Perceptual differences of perceived instructional leadership between principals and teachers: Power distance as a moderator

This study examines the perceptual gap on principal instructional leadership between principals and teachers, and tests a hypothesis that power distance (PD) moderates the perceptual differences between the two parties. Based on survey data collected from 132 Chinese principals and 1708 teachers, results revealed that no significant difference was found on the total and dimensional levels of PIMRS; however, PD moderates the perceptual differences. Specifically, when principals report low PD, principals’ self-rating of instructional leadership is higher than that reported by teachers, whereas when principals report high PD, their self-rating is lower than teachers’. More interestingly, the results with teacher’s PD contradict. When teachers report high PD, principals’ self-rating of instructional leadership is higher than that reported by teachers; whereas when teachers report low PD, principals’ self-ratings are lower than teachers’. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2017 All Academic, Inc.