Development and Preliminary Validation of Administrative Support Using House’s Theoretical Framework

Abstract

Researchers have demonstrated that administrative support represents a mitigating factor for teacher attrition and correlates with job satisfaction. The authors’ purpose in this study was to develop and validate the Dimensions of Administrative Support Inventory (DASI) scale to measure the support provided to teachers in school. They employed House’s theoretical framework to assess teachers’ support received from administrators across four domains: emotional support, appraisal support, instrumental support, and informational support. A total of 1,101 special and general education teachers in a southeastern state completed the scale. The authors used exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to investigate the factor structure of the scale. They also tested measurement invariance through configural, metric, and scalar invariance tests to examine whether differences in construct measurement exist across special and general education teachers. Results indicated that a correlated two-factor model consisting of the Value and Logistics factors was the optimal solution. The latent mean difference testing showed that the two factors were similar across the two groups of teachers. The 26-item DASI scale provides administrators with a valid and reliable measure to quantify the support received by teachers and proactively implement changes to foster a supportive school environment, increase teachers’ job satisfaction, and reduce attrition.