively. Transactional leadership accounted for 21% of the variance in QPS, with Contingent Reward and Management by Exception (Passive) contributing independently to the variance, with Contingent Reward relating positively and Management by Exception (Passive) contributing negatively. Transformational leadership accounted for 25% of the variance in job satisfaction, with Idealized Influence (Behavioral) and Inspirational Motivation contributing independently to the variance. Transactional leadership accounted for 11% of the variance in Job Satisfaction, with Contingent Reward and Management by Exception (Passive) contributing independently to the variance, with Contingent Reward relating positively and management by exception (passive) contributing negatively. Transformational leadership accounted for 40% of the variance in Teacher Job Efficacy, with Inspirational Motivation and Idealized Influence (Attributed) independently accounting for a significant portion of the variance. Transactional leadership accounted for 13% of the variance in Teacher Job Efficacy, with Contingent Reward independently contributing a significant portion of the variance. In addition, relationships between demographic background variables and teacher leadership styles were generally weak and nonsignificant. However, older and more experienced teachers scored higher on Idealized Influence (Attributed) than younger and less experienced teachers. It was concluded that the more that teachers self-reported classroom behaviors approximated the ideal type of transformational leader who rewarded students contingent on the performance, the greater their self-perceived quality of teaching, job efficacy, and job satisfaction