Evaluation of Perceived Ethical Leadership of School Principals from the Perspective of Teachers in Isfahan

Ethical leadership in organizations, particularly in educational centers and institutions, plays a pivotal role in fulfilling functions and achieving desired objectives. Therefore, the aim of the present research was to evaluate the perceived ethical leadership of school principals in the city of Isfahan from the perspective of teachers. This research is descriptive-survey in nature, with the statistical population comprising teachers in Isfahan. Using Cochran's formula and cluster random sampling, 313 participants were selected as the sample. Data were collected using the standard ethical leadership questionnaire by Kalshoven et al. (2011) with 38 items across seven components. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed through face and construct validity. The reliability of the questionnaire was estimated at 0.89 using Cronbach's alpha for ethical leadership. Data analysis was performed at both descriptive and inferential levels using SPSS and Amos Graphics software. The results indicated that the status of ethical leadership of principals, from the teachers' perspective, is above average. This means that the school principals under study are in a favorable condition regarding public orientation, ethical guidance, role clarity, integrity, concern for stability, power sharing, and fairness. Additionally, a significant difference was found in teachers' perception of ethical leadership styles based on their years of service.