Do beliefs make a difference? Exploring how principal self-efficacy and instructional leadership impact teacher efficacy and commitment in Iran

Abstract

Although the knowledge base on instructional leadership is quite well developed in Western<br><br>societies empirical studies have only recently begun to emerge in the developing societies of<br><br>Asia, Africa and Latin America. The current study was undertaken to fill a gap in leadership<br><br>research in Iran, where there have been no prior studies of principal instructional leadership<br><br>(PIL). The current study sought to understand the relationship between principal self-efficacy,<br><br>instructional leadership, teacher collective efficacy and teacher organizational commitment in<br><br>Iranian primary schools. Survey data collected from 111 principals and 345 teachers were<br><br>analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The<br><br>results confirmed the proposed conceptual model affirming the impact of both principal and<br><br>teacher beliefs (i.e. self-efficacy) on their behaviors and on teacher commitment. More specifically,<br><br>the SEM results identified robust, positive and statistically significant relationships<br><br>among the constructs. These findings extend prior research by revealing how leader selfefficacy<br><br>beliefs and instructional leadership behaviors interact to shape collective teacher<br><br>efficacy and commitment. This research makes a distinct contribution not only to school<br><br>leadership research in Iran, but also to the growing body of research on the effects of PIL in<br><br>non-Western, developing societies.