The Impact of Principal’s Leadership Style on Students’ Academic Motivation with the Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy
Keywords:
Principal’s Leadership Style, Academic Motivation, Academic Self, Efficacy, High School Students, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM)Abstract
Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the impact of the principal’s leadership style on students’ academic motivation with the mediating role of academic self-efficacy among high school students in District 11 of Tehran.
Methods and Materials: This applied study employed a descriptive-correlational design using structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of high school students (second cycle) in District 11 of Tehran during the 2025–2026 academic year, from whom 364 participants were selected through multi-stage cluster random sampling. Data were collected using the Bass and Avolio Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), the Vallerand Academic Motivation Scale (AMS), and the Jinks and Morgan Academic Self-Efficacy Scale. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and SmartPLS software. Reliability and validity of the constructs were assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted (AVE), and the Fornell-Larcker criterion.
Findings: The structural model results indicated that the principal’s leadership style had a positive and significant effect on students’ academic motivation (β=0.403, t=11.932, p<0.001). Academic self-efficacy also showed a positive and significant effect on academic motivation (β=0.479, t=14.443, p<0.001). Furthermore, the principal’s leadership style significantly influenced academic self-efficacy (β=0.513, t=12.677, p<0.001). In addition, the indirect effect of the principal’s leadership style on academic motivation through academic self-efficacy was significant (β=0.246, t=9.437, p<0.001), confirming the mediating role of academic self-efficacy. Model fit indices also demonstrated an acceptable fit of the proposed model.
Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that the principal’s leadership style can enhance students’ academic motivation both directly and indirectly through strengthening academic self-efficacy. Therefore, greater attention to instructional and transformational leadership styles among school principals, along with programs aimed at improving students’ academic self-efficacy, may effectively enhance students’ motivation and learning quality.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Seyed Reza Hashemi Nezhad (Author); Mohadeseh Karimi Motahar
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