The Mediating Role of Moral Courage in the Relationship Between Authentic Leadership and Teachers’ Positive Psychological Capital

Abstract

The main aim of this study is to reveal the mediating role of teachers’ moral courage (MC) behaviors in the relationship between school principals' authentic leadership (AL) behaviors and teachers' positive psychological capital (PPC) according to the views of teachers working in primary and secondary schools. In this study “AL Questionnaire”, “PC Scale” and “PMC (Professional Moral Courage) Scale” were used. The universe of this research consists of 8665 teachers working in primary and secondary schools in Antalya city center. The sample of the study consists of 474 teachers reached by using the convenient sampling method. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and (Cronbach Alpha Coefficient) alpha coefficients were used in the validity and reliability analysis of the scales, and Spearman's Correlation Coefficient, which was used for data that was not normally distributed, was used to determine the relationships between the variables, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for mediating analysis. A low-level positive and significant relationship was found between school principals' authentic leadership behaviors and teachers' psychological capital and moral courage behaviors. According to the results of the Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis, it has been determined that the moral courage behaviors of the teachers have a mediating role in the relationship between the authentic leadership behaviors of the school principals and the positive psychological capital of the teachers.