School middle leaders' transformational leadership and organizational resilience: The moderating role of academic emphasis

Abstract

This study examines how teachers' perceptions of academic emphasis moderate the relationship between their middle leaders' transformational leadership and organizational resilience subdimensions (principal organizational resilience and faculty organizational resilience). Academic emphasis in schools prioritizes academic excellence in teaching and is crucial in evaluating school effectiveness. The study used a two‐source survey design with self‐report data from 609 participants in 103 secondary schools in Israel. The results indicate that academic emphasis moderates the relationship between transformational leadership's sub‐dimensions (idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration and intellectual stimulation) and principal organizational resilience but not faculty organizational resilience. The findings suggest that middle leaders can create a positive academic emphasis to optimize their transformational leadership's effects on organizational resilience. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.