The roles of teacher autonomy and leader-member exchange in the link between distributed leadership and teacher zest for work in Türkiye: Testing a moderated mediation model

Erturk S., ÇATAK E., ERDOĞAN O., SÖNMEZ E., KOŞAR S.

EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION & LEADERSHIP, 2025 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.1177/17411432251376130
  • Journal Name: EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION & LEADERSHIP
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, EBSCO Education Source, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center)
  • Gazi University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study aimed to test a moderated mediation model, where the link between distributed leadership and teacher zest for work was examined, with leader-member exchange included as the moderator and teacher autonomy as a mediator. Using data from 718 teachers employed in basic education and upper secondary schools in T & uuml;rkiye, we conducted latent moderated mediation structural equations modelling through maximum likelihood to estimate the structural links between our study variables. Our results revealed the significance of the direct relationship between distributed leadership and teacher autonomy and zest for work. Our results revealed that leader-member exchange significantly moderated both the direct relationship between distributed leadership and teacher autonomy and the direct relationship between distributed leadership and teacher zest for work, strengthening these associations as leader-member exchange increased. Furthermore, leader-member exchange also exerted a significant moderating effect on the indirect relationship between distributed leadership and teacher zest for work via teacher autonomy. These findings underscore the crucial role of high-quality leader-member relationships in enhancing the positive impact of distributed leadership on teacher autonomy and zest for work. Implications for educational policy and leadership practice are discussed.