Paternalistic School Principal Behaviours and Teachers’ Participation in Decision Making: The Intermediary Role of Teachers’ Trust in Principals

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 ekmeky 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