Shared Instructional Leadership Predicts a Third of Teacher Job Satisfaction in Northern Cyprus Schools

Teachers in Northern Cyprus who perceive instructional leadership as a shared, collaborative practice report markedly higher job satisfaction, according to a new quantitative study of secondary school staff published in Frontiers in Psychology. Among 300 teachers working in public secondary schools during the 2024–2025 academic year, perceptions of shared instructional leadership showed a statistically significant positive correlation with overall job satisfaction (r = 0.580, p < 0.001). In a simple linear regression, shared instructional leadership predicted job satisfaction with a standardized coefficient of β = 0.580 (p < 0.001), accounting for 33.4% of the variance in satisfaction scores (R² = 0.334). The regression model as a whole was significant, F(1, 298) = 150.832, p < 0.001. The author, Güliz Başaraner of the Ministry of Education and Culture in Cyprus and Kibris Aydin University, frames these figures not merely as a leadership effect but as evidence about the human foundations of socially sustainable schools.

The study sits within an expanded understanding of educational sustainability. Where early debates about sustainability in education centered on environmental responsibility and resource management, contemporary frameworks include social dimensions such as equity, participation, wellbeing, inclusion, and the quality of relationships inside educational organizations. From this vantage point, a school is sustainable not only when its academic results hold up over time but also when it can maintain supportive environments in which teachers participate meaningfully, develop professionally, and sustain their commitment. Because schools are fundamentally human organizations whose capacity for improvement depends on the motivation and engagement of their staff, the argument goes, the psychological condition of teachers is not a soft add-on but a structural component of long-term institutional resilience.

Within that framework, the study assigns two distinct conceptual roles. Shared instructional leadership—an approach that distributes responsibility for teaching and learning across school leaders and teachers rather than concentrating it in the principal’s office—is treated as an organizational resource. Teacher job satisfaction, a multidimensional construct covering professional roles, working conditions, relationships, recognition, and sense of accomplishment, is treated as a psychological resource. The author is explicit that social sustainability itself was not directly measured in the study; instead, the two constructs were examined as conditions thought to underpin socially sustainable schooling. The guiding research question asked to what extent shared instructional leadership predicts teacher job satisfaction among secondary school teachers in Northern Cyprus, with the hypothesis that it would be a significant predictor.

The theoretical glue connecting the two constructs comes largely from self-determination theory, which holds that people experience greater motivation and wellbeing when their psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are supported. Leadership practices that invite participation, provide recognition, and strengthen professional relationships may therefore raise satisfaction by meeting those needs. Shared instructional leadership, in this reading, positions teachers as active contributors to instructional improvement rather than passive recipients of administrative decisions. When teachers perceive that their expertise is valued and that they have genuine opportunities to shape instructional decisions, they may develop stronger professional commitment and more positive workplace experiences—precisely the relational conditions that social sustainability perspectives identify as central to durable organizations.

The empirical setting is distinctive. The research population consisted of approximately 1,400 teachers in 20 public secondary schools in the Nicosia and Kyrenia districts of Northern Cyprus, from which 300 teachers were recruited through random sampling. Participants were 67% female and 33% male; 62.67% were married, and 53.67% were graduates of faculties of education, with representation across different age groups and experience levels. Data collection followed institutional permission procedures, with voluntary participation, informed consent, and anonymity maintained throughout. The author notes that educational sustainability and leadership research has been conducted overwhelmingly in larger, more extensively studied Western systems, so evidence from Northern Cyprus—a smaller educational context with specific institutional and cultural conditions—extends the geographic diversity of the literature.

Two established instruments carried the measurement load. Shared instructional leadership was assessed with the seven-item Shared Instructional Leadership Scale developed by Zhan and colleagues, rated on a six-point Likert scale and covering shared responsibility, participation in instructional decisions, and collective engagement in improving teaching. Its internal consistency in this sample was acceptable, with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.763. Job satisfaction was measured with the 42-item Teacher Job Satisfaction Scale developed by Şahin, rated on a three-point scale (Yes, Partially, No) and spanning six dimensions: management, salary, achievement–respect–recognition, interpersonal relationships, the work itself, and parent–student indifference. This scale returned an alpha of 0.732. Analysis proceeded through descriptive statistics, Pearson product–moment correlation, and simple linear regression, with significance evaluated at p < 0.05.

The descriptive picture shows teachers rating shared instructional leadership highly and their own satisfaction moderately. The overall mean for shared instructional leadership was 4.65 (SD = 0.24) on the six-point scale, suggesting teachers generally perceived collaborative, shared-responsibility practices in their schools. Overall job satisfaction averaged 2.14 (SD = 0.18) on the three-point scale. Among the satisfaction dimensions, the work itself scored highest (M = 2.36, SD = 0.31), followed by achievement–respect–recognition (M = 2.25, SD = 0.26) and management (M = 2.20, SD = 0.30). The lowest scores appeared for parent–student indifference (M = 1.83, SD = 0.39) and salary (M = 1.98, SD = 0.39). The pattern suggests teachers drew stronger satisfaction from intrinsic and professional aspects of teaching than from external factors such as pay and parent- or student-related experiences.

The correlational results sharpen that picture considerably. Beyond the overall correlation of 0.580, shared instructional leadership correlated significantly with every satisfaction dimension except one. The strongest associations were with management (r = 0.641), achievement–respect–recognition (r = 0.636), interpersonal relationships (r = 0.622), and the work itself (r = 0.615), all significant at p < 0.001. Salary showed a weaker but still significant positive correlation (r = 0.415, p < 0.001). The exception was parent–student indifference, where the relationship was essentially flat and non-significant (r = 0.042, p > 0.05). The author interprets this null result as indicating that some facets of teacher satisfaction depend on factors beyond the immediate reach of school leadership—parent involvement, student characteristics, and broader social conditions—which reinforces the multidimensional nature of the construct.

In the discussion, the author argues that the findings reposition instructional leadership as more than a lever for teaching quality and student achievement. The strong link with achievement–respect–recognition is highlighted as particularly relevant to social sustainability, because recognition and appreciation shape teachers’ sense of belonging and organizational identification. The link with interpersonal relationships underscores trust and collaboration as foundations of sustainable educational communities. At the same time, the author cautions against overreading the regression result: job satisfaction is a complex construct shaped by multiple personal, organizational, and contextual variables, and leadership should be understood as one important contributing condition rather than a sole determinant. By Cohen’s 1992 criteria, the observed effect represents a medium-to-large practical effect size in educational research contexts.

The study’s limitations are stated plainly. Social sustainability was never directly measured as a separate construct, so future work should incorporate indicators such as organizational trust, retention intentions, professional belonging, collective efficacy, participation, and equity measures. The design was quantitative, correlational, and self-reported, which rules out causal interpretation; longitudinal, qualitative, or mixed-method studies would be needed to trace how leadership practices influence teacher experiences over time. And the single-context sample of Northern Cyprus secondary teachers means cultural, institutional, and policy differences may shape how the leadership–satisfaction relationship plays out elsewhere. Within those bounds, the practical implications are concrete: school leaders are encouraged to treat shared instructional leadership as a relational approach that builds participation, recognition, and collaboration; schools seeking sustainable cultures are advised to open instructional decision-making to teachers; and policymakers and leadership preparation programs are urged to emphasize teacher wellbeing and participatory leadership competencies—communication, trust building, and teacher empowerment—as essential components of sustainable education systems.

Subject of Research: The relationship between shared instructional leadership and teacher job satisfaction among secondary school teachers in Northern Cyprus, framed through social sustainability in education

Article Title: Instructional leadership and teacher job satisfaction as psychological resources for social sustainability: evidence from secondary schools in Northern Cyprus

Article References: Başaraner, G. (2026). Instructional leadership and teacher job satisfaction as psychological resources for social sustainability: evidence from secondary schools in Northern Cyprus. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, Article 1948614. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1948614

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1948614

Keywords: shared instructional leadership, teacher job satisfaction, social sustainability, Northern Cyprus, secondary education, school leadership, teacher wellbeing, self-determination theory, correlational study, educational psychology, teacher recognition, organizational resources