Connections between ethical leadership behavior and collective efficacy levels as perceived by teachers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible connections between ethical leadership behavior and collective efficacy levels as perceived by teachers. Second, this study examined the possible links between teacher characteristics and perceptions of a supervisor's ethical leadership and a school's collective efficacy. This study used two questionnaires to collect data. The Ethical Leadership Scale was used to gather perceptions of ethical leadership behavior. Four weeks later, the Collective Efficacy Short Form was used to collect data on perceived staff efficacy. The sample was 209 educators who were taking graduate education courses at a comprehensive Midwestern university in summer 2008. The first research question dealt with discovering any connections between perceptions of ethical leadership and perceptions of collective teacher efficacy. The overall indication is that there is a strong correlation. The second research question investigated demographic characteristics that might help explain any connections. The one characteristic that was most likely to produce significantly different responses was whether the teacher taught in a regular public school, a charter school, or a private school.