The Impact of Leadership Style, Thinking Style and Job Satisfaction on Iranian EFL Teacher Retention

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among leadership style, job satisfaction, and teachers’ retention with their respective sub-scales. To this end, 356 (145 male and 221 female) Iranian EFL teachers participated in the study. Osborne & Reiman’s (2005) The Teacher Perception of success and teacher retention questionnaire, Fiedler & Garcia’s (1987) Leadership questionnaire, Sternberg’s Thinking Style Questionnaire (1991) and Smith’s Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (1969) were used to measure the variables. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis confirmed the hypothesized model of relationships among the study variables. The final model of the network of associations among variables also revealed significant correlations among various sub-scales of the study. The findings of this study can be used by language teachers and researchers in the field.