Transformational Leadership and Job Satisfaction: The Case of Secondary Education Teachers in Greece

Abstract

In international literature there are many documented studies which have shown the relationship between leadership and job satisfaction. Specifically, transformational leadership is highly associated with this important and positive work attitude, that is, job satisfaction. The interpretation in a school context is that the director should operate as transformational leader so as to produce better educational outcomes through teachers' job satisfaction. In Greece, little empirical research has been done to investigate the perceptions of teachers about the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction of teachers. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the perceptions of teachers to the extent that transformational leadership contributes to job satisfaction. The selected research method is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, namely using the questionnaire and the interview. The sample consisted of 171 teachers from two types of educational institutions, secondary junior high schools and high schools, of a local directorate of secondary education. The survey results showed that teachers feel substantial satisfaction when the school principal acts as a transformational leader. Demographic variables, the type of school, and work experience, do not affect the views of teachers.