On the Relationship of Perception of Principal's Unethical and Empowering behaviors to the Teacher's Cognitive and Affective Trust in Principals

Trust in principals is a core topic in organizational studies and social exchanges among people in work places. As such، this article explores changes in trust level in principals based on two predicting variables i. e. principals’ unethical and empowering behaviors. In light of review of literature، a conceptual model was developed to delineate the relationships between variables and then it was assessed. A sample of 105 secondary school teachers in Chenaran was studied using stratified random method. A use was made of a questionnaire. Its validity was established through factor analysis and its reliability was also confirmed using Cronbach''s alpha. To analyze data، two softwares، that is، SPSS and Lisrel were employed. The findings indicated that the perception of empowering behaviors of principals influences the sample’s cognitive and affective trust. Further، unethical behavior of the principals was found to affect negatively the cognitive trust in principals، while it exerts no effect on the affective trust in principals. The refined model set forth was tested using path analysis. Fit indexes suggested that the model adequately fit the data. The paper concluded that improving principals’ behavior، as role samples، has a major impact on teachers’ trust in principals and consequently on the effective interaction between teachers and principals.