The Differentiated Impact of Distributed Leadership on Job Satisfaction for Novice and Experienced Teachers

• In Event: Teacher Agency, Teacher Leadership, and Teacher Activism

Abstract

Using a statewide survey administered to K-12 teachers in public schools, two structural equation models were developed to examine distributed leadership and its relationship to novice and experienced teachers’ job satisfaction. The first model indicated a direct path between distributed leadership and job satisfaction; the second model introduced satisfaction with school leadership as a mediator. Both models demonstrated excellent model fit, and all factor and path loadings were significant and strong. Group comparison showed significant differences between novice and experienced teachers. Differences in path loadings between groups suggest that distributed leadership has a more direct effect on job satisfaction for experienced teachers, while for novice teachers, the effect of distributed leadership is mediated more strongly by satisfaction with school leadership.

Author

• Miriam Howland Cummings, University of Colorado - Denver