The Mediating Effect of Teacher Agency in the Association between Empowering Leadership and Teacher Professional Learning

Abstract

The current study aimed to explore the mediating role of teacher agency in the relationship between empowering leadership and teacher professional learning. With this purpose, it is investigated how empowering leadership benefits teachers’ professional learning using data collected from 344 teachers working in Türkiye. The importance of this study is that it demonstrates how empowering leadership in schools can affect teachers' professional learning by promoting teacher agency, which refers to a sense of autonomy and control over their professional activities, thus providing valuable insights for school leadership practices. Findings showed that a) empowering leadership was significantly associated with teacher professional learning, b) empowering leadership significantly predicted teacher agency, c) teacher agency was significantly associated with teacher professional learning and (d) teacher agency had a mediation role in the association between empowering leadership and teacher professional learning. The findings provide a deeper understanding of the benefits and effective mechanism of the impact of empowering leadership on teachers' professional learning in the Turkish schools context and offer practical suggestions for facilitating teacher agency in organizations. The results of this study are expected to contribute to the school leadership literature on the empowering role of school principals in initiating, supporting, and enhancing teachers' professional learning by supporting teacher agency.

Keywords

• Empowering leadership
• Teacher agency
• Teacher professional learning

Güçlendirici Liderlik ve Öğretmen Mesleki Öğrenmesi Arasındaki İlişkide Öğretmen Failliğinin Aracılık Etkisi

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, güçlendirici liderlik ile öğretmenlerin mesleki öğrenmeleri arasındaki ilişkide öğretmen failliğinin aracılık rolünü araştırmaktır. Bu amaçla, Türkiye'de görev yapan 344 öğretmenden toplanan veriler kullanılarak güçlendirici liderliğin öğretmenlerin mesleki öğrenmelerine etkisi araştırılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın önemi, okullarda güçlendirici liderliğin öğretmenin mesleki faaliyetlerinde özerklik ve kontrol hissi anlamına gelen failliğini teşvik ederek öğretmenlerin mesleki öğrenmelerini nasıl etkileyebileceğini göstermesi ve böylece okul liderliği uygulamaları için değerli içgörüler sağlamasıdır. Bulgular, a) güçlendirici liderliğin öğretmen mesleki öğrenmesi ile anlamlı bir şekilde ilişkili olduğunu, b) güçlendirici liderliğin öğretmen failliğini anlamlı bir şekilde yordadığını, c) öğretmen failliğinin öğretmen mesleki öğrenmesi ile anlamlı bir şekilde ilişkili olduğunu ve (d) öğretmen failliğinin güçlendirici liderlik ve öğretmen mesleki öğrenmesi arasındaki ilişkide bir aracılık rolü olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Bulgularımız, güçlendirici liderliğin Türk okulları bağlamında öğretmenlerin mesleki öğrenmeleri üzerindeki etkisinin faydaları ve etkili mekanizması hakkında daha derin bir anlayış sağlamakta ve örgütlerde öğretmen failliğini kolaylaştırmak için pratik öneriler sunmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın sonuçlarının, okul müdürlerinin öğretmen failliğini destekleyerek öğretmenlerin mesleki öğrenmelerini başlatma, destekleme ve geliştirmedeki güçlendirici rolüne ilişkin okul liderliği literatürüne katkıda bulunması beklenmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Güçlendirici liderlik
• Öğretmen failliği
• Öğretmen mesleki öğrenmesi

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