The relationship between teachers’ perceptions of transformational leadership practices and the social ecological model: Universal vs national culture

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine an integrative model combining teachers’ perceptions of transformational leadership practices (TLPs) and different subsystems of the social ecological model (SEM) within the context of country culture (US vs Israel). Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative study was conducted among 615 Israeli teachers and 541 US teachers. The leadership practices inventory (LPI) questionnaire was used, and analyses focused on the interaction effects of ecological subsystems and country on teachers’ perceptions of TLP. Findings: Results indicated that some universal leadership aspects appear in both the USA and Israel, with modeling the way being most dominant and Challenging the Process least dominant. However, the findings also indicated some specific national leadership aspects. For example, Israeli teachers perceive their school principals’ TLP to be significantly higher than do US teachers in all five dimensions. In addition, the study indicated significant differences between Israel and the USA regarding aspects of TLP, after taking school level into account. The results are explained by Hofstede’s culture dimensions. Originality/value: This study focuses on teachers’ perceptions of TLP in relation to SEM, which has been largely ignored in educational leadership studies. The findings may help to develop an integrative policy related to both TLP and SEM, which will enhance the impact that school leadership may have in both countries, taking the cultural context into consideration.