Distributed leadership and teacher job satisfaction over time: A large-scale trend analysis of TALIS 2013 and 2018

This study investigates international trends in distributed leadership and teacher job satisfaction, using data from the 2013 and 2018 cycles of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey. Focusing on countries that participated in both waves, the study addresses two key aims: (1) to examine cross-national changes in mean levels of teacher job satisfaction, both with the profession and the workplace, between 2013 and 2018, and to assess the statistical significance of these changes; and (2) to explore whether the strength of the relationship between distributed leadership and the two dimensions of job satisfaction has changed over time, and whether these changes varied significantly across countries. The findings revealed a significant overall decline in both aspects of teacher satisfaction from 2013 to 2018, with varying results across countries. However, the decline was larger for teacher satisfaction with the profession. We also found that although the overall association between distributed leadership and job satisfaction with the work environment remained largely stable, the overall relationship between distributed leadership and job satisfaction with the profession showed a slight decline; this change was not statistically significant. We conclude that leadership remains a crucial driver of teacher job satisfaction. • Analyzed TALIS 2013–2018 data from 31 countries on leadership and satisfaction. • Found global declines in teacher job satisfaction, strongest for the profession. • Distributed leadership’s positive link with satisfaction remained stable over time.