School principal self-efficacy for instructional leadership: relations with engagement, emotional exhaustion and motivation to quit

Abstract

The current study explored relations between principal self-efficacy for instructional leadership, emotional exhaustion, engagement, and motivation to quit the work as a principal. Participants in the study were 340 principals in elementary school and high school in five randomly selected counties in Norway. The theoretical frameworks for the study were self-efficacy theory and theoretical perspectives on instructional leadership. A new 15-item "Norwegian self-efficacy for instructional leadership scale" consisting of five subscales was developed and tested by means of confirmatory factor analyses. Both a model defining five correlated primary factors (Model 1) and a model defining a single second order factor (Model 2) had good fit to the data. SEM analysis revealed that self-efficacy for instructional leadership was negatively related to emotional exhaustion and positively related to engagement, indicating good criterion validity of the scale. Self-efficacy was also negatively related to motivation to quit. This relation was indirect and mediated through both emotional exhaustion and engagement. The dimension of self-efficacy for instructional leadership that was most strongly associated with emotional exhaustion and engagement was self-efficacy for motivating teachers. The dimension that was most weakly related to these variables was self-efficacy for creating a positive and safe learning environment for the students.

Self-efficacy for instructional leadership: relations with perceived job demands and job resources, emotional exhaustion, job satisfaction, and motivation to quit

“…This assumption is also supported in a previous study by Osterman and Sullivan (1996), showing that principal self-efficacy influenced principals' perception of the school environment. The associations between self-efficacy and job satisfaction, emotional exhaustion, and motivation to quit also support previous research (Collie et al 2012;Huang et al 2019;Skaalvik 2020a) and indicate that self-efficacy influences peoples' vulnerability to stress. For instance, low self-efficacious principals, compared with high self-efficacious principals, experienced higher time pressure and stronger role ambiguity.…”

“…Robinson (2011) use the term "student centered leadership" and define it by characteristics overlapping those emphasized by Hallinger and Murphy (1985) and Hallinger (2010): (a) clarifying educational goals and expectations, (b) strategic resourcing, (c) planning and evaluating teaching and curriculum, (d) promoting teacher learning, and (e) ensuring an orderly and supportive environment. Skaalvik (2020a) emphasized that the aim of instructional leadership should be to promote student learning and well-being. Instructional leadership was defined as a leadership practice that, through initiating reflections on and influencing the teachers' goals, values, and practices, aim to improve instructional means and methods and to create a positive learning environment.…”

“…Self-efficacy for instructional leadership was measured by means of a 15-item Self-efficacy for instructional leadership scale (Skaalvik 2020a). The scale consisted of five subscales: (a) development of goals and visions for the school (goals and visions), (b) development of a collective culture with shared goals and values (collective culture), (c) motivating teachers, (d) classroom observation and guidance of teachers (guiding teachers), and (e) creating a positive and safe learning environment for the students (learning environment).…”

“…Emotional exhaustion was measured by a previously tested six-item scale focusing on lacking energy and feeling tired from the work as a principal (Skaalvik 2020a). Examples of items are: "I feel exhausted from working as a principal" and "Working as a principal takes all my energy."…”

“…Motivation to leave the position as a principal was measured by a previously tested three item scale (Skaalvik 2020a). An example of an item is: "I often think of leaving the position as a principal."…”