Instructional Coaching as a Central Mechanism Linking Middle Leadership and Teacher Innovative Work Behaviour: A Multilevel Conceptual Framework

This study examines how middle leadership influences teacher Innovative Work Behaviour (IWB) within educational settings. Despite growing interest in instructional innovation, existing literature remains fragmented in explaining the mechanisms through which leadership shapes teacher behaviour. This study adopts a conceptual paper design, using a structured, systematic conceptual synthesis approach to integrate theoretical and empirical literature on middle leadership, instructional coaching, and teacher innovation. The findings indicate that leadership influences IWB indirectly through instructional coaching as a central mechanism, supported by psychological mediators such as teacher autonomy and self-efficacy, as well as professional learning processes. These mechanisms enable teachers to internalise and enact innovative practices rather than respond to direct control. The study further demonstrates that innovation emerges through the interaction of structural, motivational, and contextual factors. By integrating leadership, coaching, and motivational theories, this study proposes a multilevel framework that provides a coherent explanation of instructional change. Overall, the findings contribute to educational leadership literature and offer practical insights for designing structured coaching systems to support sustained teacher innovation.