Leading in Difficult Times: A Look at the Process by Which Principals’ Compassionate Leadership Influences Teacher Attitudes and Behaviour

Abstract

Organizational leaders worldwide faced significant challenges managing operations during COVID-19, and schools were no exception. The quick transition to virtual classrooms placed additional strain on school teachers already dealing with the pandemic. These teachers required compassionate leadership to guide them through the crisis. With teacher stress at a record high, compassionate leadership became crucial for navigating these difficult times. Despite increasing evidence of the positive effects of compassionate leadership, researchers have not fully explored its theoretical and empirical connections to teacher attitudes and behaviors. The literature lacks a detailed examination of how compassionate principals affect teachers’ work attitudes and behaviors. To address this gap, we propose a comprehensive conceptual model grounded in theories of trust, positive emotions, and self-efficacy. This model examines the relationships between compassionate leadership and teachers' work attitudes, including resilience, work engagement, psychological well-being, and job performance. Our study, which included school teachers, tested this conceptual model and found that compassionate leadership by school principals significantly impacts teachers' resilience, work engagement, psychological well-being, and job performance. These findings highlight the vital role of compassionate leadership in educational settings and suggest that school principals and other educational leaders should cultivate this leadership style. We also recommend future research directions and discuss the implications for organizational and school leadership during crises.



Author Information
Richard Marcel I., Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India
Kamalanabhan T. J., Indian Institute of Technology Madras, India

Paper Information
Conference: ACSS2024
Stream: Economics and Management

This paper is part of the ACSS2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
I. R., & J. K. (2024) Leading in Difficult Times: A Look at the Process by Which Principals’ Compassionate Leadership Influences Teacher Attitudes and Behaviour ISSN: 2186-2303 – The Asian Conference on the Social Sciences 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 425-437) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-2303.2024.37
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-2303.2024.37


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Posted by James Alexander Gordon