The Role of Transformational Leadership of School Principals in Enhancing the Job Motivation of Lower Secondary School Teachers

Abstract

The leadership style of school principals, particularly the transformational approach, can exert a profound influence on teachers’ motivation. The primary objective of this study was to examine the role of transformational leadership of school principals in enhancing the job motivation of lower secondary school teachers. The present study employed a quantitative approach using a descriptive-correlational research design. The statistical population consisted of all lower secondary school teachers in Tehran, Iran, from whom a sample of 291 participants was selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. Data were collected using two standardized instruments: the Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ 5X) and the Teacher Job Motivation Scale (MJS). Following the confirmation of face, content, and construct validity, as well as the reliability of the instruments through Cronbach’s alpha coefficients, part of the dataset (171 cases) was generated using multivariate normal distribution-based simulation due to limitations in data accessibility. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software packages, employing Pearson correlation, multiple linear regression, and bootstrap procedures. The findings indicated a positive and statistically significant relationship between all components of transformational leadership and the job motivation of lower secondary school teachers. According to the regression analysis results, the four dimensions of transformational leadership collectively explained 42.6% of the variance in job motivation. Among these dimensions, Inspirational Motivation emerged as the strongest predictor (β = .334), followed by Individualized Consideration (β = .206) and Idealized Influence (β = .185), whereas Intellectual Stimulation was not statistically significant at the .05 level. Furthermore, the indirect effect of transformational leadership on job motivation through organizational climate was estimated at .182, with a 95% bootstrap confidence interval of [.102, .273], indicating a partial mediating role of organizational climate. Validation of the data-generation process revealed no significant differences between the actual data (n = 120) and the simulated data (n = 171). Based on the results, transformational leadership of school principals—particularly through inspirational motivation and individualized consideration, and with the partial mediating role of organizational climate—has a strong and significant effect on enhancing the job motivation of lower secondary school teachers.