How Principals Influence Teachers’ Innovative Work Behavior: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study was conducted to explore the influence of principals’ leadership behaviors on their teachers’ innovative work behavior (IWB). It follows a qualitative approach that investigates the teachers’ perceptions of principals’ leadership behaviors and teachers’ own IWB. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted using (NVivo 12) for the 15 interviews. It was found that principal leadership behaviors positively impact the innovative work behavior of teachers in UAE. The results indicated that support for innovation, providing resources, recognition, delegation, and consultation were the strongest influences on teachers’ IWB. Whereas continued monitoring affects teachers’ innovative behavior negatively. In this work, implications for practitioners and future research are also discussed.

Keywords

principals’ leadership behaviors teachers’ innovative work behavior interviews United Arab Emirates

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