The implications of principal leadership styles on teachers' organizational commitment in the Israeli Arab educational minority

The current study's purpose is to present a picture of the extent to and frequency at which Israeli Arab principals are perceived as displaying the leadership styles of participative leadership versus directive leadership and transformation versus transactional leadership and then investigating the relationship of these leadership styles to teachers' organizational commitment (OC). Data were collected from two sources: senior management team members and teachers to avoid same source and common method bias: 426 participants overall from 71 high schools in the Israeli Arab educational system. Unianova analysis and hierarchical regression analyses were used to test the proposed relationships. The results of the overall model indicated that although principals in the Arab society in Israel are perceived mostly as directive leaders, participative leadership was positively associated with teacher OC beyond the specific influence of directive leadership. Changes in teacher perceptions, toward freedom of self-expression and career advancement, seem to be reflected in the influence of principals' leadership styles on teachers' OC that are derived in part from cultural features of the school's environment. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.