Integrating Distributed and Instructional Leadership: A Combined-Model Analysis of Teachers’ Organizational Commitment in Karachi Secondary Schools

Abstract

With regards to Social Exchange Theory, this study focused on the individual and joint implications of distributed and instructional leadership on the commitment of organizational teachers within the secondary schools of Karachi, Pakistan. In this study, quantitative cross-sectional design was used to select a sample of 499 secondary school teachers from public and private secondary schools, and secondary data was used. Instruments measuring distributed leadership, instructional leadership, and organizational commitment were used. The data were analyzed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equations Modeling. The study showed that teachers’ organizational commitment was positively influenced by both distributed leadership and instructional leadership. Most importantly, the integrated distributed instructional leadership model was showed to have a greater effect on organizational commitment that was greater than the effect of either of the leadership approaches on their own. The results showed that leadership that embraces relational involvement, joint distributed leadership, and instructional leadership integrates of balanced exchange that nurtures an environment of trust and professional commitment of teachers. The study strengthens The Social Exchange Theory within the context of Educational leadership and contributes to a practically relevant empirical study from a context that has not been studied widely. The results also have consequential importance for the development of school leadership and educational policies with the aim of boosting the commitment and organizational stability of teachers in secondary schools that have limited educational resources.

Keywords: Distributed leadership; Instructional leadership; Organizational commitment; Social Exchange Theory; Secondary schools; Pakistan.