Impact of School Leadership on Teacher Autonomy: Evidence From Multilevel Analysis Using Vietnam TALIS 2018 Data

This study examined the impact of school leadership on teacher autonomy (TA), with teacher professional collaboration (TPC) and teacher self-efficacy (TSE) playing the mediating role. Distributed leadership (DL) and instructional leadership (IL) are the most employed leadership styles. Data collected from teachers and principals nested within schools in Vietnam TALIS 2018 were analyzed using hierarchical linear modeling to explore the relationships between the above variables (DL with TPC, TSE, TA; IL with TPC, TSE, TA; TPC with TA; TSE with TA; TPC with TSE). The findings showed that DL directly influenced TA and indirectly affected TA through TSE. However, IL had no direct impact on TA but affected it through TSE. While IL did not affect TPC, DL did. TPC had no direct impact on TA and so did not mediate the relationship of TA with DL and IL. The results also uncovered that TPC directly impacted TSE. These results suggest that DL and TSE play crucial roles in fostering an autonomous teaching environment, while IL and TPC did not effectively promote TA. However, TALIS survey iterations may want to include cultural items to help interpret research results better. Such adjustments can enhance TALIS’ relevance in diverse cultural contexts and results, providing policymakers with more contextualized insights to improve TA and school professional development.