The Effect of Teachers Perceived Principals’ Ethical Leadership on Teacher Motivation Through Teacher Trust: A Quantitative Pls-Sem Study in Gwadar District, Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract

The role of principals’ ethical behavior has been acknowledged in the literature as an important factor in determining educational achievement. In this study, the effect of principals’ ethical leadership as perceived by teachers (PEL) on teachers’ autonomous teacher motivation (ATM) was examined, with teacher trust in the principal (TTP) as the mediator. The research is based on Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) and Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), and a quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 250 in-service teachers from public and private schools in Gwadar district, Balochistan, Pakistan, using three adapted and validated instruments. The analysis of the collected data was performed through PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 4 (Ringle et al., 2024). Reliability (Cronbach’s α ≥ 0.959; ρc ≥ 0.966) and convergent validity (AVE ≥ 0.778) have been established in the outer model, and construct discriminant validity has been verified through HTMT ratios < 0.65. Structural estimation revealed significant direct effects of PEL on ATM (β = 0.324, p < .001), PEL on TTP (β = 0.540, p < .001), and TTP on ATM (β = 0.449, p < .001). Furthermore, the specific indirect relationship between PEL and ATM through TTP was also statistically significant (β = 0.243, 95% BC CI [0.175, 0.322], p < .001). Together, the variables explained 46.4% of the variation in ATM and 29.1% of the variation in TTP. It is therefore clear that principals’ ethical behavior plays a very important role in institutional trust, which, in turn, energizes teachers’ autonomous motivation. Practical and policy implications for school administration, professional development, and educational governance in under-resourced coastal districts are elaborated.