Abstract:

Teacher leadership has recently become the centre of educational research on improving educational practices. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between primary school teachers’ perceptions of school climate and teacher leadership. The study sample consisted of 259 primary school teachers who participated in an educational conference organized by the Bafra District National Education Directorate in Bafra, Samsun. The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire-RE and Teacher Leadership Scale were used to gather data. Results suggested that there were negative and significant relationships between restrictive school climate and teacher leadership. Results also revealed that restrictiveness negatively and significantly predicted all three subscales (institutional improvement, professional improvement and collaboration among colleagues) of teacher leadership. On the other hand, a directive school climate was the only positive and significant predictor of teacher leadership based on institutional improvement. Results of this study were discussed in relation to their practical implementation in school settings.

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