In an effort to understand how principals and teachers can influence students’ sense of happiness at school, a study published in Educational Research of China National Academy of Educational Science analyzed a representative sample of teachers and students from 53 middle schools in a province in central China. The selected schools, located in four districts representing various socioeconomic conditions, encompassed diverse characteristics of schools and principals.

The mediating effects of all variables were: (1) Teachers’ sense of teaching efficacy mediated the relationship between the principals’ perceived instructional leadership and students’ school happiness (mediating effect = 12.6%); (2) Students’ perceived teacher-student relationships mediated the relationship between teachers’ sense of teaching efficacy and students’ school happiness (mediating effect = 34.9%); (3) Teachers’ sense of teaching efficacy and students’ perceived teacher-student relationship play a serial mediation role between principals’ perceived instructional leadership and students’ school happiness (mediating effect = 7.7%). The total mediating effects accounted for 55.2% of the variance, while the direct effect accounting for 44.8%.

The study identified three pathways in which principals’ instructional leadership influences students’ sense of school happiness: (1) The direct effect principals’ instructional leadership made on students’ school happiness; (2) Indirect effect via teachers’ sense of teaching efficacy; (3) Indirect effect by influencing teachers’ teaching efficacy, which in turn affects students’ perceived teacher-student relationships, ultimately influencing students’ school happiness.

To enhance students’ school happiness, it is necessary to improve principals’ instructional leadership skills, thereby stimulating teachers’ teaching efficacy and promoting the development of positive teacher-student relationships. These findings provide evidence-based mechanisms and pathways through which principals’ instructional leadership can influence students’ happiness.

Source: 陳霜葉, 榮佳妮, 郭少陽. 如何讓學生在學校感到幸福——校長教學領導力作用機制探索[J]. 教育研究, 2023, 44(02):88-100.