The Effects of Distributive Leadership Style: Beyond Teachers' Job Satisfaction

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of Distributed Leadership on the Job Satisfaction of teachers, and then determine the effects of DL and teachers' JS on the academic performance of high school students. This study was a descriptive-correlational work in terms of methodology and theoretical-applied work in terms of purpose. The statistical population of this study included two groups of stakeholders, namely teachers and 11th-grade students at high schools in Khuzestan province, Iran. Multi-stage cluster sampling was used for sampling; accordingly, 52 out of 270 active schools in Khuzestan province selected as samples. On average, seven teachers from each school and all 11th-grade students from those schools who took the final exams participated in the study. The measurement tool for DL and JS was a Questionnaire with an alpha coefficient of 0.83, and 0.96. Final exam scores were also used to measure students' academic performance. Results showed that there was a significant relationship between all variables of DL and teachers' JS. Also, all variables of DL had a significant relationship with students' academic performance. The regression analysis results showed that JS and variables of DL are good predictors of students' academic performance. Finally, the results of this study showed that the outcomes of distributed leadership for schools are not limited to teachers' job satisfaction; but it affects, directly and indirectly, one of the most important missions of the school - the improvement of student academic performance. This three-dimensional package is a necessity for 21st-century schools' effectiveness.