The Predictive Effect of Teachers’ Perception of School Principals’ Motivating Language on Teachers’ Self-Efficacy via a Cultural Context

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between teachers’ perception of school principals’ motivating language and teachers’ self-efficacy mediated by the cultural context. School principals’ linguistic communication skills are critical to sustain the motivation of teachers and their self-efficacy. Motivating language theory (MLT), on which this study is based, provides a model that helps us understand how the language, more precisely, the speech acts, used by school principals have an impact on teachers’ self-efficacy. A survey method was employed with 252 teachers through convenience sampling. The teachers’ mean age was 34.87 (SD = 9.22) years, and the average length of service was 11.72 (SD = 9.42) years. The results showed that school principals’ use of motivating language was significantly and positively associated with teachers’ self-efficacy (b = 0.10, p < 0.000). The low-context culture was found to have a full mediating effect in this relationship (b = 0.04, t = 3.1771, p < 0.000). The findings contribute to leader communication theory by highlighting a particular emphasis on the language school principals use to motivate teachers.