Relationships between teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 leadership behavior and level of work motivation

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers\u27 perceptions of the principal\u27s leadership behavior, either initiating structure or consideration and work motivation of elementary school teachers. The three subscales of motivation are: (1) Intrinsic, (2) Extrinsic, and (3) General Satisfaction. This study also examined the relationship between work motivation and job satisfaction of elementary school teachers based on the teachers\u27 age, years of work experience, and the student enrollment of the school they work in. The two instruments used to gather the data from elementary school teachers were the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire . A total of 432 questionnaires were delivered to the ten elementary schools. There were 311 completed questionnaires, giving a response rate of 72%. This is a quantitative study that utilized questionnaires as the source of measurement. Exploratory and confirmatory analysis was used side by side in the present study. Descriptive statistics such as mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis were obtained for each variable. Likewise, exploratory data analyses, histograms, box-and-whisker plots and stem-and-leaf displays were obtained. Correlation and regression analyses were used to determine the relationship between variables. The .05 level of significance was used to make decisions for rejecting or failing to reject the null hypotheses. The review of literature of leadership style and motivation theory identified the conceptual framework for this study. The conceptual framework was based on Fielder\u27s Contingency Theory, Maslow\u27s Needs Theory, Herzberg\u27s Two-Factor Theory, and Vroom\u27s Expectancy Theory. The findings of this study indicated the following: (1) there is a relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and principals\u27 leadership behaviors consideration and initiation, and teachers\u27 age, work experience, and student enrollment of the school; (2) the model of “best” fit for the full model of extrinsic motivation was leadership behavior consideration; (3) the model of “best” fit for the full model of intrinsic motivation was leadership behavior consideration; (4) there is a difference between the model of “best” fit for extrinsic motivation and consideration and the model of “best” fit for intrinsic motivation and consideration