The relationship between transformational leadership and innovative school climate: The mediating role of trust in administrator and team creativity self efficacy

Transformational leaders shape the school climate positively by earning the trust of teachers with their visionary and supportive attitudes; in environments where trust prevails, teachers' tendencies to generate new ideas, collaborate, and produce creative outcomes are strengthened. In this respect, the study aims to examine the mediating role of trust in administrator and team creative self-efficacy in the relationship between transformational leadership and innovative school climate, based on teachers' perceptions. The study is designed using a correlational survey model. The sample of the study consisted of 476 teachers working in secondary and high schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in Şanlıurfa in the 2024-2025 academic year. Data were collected using the "Personal Information Form", "Short Transformational Leadership Scale", "Innovative School Climate Scale", "Trust in Administrator subscale of the Organizational Trust Scale for Schools" and "Team Creative Self-Efficacy Scale". SPSS 26.0 and MPlus 8.3 statistical package programs were used for the analysis of the data. The results indicated that perceptions of transformational leadership, trust in administrator, and team creative self-efficacy were high, whereas perceptions of innovative school climate were at a moderate level. Female teachers' perceptions regarding all variables were found to be higher than those of male teachers, while no significant difference was observed in terms of seniority. Significant differences were observed in perceptions of innovative school climate and team creative self-efficacy based on the duration of working with the principal. Transformational leadership significantly predicted the innovative school climate both directly and indirectly. These findings highlight the critical role of school administrator' leadership styles in teachers' perceptions and in the developmental dynamics of the school. Furthermore, testing similar models in different regions and cultural contexts, examining additional variables, and employing longitudinal or mixed-method research designs would contribute to a deeper and more multidimensional understanding of this relationship.