The relationship between primary school leaders’ utilization of distributed leadership and teachers’ capacity to change

Abstract

Although it is generally known that distributed leadership is relevant for reinforcing teachers’ capacity to change, how leadership roles are distributed among teachers largely depends on how principals perceive distributed leadership. Specifying principals’ perceptions and how these are related to teachers’ capacity to change leads to theories about the knowledge and beliefs of leaders with regard to distributed leadership that are crucial for achieving educational change as a team. Combining questionnaire data from 787 Dutch primary school teachers and interview data from 58 principals in a parallel mixed methods design, this study shows differences in how school leaders distribute leadership roles. In addition, the results indicate that several aspects of teachers’ capacity to change, namely, joint work, collegial support, knowledge sharing, self-efficacy and their internalization of school goals, are more present in schools in which school leaders distribute leadership among teachers than in schools in which they do not.