Perceived environmental uncertainty, psychological climate, and creative leadership in educational organizations

This study, conducted in a relational survey model, aims to determine whether school administrators' creative leadership traits serve as a mediator between teachers' perceptions of environmental uncertainty and psychological climate. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the hypothesized relationships. Due to the absence of a previously developed measurement tool for teachers' perceptions of environmental uncertainty in the literature review, the researcher developed the "Perceived Environmental Uncertainty Scale in Schools." The research was conducted in official schools in the Efeler district of Aydın province during the 2020-2021 academic year. Data for the study were collected through the "Personal Information Form," "Perceived Environmental Uncertainty Scale in Schools," "Perception of Psychological Climate Scale," and "School Administrators' Creative Leadership Traits Scale." Descriptive statistical analyses of the data obtained from the sample of teachers revealed that teachers perceived the level of psychological climate as relatively "high," perceived environmental uncertainty at a "moderate" level, and perceived their administrators as leaders with high creative leadership traits. The results of the structural equation modeling tests indicated a negative and weak relationship between perceived environmental uncertainty and psychological climate perception, while a positive and high-level relationship was found between perception of creative leadership and psychological climate. Significant relationships were also observed among the sub-dimensions constituting these variables in the model. This result is consistent with the comparisons made based on the total scores of the relevant variables. Specifically, while negative and low to moderate-level relationships were found between the sub-dimensions of environmental uncertainty perception (situation, impact, and response uncertainty) and the dimensions of psychological climate perception, a positive and high to moderate-level relationship was identified between the sub-dimensions of creative leadership and the sub-dimensions of psychological climate perception. Finally, when evaluating the relationship between teachers' perceptions of environmental uncertainty and their perceived psychological climate in the schools where they work, in terms of whether school administrators' creative leadership behaviors serve as a mediating role, it was concluded that the hypothesized mediating effect exists. KEYWORDS: Perceived Environmental Uncertainty, Psychological Climate, Creative Leadership, Structural Equation Modeling.