The Effect of School Principals’ Ethical Leadership on Teacher Job Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of School Ethical Climate

This study aims to examine the mediating role of ethical climate in the relationship between ethical leadership and job satisfaction. A cross-sectional survey was conducted for the study. Questionnaires were distributed to 641 teachers in Turkey. Regression analysis was conducted to determine the mediating effect of ethical climate. Bootstrapping tehchnique was used to test the hypotheses and the effects of mediation. Our results show that there is a positive relationship between principals' ethical leadership and teachers' job satisfaction and a positive relationship between ethical leadership and ethical climate. In addition, ethical climate partially mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and job satisfaction. Schools should focus on ethical leadership practices in the workplace. The study enriched the understanding of the factors that influence the relationship between ethical leadership, ethical climate and job satisfaction.