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This study examined Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) practices and obstacles identified by 17 elementary school teachers in Turkey, a country with a centralized education system. The study employed a qualitative method to gather specific reflections from individuals. Research findings revealed that a variety of professional learning activities take place in schools through sharing teaching practices, offering and/or seeking collegial assistance, experimenting with alternative teaching methods, and using the internet effectively. Findings also indicated that several constraints hinder TPL in Turkish schools. First, teachers lack sufficient time at school to collaborate and share regularly. Since teachers see classrooms as private spaces, they do not observe their colleagues' lessons. Second, school-based teacher professional development programs are inadequate and ineffective. Third, bureaucracy causes unnecessary waste of time. Fourth, lack of equipment in some schools makes it difficult for teachers to try new teaching techniques. Finally, meetings for cooperation between schools in the same region are unproductive.

The purpose of this research is to examine various factors affecting workload of principals including psychological effects and coping strategies. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 13 principals. Participants consisted of primary and secondary school principals in a province in the Western Black Sea Region, Turkey. According to the research, principals perceive workload as work that limits the time, they want to devote to improving education. Therefore, the main sources of workload were perceived as having to run errands at school, time pressure, human resource-based problems, unnecessary formal daily routines and high email volume. Finally, it was found that principals' coping strategies were not effective, and that workload caused work-family conflict, stress and emotional wear and tear. Thus, this research contributes to the theoretical framework related to workload. It is suggested to organize bureaucratic procedures in schools, share leadership, establish training programs for principals, raise awareness of principals on time management, and employ assistant principals and other technical personnel where there is staff shortage.

In this study, the effect of school principals' administrative mentality on teachers' participation in the decision-making process was analysed via the intermediary role of teachers' trust in principals. In this study, which utilised structural equation modelling (SEM) to analyse conceptual relationships, the sample consisted of 646 teachers who worked in various school types in the Çekmeköy district of Istanbul. In the findings, a positive correlation was found between benevolent and moral leadership (dimensions of paternalistic leadership behaviour), and trust in principals and teachers' participation in decision making. On the other hand, a negative and significant relationship was found between the authoritarian leadership dimension and trust in principals and teachers' participation. The results of the SEM analysis, in which the conceptual model was tested, indicated that the benevolent and moral leadership dimensions of paternalistic leadership could positively predict trust in the administrator and teachers' participation in decision making. As for authoritarian leadership, it negatively predicted teachers' participation in decision making, and trust in principals played a full intermediary role in this relationship. When these findings were synthesised, morality and benevolence were found to affect teachers' trust in principals and participation positively, while authoritarian leadership was found to have a negative effect.

This study focuses on the factors that predict teachers' job satisfaction. Twenty-seven out of 206 studies were examined based on various criteria. The studies were synthesised in accordance with systematic review methods. The studies that investigated teachers' job satisfaction and were conducted in the Turkish context were retrieved from WOS, ERIC, SCOPUS and ULAKBIM databases, and then the selected studies were analysed. In the analyses, themes and subthemes related to the predictive variables were formed. As a result, three themes that positively predicted teachers' job satisfaction were highlighted. These themes were administrators' behaviours, individual variables and organisational variables. The results showed that a strong school culture in which support, trust, justice and communication are established is a decisive factor in ensuring teachers' job satisfaction. Additionally, teachers' beliefs in their professional competence and having psychological well-being were found to be important factors for their job satisfaction.

This systematic review aims to investigate the relationship between school principals' leadership behaviours and teachers' job satisfaction. With this purpose, studies that focused on this relationship in the literature were examined. Twenty-seven studies found in different databases (i.e. ERIC, WOS, SCOPUS and ULAKBIM) were included in the analysis. These studies mostly focused on the relationships between school principals' transformational and interaction leadership behaviours and teachers' job satisfaction. Additionally, job satisfaction was also studied in relation to servant leadership, ethical leadership, distributive leadership, individual- and task-oriented leadership and school leadership behaviours. Based on the findings of the studies examined, school principals' transformation leadership behaviours were found to have stronger relationships with teachers' job satisfaction compared to interactional leadership behaviours and were an important predictor of job satisfaction. Negative relationships were revealed between laissez-faire leadership and job satisfaction. On the other hand, school principals' servant leadership and ethical leadership behaviours were found to be important variables in ensuring job satisfaction. Lastly, school principals' administrative behaviours that encourage participation and are flexible, sharing leadership at school, and exhibiting individual-oriented and supportive leadership behaviours were revealed to enhance teachers' job satisfaction.

Empirical research advocates that the instructional leadership behaviors of school principals affect teachers' collaboration, professional motivation and commitment. This study, conducted in Istanbul province of Turkey, focused on the mediating role of collective teacher efficacy with regard to the relationship between school principals' instructional leadership behaviors and teacher commitment. The sample consisted of 247 teachers and the study adopted the survey method. The results of multiple regression analysis displayed that school principals' instructional leadership behaviors could predict teacher commitment; thus, the collective teacher efficacy was found to be a mediator. More specifically, it was found that school principals' instructional leadership behaviors increased collaboration between teachers, which contributed to their commitment to school. Finally, the results were discussed and a number of suggestions were made for researchers and practitioners.

Purpose: This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarian leadership and commitment and the mediating roles of silence and trust in school principals. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a cross-sectional design to illustrate the relationships among authoritarian leadership, trust in the principal, silence and affective commitment using path analysis evidence provided by 409 K-12 teachers. Findings: The findings revealed that authoritarian leadership indirectly affected teacher commitment through trust in the principal and acquiescent silence. Furthermore, trust in the principal played a partial mediating role between authoritarian leadership and defensive silence. Authoritarian leadership behaviours decreased teachers' affective commitment by decreasing trust in the principal and increasing organisational silence. Originality/value: Although leadership and culture have been studied intensively in recent years, authoritarian leadership, which is more commonly seen in Eastern societies, has been less studied in school contexts in the Middle East and Asia. Thus, this study contributes to the literature by examining the factors that might influence affective commitment in schools in an urban setting: authoritarian leadership, silence and trust in school principals.

The recent increase in the number of universities in Turkey has sped up the transition of teachers who receive graduate education to the academia. However, this rapid transition brought a variety of problems. The present study focused on the academics' experiences regarding the transition from teaching to the academia from a holistic perspective. The qualitative research method and the phenomenological design were employed in the study. The participants were seven academics who passed to the academia from a teaching career. Convenient sampling and snowball sampling were used in the selection of the participants. The research data were gathered through an interview form. An audio-recorder was used not to lose data during the interviews. In the analysis of the data, the descriptive analysis technique was employed. As for the reliability and validity of the study, data triangulation, external revision, direct quotations and referee evaluation were put into practice. Three themes were revealed as a result of the data analysis. These themes were the teaching profession and process, graduate education process and the process of becoming an academic. The findings of the study are as follows: The teaching profession was practiced willingly and with a human-oriented approach. Teaching was seen as a way of serving the society through students. Graduate education was regarded as a difficult process, but expectations overcame the difficulties. Since the participants had to work as a teacher and learn as an undergraduate student at the same time could be challenging both financially and psychologically. Academicianship was perceived as a place for critical and scientific thinking. The transition to the academia was followed by the efforts to adapt to the new institutional and physical environment. Based on the study, it can be suggested that the teaching profession should be made more development-oriented through graduate education, and legal regulations should be made to ease the bureaucratic difficulties teachers experience while receiving graduate education.

In this study, 48 empirical studies on teacher self-efficacy published between 2000-2017 were reviewed in terms of certain basic characteristics, and the research trends were revealed in this area. According to the results obtained in the review, teacher self-efficacy studies in the Turkish context showed an increase in the course of time. Teacher self-efficacy in a specific area was observed to be frequently examined within the context of teaching a subject or using technology in education. This increase in the number of studies did not reflect much on the diversity of the research methods employed, and the studies were often conducted by using quantitative methods. Elementary and middle schools were mostly chosen as the research context. Furthermore, the amount of research on three self-efficacy areas (i.e. collective teacher efficacy, teacher self-efficacy sources, and teachers' general self-efficacy) were considerably limited. Moreover, none of the studies examined the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and collective teacher efficacy and student achievement. Common findings of the studies showed that teacher self-efficacy was a strong predictor or a mediator variable. In this sense, researchers are suggested to study how self-efficacy can be developed experimental and longitudinal works and to conduct studies to reveal insights about collective efficacy in schools, teachers' general self-efficacy, and the outcomes of these efficacy characteristics.

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate school principals' instructional leadership behaviours based on teachers' views. The instructional leadership model developed by Hallinger and Murphy (1985) was used, and the phenomenological design of qualitative research was employed. The participants were 16 teachers working at public schools in Turkey. The data were analysed using content analysis technique. The results showed that school principals performed well in some of the areas determined by Hallinger and Murphy while performing weakly in other areas. They performed strong behaviours in conveying the objectives of the school, organising the curriculum, being available, preserving the time allocated to instruction, appreciating teachers' success and monitoring student development. However, they were reported to show a weak performance in determining the school objectives, improving the curriculum, contributing to teachers' professional development and following student learning. Based on the results, it can be suggested that policy-makers should create favourable conditions for school principals to act more independently in curriculum development. Moreover, school principals should make an effort to ensure teachers' professional development and form a school culture that would strengthen professional cooperation among teachers. Above all, school principals' knowledge and expertise regarding instructional leadership can be enhanced by means of in-service training programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among trust in administrator, distributed leadership and a school academic optimism based on teachers' perceptions and to examine the mediator role of distributed leadership in the relationship between the levels of trust in administrator and the school academic optimism. The participants were a total of 540 teachers employed in elementary, middle and high schools located in the Kadikoy district of Istanbul. The data were gathered through the "Trust in Administrator Scale", the "Distributed Leadership Scale" and the "School academic optimism Scale". Arithmetic mean, the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, and regression analysis were used for data analysis. The results showed that trust in administrators predicted the distributed leadership and the school academic optimism, while distributed leadership also predicted the school academic optimism. Additionally, distributed leadership was found to have a partial mediator role in the relationship between trust in administrator and school academic optimism.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between schools' levels of having teacher leadership culture and teachers' professional behaviors. A total of 254 teachers working in primary and secondary schools located in Üsküdar district of Istanbul province participated in the study. The "Teacher Leadership Culture Scale" and the "Teacher Professionalism Scale" were used to collect the research data. The arithmetic mean, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression analysis were used in the analysis of the data. In the study, schools' levels of having teacher leadership culture and the professionalism characteristics of teachers were found to be above the medium level. Furthermore, significant positive relationships were found between professional cooperation, school administrator's support and the level of having a supportive working environment of the schools' levels of having teacher leadership culture and teacher professionalism. The results of the study revealed that the dimensions of supportive working environment and professional cooperation from among teacher leadership culture characteristics were significant predictors of teacher professionalism. The results of the study were discussed in relation to the relevant literature, and some suggestions were made.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between school administrators' instructional leadership behaviours, and organizational health of schools. The participants were 538 teachers working in elementary, middle and high schools located in the Umraniye district of Istanbul. The data was gathered through the "School Principals' Instructional Leadership Behaviours Questionnaire" and the "Organizational Health Inventory". In data analysis, the arithmetic mean, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, and Multilinear Regression Analysis were used. The results showed that the school principals performed the instructional leadership behaviours of determining and sharing the objectives of the school at the highest level. Among the organizational health dimensions of the schools, initiating structure was perceived at the highest level, while resource support and academic emphasis were perceived at lower levels compared to other dimensions. In the study, positive and significant correlations were found between the sub-dimensions of instructional leadership behaviours and those of organizational health of schools. The sub-dimensions of instructional leadership together explained 49% of the variance in organizational health. On the other hand, only determining and sharing the objectives of the school and forming a regular instructional-learning environment and positive school climate among the instructional leadership behaviours were positive and significant predictors of organizational health of schools.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teacher candidates' individual values and leadership orientations. The participants of the study were a total of 452 teacher candidates studying in the pedagogical formation program of Karabük University in the 2016-2017 academic year. The Leadership Orientations Scale and Portrait Values Scale were employed to gather the research data. In data analysis, arithmetic mean, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient, and Multilinear Regression Analysis were used. According to the results, the teacher candidates' preferences of values were universalism, security, conformity and benevolence, self-direction, stimulation, traditionalism, hedonism, achievement and power in order of importance, respectively. The highest level of leadership orientation that the teacher candidates had was in the human resources frame, which was followed by structural, symbolic and political frames. Positive and significant relationships were revealed between all dimensions of individual values and those of leadership orientations. The individual values of power and achievement were found to be predictors of structural, symbolic and political frames. Two of the remaining individual values, self-direction and benevolence, were found to be significant and common predictors of all frames of leadership orientations. The findings revealed from the present study were discussed with reference to the literature, and various inferences were made.

This study aims to examine teachers' opinions regarding the activities that can be performed at schools to ensure leadership development in students. Accordingly, an attempt to reveal what the leadership qualities of students should be, the activities that can be performed for the acquisition of leadership qualities and the applicability level of these activities was made within the scope of the present study. This study is a descriptive study designed in mixed model. Therefore, qualitative and quantitative research methods were used together in the present study. The study was carried out with 13 teachers in the qualitative part and with 304 teachers in the quantitative part. While the data were collected by a semi-structured interview in the qualitative part of the study, the "Teachers' Activities for the Acquisition of Leadership Qualities in Students Questionnaire" was used in the quantitative part. Results showed that activities should be performed for in-class and out-of-class purposes and the conceptual understanding of leadership for the acquisition of leadership qualities; and that these studies were at the applicable level. Furthermore, it was found out that to make students acquire communication skills, problem-solving skills, responsibility, honesty and ability to set goals are important. In this context, the findings obtained from the present study were discussed in relation to the relevant literature and some suggestions were proposed.

Perceptions of pre-service teachers on burnout, occupational anxiety and faculty life quality were investigated in this research. The research group consisted of 461 pre-service teachers in total studying at Afyon Kocatepe University faculty of education. "Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Form," "Faculty Life Quality Scale" and "Occupational Anxiety Scale for Pre-Service Teachers" were used in the collection of the research data. The information on the demographic features of the participants was collected as gender, age, branch and division. Arithmetic mean and T-test were used in the analysis of the data. In the research, it was seen that the burnout levels of pre-service teachers are at moderate level, and they are centred the dimension of feeling competent. It was found that occupational anxiety is centred in appointment related anxiety. It was seen that the level of satisfaction on the quality of faculty life is at a moderate level and it is centred on the dimension of satisfaction with the teaching staff. It was found that the faculty life quality satisfaction levels of female pre-service teachers are higher than male pre-service teachers. On the other hand, the burnout and occupational anxiety levels of female pre-service teachers were found significantly higher than male pre-service teachers.

In this study, the kinds of shares made by science teachers in a WhatsApp group as an online community of practice to support professional development were examined. The netnographic research method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The messages shared by 12 science teachers, who worked at a private school between the years 2015-2016, in the WhatsApp group were examined in the study. Content analysis was applied to the data, and the themes were created. In the study, it was observed that teachers made shares in four different themes that support professional development. These were found to be shares for field knowledge, shares for pedagogical content knowledge, shares for in-school teaching practices and shares for emotional support among teachers. In this context, it was revealed that programs providing online chatting opportunities could be an important tool in ensuring the professional development of teachers.

The objective of this study is to examine the relationships between the levels of schools for being professional learning communities and teacher professionalism based on teachers' perceptions. The participants were a total of 543 teachers working at elementary, middle and high schools in the Eyüp District of Istanbul. The data were gathered through the "Professional Learning Community Scale" and the "Teacher Professionalism Scale". The results showed that the teachers' perceptions on schools becoming professional learning communities and teacher professionalism were above moderate level. There were positive and significant correlations between all dimensions regarding the levels of schools for being professional learning communities, and teacher professionalism. Besides, the only significant and positive predictor of teacher professionalism was found to be the dimension "collective learning and applications" of professional learning community scale.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' individual innovativeness and their teacher professionalism. The participants were 567 teachers working in elementary, middle and high schools located across Istanbul. The data were gathered through the "Individual Innovativeness Scale" and the "Teacher Professionalism Scale". In data analysis, arithmetic means and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis were used. The results of the study showed that the teachers' characteristics of individual innovativeness fell into the group of early majority. The teachers' innovativeness was found to be at the highest level in the dimension of openness to experience. There was a weak positive relationship between the individual innovativeness characteristics of openness to experience and opinion-leading, and teacher professionalism, which was significant.

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between the pre-service teachers' critical thinking disposition, problem-solving skills and self-efficacy beliefs. The participants of the study were 519 pre-service teachers from Afyon Kocatepe University, Education Faculty. Critical Thinking Disposition, Problem Solving Inventory, and Teacher Self-efficacy Scale were used to collect the data. Arithmetic mean, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis were employed in data analysis. The results of the study revealed that the pre-service teachers' critical thinking disposition was low, problem-solving skills were moderate and teacher self-efficacy perceptions were quite adequate. However, the critical thinking disposition and problem-solving skills revealed significant positive correlations with all dimensions of teacher self-efficacy. An important finding is that critical thinking disposition and problem-solving skills were positive and significant predictors of all sub-dimensions of teacher self-efficacy beliefs.

Teaching in the 21st century poses many challenges for teachers, and thus, they need to take on more roles in their schools to meet the expectations of students, parents and the school community. In this regard, this study examined the relationship between teachers' self-efficacy beliefs and their job satisfaction. Participants of the study were 489 elementary, middle and high school teachers in the district of Beyoglu, Istanbul. 295 (61%) of the participants were female and 194 (39%) were male. The average age of the participants was 34. Their teaching experience varied between 1-29 years. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between teacher self-efficacy and job satisfaction, and teacher self-efficacy was found to be a significant predictor of job satisfaction.

This study sought to provide an understanding of the sources of work intensification and its effects on assistant principals in Turkey, and the coping strategies they use. The participants of this qualitative study were a sample of 18 assistant principals. The current qualitative study was based on semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed through descriptive and content analysis. This study revealed that assistant principals had work intensification related to heavy paperwork, a variety of administrative affairs, a variety of tasks, school size, and lack of experience. Assistant principals' work intensification caused negative psychological and physical health, work-family conflict, limited social relationships, and a decrease in professional commitment. Assistant principals spent time with their families, engaged in task sharing, received support from colleagues, took part in various social events, planned work habits and managed priorities to reduce the negative effects of work intensification.

Purpose: This study sought to provide an understanding of what a culturally contextualized model of instructional leadership looks like in Turkey, and how this differs from models disseminated in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed qualitative meta-synthesis to systematically review the full set of 22 qualitative studies of instructional leadership in Turkey. A systematic synthesis strategy was applied to code the findings from each study to develop broad themes that describe key domains of principal instructional leadership practice. Findings: The results showed that instructional leadership of school principals in Turkey is composed of four main dimensions and ten subdimensions. The main dimensions include: (1) emphasis on national goals and competition, (2) maintaining the learning environment, (3) motivating and enabling teachers, and (4) monitoring program alignment and test results. Research limitations/implications: While broad dimensions of instructional leadership described in the international literature are relevant in Turkey, some practices used to enact those dimensions appear poorly aligned with the institutional-cultural context of Turkish schools. Thus, findings from this study support the assertion that the specific practices used to measure, assess and practice instructional leadership must be adapted to the context of a specific society. Originality/value: This paper contributes to international efforts to develop a globally validated knowledge base in educational leadership and management.

Purpose: Professional learning communities that merge under the same goal in schools where social relationship networks are strong can contribute to creating an atmosphere which provides a basis for innovativeness. In this study the relationships between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities were examined through the views of teachers working at public schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: The data of this study, which utilised correlational survey model, were collected from 734 teachers who work in the Umraniye district of Istanbul, Turkey. Findings: The findings revealed that there is a positive and statistically significant correlation between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities. The results demonstrated that teachers' perceptions of social capital in schools affected their perceptions of innovativeness climate and that professional learning communities had an intermediary role in this relationship. These findings showed that the richness in social relationship networks provided a basis for the development of innovative teaching practices in schools and the professional learning environments created in schools contributed to this process. Research limitations/implications: In this study, the intermediary role of professional learning communities on the effect of social capital on innovativeness climate was analysed via teachers' views. In the literature no study studying the relationship between social capital, innovativeness climate and professional learning communities was found. Practical implications: It can be put forward that there is a need for studies that analyse the effect of the roots of social capital on innovativeness culture to identify other variables that may potentially be relevant. In addition, this study may be a contribution to the literature by providing a study on the concepts of social capital and innovativeness climate, which were studied in the fields of social sciences extensively, in educational settings and this supports the field through theoretical and empirical studies. Originality/value: This study demonstrated the effects of the concept of social capital on innovativeness climate which provides a basis for innovativeness in educational institutions. This topic is currently on the agenda of the OECD and World Bank. Moreover, this study aims to show the intermediary role of professional learning communities in the relationship between social capital and innovativeness climate.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school principals' instructional leadership and collaborative culture in schools. The study was conducted using a cross-sectional survey with a sample of 382 teachers. The data were collected through the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) and the School Culture Survey. Multiple regression analysis was used to estimate relationships among the variables. The study findings indicate that instructional leadership practices were significantly and positively related to collaborative culture in schools. The findings are discussed according to the related literature, and suggestions are made for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining successful school principals can contribute to the efforts of developing new leadership models and management strategies specific to the education system. This study focuses on the practices of a school principal who enhanced the performance of a school with low academic achievement in a remarkable way in a few years. The participants of this case study were a school principal and three teachers, and the research data were analyzed thematically. The school principal was observed to exhibit certain patterns of effective behavior to ensure the success of the school. It was found that the principal had strong personal values and believed that students could learn, established a system that enabled students to learn at school, focused on academic goals, recognized school stakeholders and included them in student learning processes, developed a school culture based on trust and implemented practices that closely followed and evaluated their learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing international literature on instructional leadership notes that its implementation often varies depending on cultural and contextual factors. Previous studies have indicated that while Turkish school principals demonstrate some instructional leadership behaviours, they frequently do not practice its key components such as shaping teacher professional development, goal setting, curriculum development and instructional supervision. This study used qualitative research methods, including interviews with 33 school principals, to identify and understand the major barriers hindering the implementation of instructional leadership in Türkiye. Factors such as a lack of authority, beliefs about the profession, workload, community context, inadequate resources and principal competency are key influences affecting the implementation and effectiveness of instructional leadership in Türkiye. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of the nature of instructional leadership in diverse cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]