A multilevel analysis of the effects of principal leadership style behaviours on the relationship dimensions of school learning environment

Recent effective schools literature has intuitively connected the leadership role of school principals, school learning environment and the achievement of organisational outcomes. Transformational leadership theory has cast these relations in new perspectives, where advocates have claimed that transformational leaders are more able to manipulate their environments to achieve their organisational objectives as compared to other leadership styles. This paper reports on an investigation of the relation between the transformational, transactional and laissez faire leadership behaviours of school principals in NSW public secondary schools and two relationship dimensions of school learning environment, student supportiveness and teacher affiliation. A survey was conducted across 52 secondary schools in NSW, Australia, involving 458 respondents. Data was gathered on the leadership style of school principals and eight school learning environment constructs. Multilevel modelling analysis was used to explore the relation between leadership behaviours and the two relationship dimension constructs of student supportiveness and teacher affiliation both at the teacher and the school level. Transformational, transactional and laissez faire leadership behaviours were demonstrated to have a differentiated impact on student supportiveness and affiliation, suggesting that principals may target their leadership behaviours to have a measured effect on the relationship dimensions in their schools