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Leadership and Autonomy-Supportive Teaching: The Role of Teacher Resources
Beatriz Marçalo (Marçalo, B.); Helena Carvalho (Carvalho, H.); Costa, Patrícia (Costa, Patrícia); Cecília Aguiar (Aguiar, C.);
Event Title
EARLI SIG 4 & 11 CONFERENCE 2026
Year (definitive publication)
2026
Language
English
Country
Finland
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Abstract
Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers play an essential role in delivering high-quality education, yet they often struggle with diverse job demands. Grounded on the Job Demands-Resources Model, this study aimed to examine the indirect association between coordinators’ transformational leadership and children’s autonomy support through ECE teachers’ self-efficacy and work engagement. Data were collected from 381 ECE teachers (373 women), aged between 23 and 65 years. Participants responded online to a sociodemographic questionnaire and self-report measures. Despite the small effect sizes, the results revealed that teachers’ self-efficacy and work engagement were independently involved in the indirect associations between ECE coordinators’ transformational leadership and children’s autonomy support by ECE teachers, whereas their combined sequential contribution was less evident. These findings help understand the needs of ECE teachers and identify organizational features (e.g., leadership) that can be improved to support ECE teachers’ self-efficacy and work engagement, ultimately fostering higher-quality education.
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Funding Reference Funding Entity
CIS-Iscte, UID/03125/2025 CIS-Iscte