BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.12, No.1, 2022 1603 

 

 

 

 

How does Transformational Leadership of Principals 

Affect Teacher Organizational Commitment? An 

Empirical Analysis Based on Mediating and Moderat-

ing Effects 

By Zhang, W. Y. & Mao, Y. Q. 
Correspondence to: Yaqing Mao, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal Univer-

sity, China. E-mail: maoyaqing@bnu.edu.cn 

N recent years, the decline in the appeal of school organization and teach-

ing profession has attracted wide attention in educational community. Pub-

lished in the Education Research, this study employed the interaction ritual 

chains theory to examine the influence of transformational leadership of 

principals on teacher organizational commitment in the school context, and 

its influencing mechanism via the mediating and moderating effects. Teacher 

organizational commitment refers to teachers’ mindset of identifying with 

the values of the school, being committed to its development, and aspiring to 

continue working in the school. 

The research findings:   

 Transformational leadership of principals has a significant posi-

tive predictive effect on teacher organizational commitment, 

which supports the argument that the positive predictive effect of 

transformational leadership on the organizational commitment of 

subordinates has cross-industrial and cross-cultural adaptability. 

Transformational principals attach importance to the social and 

emotional needs of teachers and can motivate their self-

actualization by conveying the school visions.   

 Teaching efficacy plays a partial mediating role in the relation-

ship between transformational leadership of principals and teach-

er organizational commitment; in other words, transformational 

leadership affects teacher organizational commitment via its in-

fluence on teaching efficacy. Visions projected by transforma-

tional principals can improve teachers’ self-efficacy; the higher 

their teaching efficacy, the more committed they are to the school.   

 Teachers’ social and emotional skills play a positive moderating 

role in the relationship between transformational leadership of 

principals and teacher organizational commitment. In other words, 

the higher the teachers’ social and emotional skills, the stronger 

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Vol.12, No.1, 2022 1604 

the effect of the transformational leadership on teacher organiza-

tional commitment, and vice versa.  

As a result, the study suggests boosting teachers’ confidence in their 

roles and enhances their teaching efficacy; encouraging the change in the 

principals’ roles and continuously improving their transformational leader-

ship level; placing premiums on and promoting the development of teachers’ 

social and emotional skills. 

 

Source: Education Research, 2022; 43(6):134-147.