The Mediation Role of Teacher Recognition Between Transformational Leadership and Teacher Professionalism: A Multilevel Mediation Analysis

Given the significant influence of managerial reforms in education fields, how to promote teacher professionalism appears to be a priority task for school leaders. This study examined the mediation role of teacher recognition on the association between transformative leadership and teacher professionalism. From a sample of 1196 primary and secondary school teachers nested in 98 schools from mainland China, this study used the multilevel structuration equation model to explore the associations among the study variables on both the teacher level and school level simultaneously. On the teacher level, the results showed that transformative leadership was positively related to teacher professionalism and verified the mediation role of teacher recognition for social esteem. On the school level, transformative leadership was associated with teacher professionalism through the mediation role of recognition for care. This study suggests that transformative leadership may influence teacher professionalism via teacher recognition on both individual and school levels, while the influence mechanism could be different.