Exploring the Relationship Between Paternalistic Leadership, Teacher Commitment, and Job Satisfaction in Chinese Schools

Paternalistic leadership (PL) is prevalent in organizations in East Asia, but few studies have examined its potential effects in school contexts. This study explored the relationship between PL, trust in the principal, and teachers’ satisfaction and commitment to students, with a focus on the mediat...

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Published inFrontiers in psychology Vol. 11; p. 1481
Main Authors Shi, Xiao, Yu, Zeyuan, Zheng, Xin
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Frontiers Media S.A 08.07.2020
Subjects
Chinese contexts
commitment to students
job satisfaction
paternalistic leadership
Psychology
teacher commitment
trust in the principal
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Summary:Paternalistic leadership (PL) is prevalent in organizations in East Asia, but few studies have examined its potential effects in school contexts. This study explored the relationship between PL, trust in the principal, and teachers’ satisfaction and commitment to students, with a focus on the mediating role of trust in the principal in Chinese schools. Using a quantitative method, the study investigated 408 primary schoolteachers in mainland China. The results showed that the three dimensions of PL had different effects on teachers’ job satisfaction, trust in the principal, and commitment to students. Moral leadership had positive effects, while authoritarian leadership had negative effects on teachers’ job satisfaction and commitment to students. Meanwhile, trust in the principal played a mediating role of authoritarian and moral leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction and commitment to students. Finally, implications and suggestions are discussed for leadership practices in Chinese schools and those in similar cultures.
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This article was submitted to Educational Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
Edited by: Pei Sun, Tsinghua University, China
Reviewed by: Xuesong Gao, University of New South Wales, Australia; Wilfried Admiraal, Leiden University, Netherlands
ISSN:1664-1078
1664-1078
DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01481