The Examination of the Relationship Between Teacher Autonomy and Teacher Leadership through Structural Equation Modeling

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teacher autonomy and teacher leadership. For this purpose, a predictive correlational research method was used. The study was conducted with 571 teachers who were determined through a simple random sampling technique among those working in Turkey during the 2020-2021 academic year. The Teacher Autonomy Scale was used to determine teachers’ perception of teacher autonomy, and the Teacher Leadership Scale was exploited for their perception of teacher leadership. Descriptive analyses such as mean and standard deviation were estimated to determine teachers’ perceptions of autonomy and leadership. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to control the relationship between teacher autonomy and teacher leadership. As a result of the study, the participants’ teacher autonomy and teacher leadership perceptions were at higher levels. Moreover, it was established that there was a positive and significant relationship between teacher autonomy and teacher leadership. Teacher autonomy was found to be among the factors explaining teacher leadership. Therefore, it can be alleged that teacher autonomy should be promoted to reveal teachers' leadership skills.