TY - JOUR

T1 - School leadership matters: Evidence from TIMSS on teacher job satisfaction and students’ academic outcomes

AU - Eryilmaz, Nurullah

AU - Strietholt, Rolf

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - This study investigates the relationship between school leadership support and educational outcomes, focusing on student academic achievement and teacher job satisfaction, utilizing a meta-analytic approach with data from the TIMSS 2015 survey. The dataset comprises responses from eighth-grade mathematics and science teachers across 45 countries. Meta-analytic integration reveals that leadership support has a small-to-moderate positive effect on teacher job satisfaction, with pooled effect sizes of 0.20 (95 % CI: [0.18, 0.22]) for mathematics teachers and 0.22 (95 % CI: [0.19, 0.24]) for science teachers. However, leadership support demonstrates a small negative association with student achievement in both mathematics (-0.05, 95 % CI: [-0.07, -0.03]) and science (-0.04, 95 % CI: [-0.05, -0.02]). These findings highlight the complex interplay between leadership practices, teacher well-being, and student performance, underscoring the need for nuanced strategies that address these dynamics to enhance both teacher satisfaction and student outcomes.

AB - This study investigates the relationship between school leadership support and educational outcomes, focusing on student academic achievement and teacher job satisfaction, utilizing a meta-analytic approach with data from the TIMSS 2015 survey. The dataset comprises responses from eighth-grade mathematics and science teachers across 45 countries. Meta-analytic integration reveals that leadership support has a small-to-moderate positive effect on teacher job satisfaction, with pooled effect sizes of 0.20 (95 % CI: [0.18, 0.22]) for mathematics teachers and 0.22 (95 % CI: [0.19, 0.24]) for science teachers. However, leadership support demonstrates a small negative association with student achievement in both mathematics (-0.05, 95 % CI: [-0.07, -0.03]) and science (-0.04, 95 % CI: [-0.05, -0.02]). These findings highlight the complex interplay between leadership practices, teacher well-being, and student performance, underscoring the need for nuanced strategies that address these dynamics to enhance both teacher satisfaction and student outcomes.

KW - School leadership support

KW - Mathematics teacher job satisfaction

KW - Science teacher job satisfaction

KW - Mathematics Achievement

KW - Science Achievement

KW - TIMSS 2015

KW - meta-analysis

KW - Higher Education and Science Management

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijedro.2025.100520

DO - 10.1016/j.ijedro.2025.100520

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 9

JO - International Journal of Educational Research Open

JF - International Journal of Educational Research Open

SN - 2666-3740

M1 - 100520

ER -