Instructional leadership, and teacher’s collective efficacy, commitment, and professional learning in primary schools: a mediation model

This study tested the relationship between principals’ instructional leadership, teacher collective efficacy, teacher commitment, and teacher professional learning in Iranian primary schools. Survey data collected from 121 principals and 886 teachers in primary schools in Mashhad city, Iran were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, and bootstrapping. Findings confirmed a partial mediation model whereby principal instructional leadership has both direct and indirect effects on teacher professional learning. The research also revealed how instructional leaders influence the professional learning of teachers through teacher’s collective efficacy, commitment. The present study contributes to the literature by investigating the key role of the principal’s instructional leadership in supporting teacher professional learning.