Linking trust in the principal to school outcomes

Abstract

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of faculty's trust in the school principal on three school outcomes, namely, self-reported in-role job performance (IRP), organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and learning goal orientation (LGO). Furthermore, this paper aims to highlight the role of organizational identification (OID) and work engagement (Eng) in explaining the linkage between trust in the principal (TIP) and the three outcome variables. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data are collected from 130 high school teachers in Pakistan. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses are used to test the research hypotheses. Findings – The results of this paper revealed that OID and Eng fully mediated the relationship between TIP and IRP; whereas, they partially mediated the effects of TIP on OCB and LGO. Research limitations/implications – The data used in this paper are cross-sectional and hence causation cannot be determined. Additionally, the data for this paper are collected from a single source, which may create problem of common method variance. Nevertheless, the results of this paper provide ample testimony to the fact that faculty TIP is a key determinant of school effectiveness. Originality/value – This paper extends the literature by providing insights into two processes through which TIP can affect performance and learning orientation of teachers.