Examining the Relationships between Primary School Principals' Power Styles and Teachers' Professional Behaviors

Authors

  • Serkan KOŞAR
  • Ali Çağatay KILINÇ
  • Emre ER Gazi University
  • Zeki ÖĞDEM
  • Gökhan SAVAŞ

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v60i2.55829

Keywords:

Power styles, teacher professionalism, school principal, teacher, primary school

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between primary school principals’ power styles and teacher professionalism. A total of 264 teachers employed in 10 primary schools in Kastamonu, Turkey, participated in this study. Kosar’s (2008) “Power Styles Scale,”and the “Teacher Professionalism Scale”—originally developed by Tschannen-Moran, Parish, and DiPaola (2006), and adapted into Turkish by Cerit (2013)—were used to gather data. The mean, standard deviation, correlation, and regression analyses were calculated to evaluate the data. The results revealed that teacher professionalism was positively and significantly related to personality and reward power, while being negatively and significantly correlated with legitimate and coercive power. The findings also showed that the power styles of school principals significantly predicted teacher professionalism. The outcomes of the study are discussed with respect to improving teacher self-efficacy.

L’objectif de cette recherche était d’étudier le rapport entre les styles ou processus du pouvoir des directeurs d’écoles primaires et le professionnalisme des enseignants. À cette étude ont participé 264 enseignants travaillant dans 10 écoles primaires à Kastamonu, en Turquie. L’article « Power Styles Scale » de Kosar (2008) et la « The Teacher Professionalism Scale » d’abord développée par Tschannen-Moran, Parish et DiPaola, et ensuite adaptée en turque par Cerit (2013), ont servi à la cueillette de données. Pour évaluer les données, on a calculé la moyenne, l’écart type, la corrélation et les analyses de régression. Les résultats indiquent que le professionnalisme des enseignants présente une corrélation positive significative avec le pouvoir du référent et le pouvoir de récompense, et une corrélation négative significative avec le pouvoir légitime et le pouvoir coercitif. Les résultats indiquent également que le style du pouvoir des directeurs est un prédicteur fiable du professionnalisme des enseignants. On discute des résultats de l’étude dans l’optique d’améliorer l’auto-efficacité des enseignants. 

Author Biographies

Serkan KOŞAR

Serkan Koşar received his Bachelor Degree from Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of Classroom Teaching. He earned his MA in 2008 and PhD in 2012 from Gazi University Institute of Educational Sciences. He worked as a primary school teacher in Saraykent Benli Primary School (2005-2006). He is currently employed as a research assistant in Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of Educational Sciences. His research interests are power styles, organizational culture, organizational commitment, influences and politics tactics.

Ali Çağatay KILINÇ

Ali Çağatay Kılınç received his Bachelor Degree from Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of English Language Teaching. He earned his MA in 2010 and PhD in 2013 from Gazi University Institute of Educational Sciences. He worked as an English teacher in Tosya Namık Kemal Primary School (2006-2011) and as a research assistant in Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of Educational Sciences (2011-2013). He is currently employed as an Assistant Professor in Karabuk University, Faculty of Letters, Department of Educational Sciences. His research interests are educational leadership, teacher professionalism, teacher motivation, organizational climate and culture, organizational commitment, and school capacity.

Emre ER, Gazi University

Emre Er received his Bachelor Degree from Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of Chemistry Teaching. He earned his MA in 2013 and he is a PhD candidate since 2013 in Gazi University Institute of Educational Sciences. He is currently employed as a research assistant in Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of Educational Science. His research interests are organizational change, social network theory, school development and school change capacity.

Zeki ÖĞDEM

Zeki Öğdem received his Bachelor Degree from Burdur MAKU University Faculty of Education Department of Science Teaching. He earned his MA in 2007 and he is a PhD candidate since 2010 in Gazi University Institute of Educational Sciences. He is currently employed as a research assistant in Gazi University Gazi Faculty of Education Department of Educational Science. His research interests are educational leadership, professional learning communities and organizational learning.

Gökhan SAVAŞ

Gökhan SAVAŞ received his Bachelor Degree from Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education Department of English Language Teaching. He started working as an English teacher in Küre High School. He worked in various levels of schools in Kastamonu. He also worked as a project coordinator in Kastamonu Provincial Directorate of National Education and took part in several European projects. He is currently employed as an assistant manager in Kastamonu Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School. He is also a MA student in Gazi University Institute of Educational Sciences. His research interests are teacher leadership, learning schools and school culture.

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Published

2015-04-07

How to Cite

KOŞAR, S., KILINÇ, A. Çağatay, ER, E., ÖĞDEM, Z., & SAVAŞ, G. (2015). Examining the Relationships between Primary School Principals’ Power Styles and Teachers’ Professional Behaviors. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 60(2), 322–338. https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v60i2.55829

Issue

Vol. 60 No. 2 (2014): Summer

Section

ARTICLES

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