Page 77 - ALR2018 Handbook

Exploring the Impact of Principals’ Emotional Intelligence on

Teaching Strategy Mediated by Principals’ Instructional Leadership

Junjun Chen and Wei Guo

Research purpose. Emotional intelligence is the cornerstone of every decision a
principal makes. The study examined the impact of school principals’ emotional
intelligence on their teachers’ instructional strategies mediated by principals’
instructional leadership. Method. A sample of 534 primary teachers from 54 primary
schools in China was approached to respond a questionnaire. The original models of
the three constructs failed to fit the data, but using factor analysis, alternative models
were identified. Structural equation modelling identified the relationships between the
three constructs and between the dimensional levels. Results. This study confirmed
from the theoretical proposition that principals’ EI is an influential factor on their
instructional leadership behavior and through that on teachers’ instructional strategy
through the eyes of teachers. Implications. The findings are informative for principal
preparation and principals’ daily leadership practice. It is proposed that standards for
educational administration might need to include the element of emotional
intelligence for evaluating principal effectiveness and for teaching improvement.

Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Principal Instructional Leadership,
Teaching Strategy, Structural Equation Modeling

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