Objective: Rapid and complex transformations in educational environments, along with shifting stakeholder expectations and increasing societal demands on education systems, have made the need to reconsider leadership approaches more evident than ever. In such a context, the Ministry of Education requires leaders who demonstrate personal authenticity, behavioral transparency, ethical integrity, and deep internal commitment in order to respond effectively to emerging needs. These attributes are conceptualized within the theoretical framework of authentic leadership, an approach that emphasizes self-awareness, relational transparency, balanced processing of information, and the internalization of moral values. Therefore, revising traditional models for developing educational administrators and moving toward frameworks grounded in the components of authentic leadership is considered a strategic necessity for enhancing the quality of management within the education system. Accordingly, the present study aimed to design and validate an applied model for developing organizational leaders in the education system based on the authentic leadership approach.
Materials and Methods: This study was applied in terms of purpose and employed a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design conducted in two phases: qualitative and quantitative. In the first phase, a qualitative approach was used to identify the dimensions, components, and indicators associated with the development of authentic leaders. Participants included experts in educational management and experienced school administrators, who were selected through purposive criterion-based sampling. A total of 20 qualified individuals participated in semi-structured interviews. After transcription, the interview data were coded, categorized, and analyzed using content analysis with MAXQDA 2024 software. During this process, initial concepts were extracted and organized into subcategories and main categories, leading to the development of the preliminary framework of the model. In the second phase, a quantitative approach was adopted to empirically test the proposed model. The statistical population consisted of 1,800 secondary school principals in Tehran. Based on the Krejcie and Morgan table, a sample of 317 participants was determined and selected through multi-stage sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed questionnaire initially comprising 25 items, which was reduced to 24 items after refinement and statistical evaluation. Content validity was assessed using the Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and the Item-Level Content Validity Index (I-CVI), and the results confirmed the adequacy of the instrument’s content validity. Reliability was examined through Cronbach’s alpha, composite reliability, and rho-A coefficients, all of which indicated satisfactory internal consistency and stability. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS-26 and SmartPLS-4 software. To examine the relationships among variables and assess model fit, Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed. Evaluation of the measurement and structural models demonstrated acceptable overall model fit and significant path coefficients among the constructs.
Discussion and Conclusion: The qualitative findings revealed that the model for developing authentic leaders in education can be explained through four main dimensions. The first dimension, “contextual factors,” encompasses the individual, organizational, and cultural foundations necessary for the emergence of authentic leadership. The second dimension, “developmental programs,” refers to educational initiatives, professional capacity-building, mentoring, and structured learning experiences. The third dimension includes the “characteristics and functions of authentic leadership,” such as self-awareness, transparency, ethical conduct, and responsible decision-making. The fourth dimension, “outcomes of authentic leadership,” involves results such as improved organizational performance, increased trust, strengthened participatory culture, and enhanced social capital. The quantitative results further confirmed the four-dimensional structure of the model and indicated that contextual factors, developmental programs, and the characteristics and functions of authentic leadership have a positive and significant impact on the process of developing leaders based on the authentic leadership approach. Moreover, the cultivation of authentic leaders significantly contributes to improved organizational outcomes in schools. In other words, the stronger the individual and organizational foundations and the more systematic the developmental programs, the greater the likelihood of institutionalizing authentic leadership components and achieving desirable organizational results. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of simultaneously strengthening ethical and individual infrastructures, designing systematic developmental interventions, and establishing supportive organizational mechanisms. Implementation of the proposed model can promote organizational culture, enhance collective performance, increase mutual trust, and strengthen social capital within the education system, thereby providing an effective response to the evolving transformations and emerging demands of contemporary educational environments.