Abstract
BACKGROUND: Teachers' work engagement significantly impacts the overall teaching quality and educational effectiveness of a school. Previous research has identified authentic leadership, school climate, and teacher efficacy as pivotal influencers that substantially shape teachers' work engagement. However, the specific mechanisms through which authentic leadership influences the work engagement of primary and secondary school teachers have not been thoroughly investigated. METHODS: This study seeks to explore how authentic leadership shapes the work engagement of primary and secondary school teachers through the sequential mediating roles of school climate and teacher efficacy. In June 2024, an anonymous survey was successfully administered to 1043 primary and secondary school teachers (M = 36, SD = 9.547) in Shandong Province. Data analysis was performed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) in AMOS 24.0 and SPSS 24.0. RESULTS: The findings indicate that: (1) Authentic leadership directly predicts teachers' work engagement; (2) Authentic leadership influences teachers' work engagement through the mediating roles of school climate and teacher efficacy separately; (3) School climate and teacher efficacy play a chain mediating role between authentic leadership and teachers' work engagement. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms linking authentic leadership and teachers' work engagement, and offer guidance for school administrators and policy makers to implement targeted interventions aimed at bolstering teachers' work engagement, which is essential for elevating the quality of education in schools.