Investigating the relationship between servant leadership in schools and teachers’ job satisfaction: a case from the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Servant leadership in schools pertains to meeting teachers and staff’s social, professional, and academic needs, all through a reproductive and healthy approach to leadership. Previous studies on servant leadership supported the positive influence of servant leadership practices on employees’ job satisfaction in various educational and non-educational sectors. This study aimed to quantify the relationship between teachers’ perceived level of servant leadership practices of their school principals and the reported level of their job satisfaction within 2 campuses of one private school in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The participants included 81 teachers who responded to an online survey on Microsoft Teams, consisting of two integrated instruments namely Servant Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) and Mohrman–Cooke–Mohrman job satisfaction survey (MCMJSS). Data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 25. The findings showed that schoolteachers are more satisfied with their job when working with school principals who possess servant leadership qualities, indicating a positive correlation between perceived servant leadership and employee job satisfaction. Implications and recommendations for school leadership practices that enhance teacher retention in UAE schools are offered.

Keywords: Servant Leadership, Educational Leadership, Teacher Job Satisfaction, School Principals, Teacher Retention, UAE Schools, School Climate