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Aims primarily to examine how stressful kindergarten principals as leaders and managers of their schools found their work to be, and if such job stress was related to negative emotions and job satisfaction. The secondary aim was to explore if social support from a close friend could reduce and buffer job stress. Seventy‐seven kindergarten principals in Hong Kong responded to a questionnaire containing the variables of interest. The results showed that the principals found their work to be moderately stressful. However, emotional and informational support from a close friend had beneficial impacts on stress.

One objective of the present study was to explore how stressful kindergarten principals, as leaders and managers of their schools, found their work to be, and if such job‐related stress was associated with negative emotions and job (dis)satisfaction. Another objective was to assess whether or not social support from one's supervisor could reduce the adverse effects of job‐related stress. A related objective was to examine possible negative impacts associated with receipt of support from one's supervisor.

A total of 44 kindergarten principals in Macau filled out a questionnaire that contained the variables of interest.

The results indicated that the principals found their work to be moderately stressful; only emotional support was shown to be effective in buffering the impacts of job‐related stress; and there were only weak adverse effects related to the receipt of support.

This paper is useful in understanding the relationship of stress to work in the school environment.

In the current study, the author tests a conceptual model in which teachers' knowledge and skills of multiculturalism and teaching relationship (cultural harmony) are associated with developmentally appropriate practices (DAPs), developmentally appropriate (DABs), developmentally inappropriate beliefs and developmentally inappropriate practices (DIPs) in the classroom.

Participants were 347 preschool teachers from 12 preschools including 342 women ( 98.6%) and five men (1.4%) aged 24–45 years located across all five districts of Hong Kong. The hypothesized model of multicultural teaching competency as a predictor of DABs and DAPs is confirmed in the present study.

Multicultural teaching knowledge can enhance developmentally appropriate teaching beliefs and practices and reduce DIPs. It is highly recommended that multicultural education can be embedded in early childhood education (ECE) programs for both in-service and preservice teachers.

A new conceptual model of teachers' knowledge and skills of multiculturalism and teaching relationship (cultural harmony) associated with DABs, developmentally inappropriate beliefs and DAPs in the classroom was firstly examined.

The function of early childhood education (ECE) has shifted from mothering to nurturing child development in Hong Kong. Teaching in kindergartens seems to be more attractive to men nowadays. The purpose of this paper is to explore the issues of male participation in ECE through a case study of a local kindergarten.

A case study methodology was used in the research design and the data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The interviewees all came from a single, case study school, and included the kindergarten principal, head teacher, teachers, both Chinese and foreign nationals, and parents.

The findings of the study indicated that most of the school staff support hiring male teachers in kindergartens and perceive that male teachers play an important role in educating young children. On the other hand, the views of parents who participated in the study were divided. This reflects gender bias on the part of parents.

Minimal research on male participation in kindergartens has been conducted in Hong Kong. The findings of the study shed some light on the issues of male participation in ECE in a Chinese context. It is argued that overcoming the low participation of male teachers in ECE will require changes in deeply rooted institutional and management practices. From a wider perspective, providing better career prospects and improving the professional status of kindergarten teachers will attract more men to teach in kindergartens.

The current study investigated the impact of organisational trust on emotional well-being and performance of middle leaders during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

A convenience sample of 265 middle leaders in kindergartens in China responded involving trust in schools (e.g. trust in principal and trust in colleagues), emotional well-being and job performance. Both confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were used in the investigation.

Three hypotheses on the relationships between the three constructs were verified. Trust in schools significantly influenced emotional well-being and job performance of middle leaders which correlated with each other. The interactive effects of trust in principal and trust in colleagues were discussed for improving the well-being and job performance of middle leaders. Relationships between the two kinds of trust and pride were also identified in the research.

Further studies may put efforts towards improving these three outcomes synchronously.

Based on the evidence of the current study, future research may focus on how middle leaders act as a bridging role between different stakeholders such as principal and teachers, principal and parents, teachers and children, meanwhile how to boost the leaders' own well-being and performance in the early childhood education (ECE).

This study established the empirical linkages between school trusts, emotional well-being and job performance.

The current paper aims to tell the stories of six female supervisors who have successfully managed to access this high‐level position in the Bedouin educational system, putting forward some implications for understanding and exploring the lives and career of women in patriarchal, minority groups.

Six female Muslim supervisors, who work in the Bedouin pre‐school system in Israel, participated in semi‐structured interviews conducted by the authors.

The stories illustrated a connection between “power” and “femininity” in leading positions in a patriarchal, tribal society different from the one constructed in the western literature on leadership. Thus, in spite of the inferiority of femininity in the traditional Bedouin society, the female supervisors perceived their femininity to be an advantage and powerful in, among other things, minimizing tribal‐professional conflict characterized by a contradiction between traditional and rational codes, and in taking on a social role in the empowerment of Bedouin women in all spheres of life.

The paper puts forward some implications for the recruitment and employment of women leaders living and working in patriarchal social groups within a multicultural society.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is a first attempt to document the lives and careers of female leaders in Bedouin society which is embedded with entrenched norms in respect to gender and the “place” of women in the society. The paper, then, provides insights into alternative interpretations of female leadership, power and career.

This paper investigates the levels of career resilience and self-efficacy of the principals of primary school units, identifies the relationship between them and determines the effect of the demographic elements of the sample on their career resilience and self-efficacy.

The convenient sample of this study was 165 principals from public schools across the prefecture of Central Macedonia. A total of 422 questionnaires were mailed to all principals of kindergarten and elementary schools, accompanied by a personal letter to inform them about the procedure and the purpose of the survey. A pilot survey took place to check the adequacy of and get feedback on the questionnaire. The questionnaire used in the study consisted of three parts: The Career Resilience Scale (CRS) by Kodama (2015), the Principal Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES) by Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004) and demographic questions.

The results of the survey showed that principals have high levels of career resilience and very high levels of self-efficacy. There are four factors that form the levels of career resilience: (a) problem-solving skills (b) social skills (c) interest in innovation and (d) optimism for the future. Demographic factors play a role in shaping career resilience as they affect two of the four factors. There are two factors that shape levels of self-efficacy: (a) self-efficiency in administration and (b) self-efficiency in moral leadership. Demographic factors play a role in shaping the factor of self-efficacy that refers to administration. Finally, there was a high positive correlation and a causal relationship between career resilience and self-efficacy.

The convenient sample used in the present study is a limiting factor, as it may not be representative of Greek primary school principals. Also, research is based on self-evaluation questionnaires, which may show a lack of objectivity, as the answers may reflect the personal worldviews of leaders and particular needs of educational institutions (Sarid, 2021). This fact may not allow us to generalize the results.

The present study showed that resilience and self-efficacy have a causal relationship and that one enhances another, making their relation pivotal for a successful educational leadership. Regarding the professional development of school leaders, educational leadership training programs could be designed and offered by the Greek Ministry of Education (Dexter et al., 2020). Coaching programs and practices that help principals develop social skills, coping mechanisms, emotional capacities and confidence in one's knowledge should be widely introduced. Governments have to take the necessary initiative to ensure that, particularly in adverse contexts, education stimulate and nurture resilience and self-efficacy among citizens, by promoting appropriate lifelong learning programs and by ensuring the continuous training of employees (Renko et al., 2020).

Career resilience and self-efficacy ensures economic prosperity in times of crisis, globalization and rapid technology development and may be the best way to create strong and successful leaders. Coaching programs and practices that help principals develop social skills, coping mechanisms, emotional capacities and confidence in one's knowledge should be widely introduced. The results of the present research could prove helpful in developing strategic plans, building networks between organizations to improve communication and flow of information, through employee exchange programs.

This research, which combined career resilience and self-efficacy, took place for the first time in Greece. The CRS by Kodama (2015) was also used for the first time in Greek population.

Power relations affect all aspects of our lives. MacGregor Burns states that “Power is ubiquitous; it permeates human relationships … Power shows many faces and takes many forms”. The purpose of this paper was to explore women principals’ experiences with power relations in the schools during times of increase in decentralization and accountability. The findings of this phenomenological study were that the six principals viewed power as an enabling, and a positive energy for change and growth in schools rather than a source of “top‐down” domination. Their descriptions of power also asserted that “power is not reducible to any one source”, and that an understanding of poststructuralist and structuralist theories of power will be essential for school leaders facing the dilemmas and challenges of the twenty‐first century.

This paper aims to explore the perceptions of pre-school educators for the application of total quality philosophy in kindergartens in the prefecture of Corinthia, Greece. Dimensions, such as the adoption of quality philosophy in the pre-school unit by the superiors, the active participation of teachers in decision-making and human resource management parameters, are examined.

The methodological approach of qualitative research was selected for the collection, processing and analysis of data based on the methodological tools of the interview with a semi-structured questionnaire and deliberate random sampling of kindergarten teachers serving in public units where they have teaching and/or administrative tasks.

The analysis of the data shows that there is no particular familiarity with the basic parameters of total quality philosophy in pre-school education and is related to empirical planning and lack of long-term vision. However, participatory decision-making and emotional intelligence are found as essential elements for ensuring an efficient and open-ended school culture.

The study is the first of its kind in Greece and abroad and its findings can be used to enrich the thematic scope of application of total quality management dimensions to pre-school education and in particular, those dimensions related to the leadership profile of teachers exercising responsibility tasks.

This study investigated the relationship between principals' abusive leadership and teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations, exploring the potential moderating effects of the duration of the relationship and group size within educational settings.

Data were collected from a sample of teachers in Bahrain, using self-report measures. The data were analyzed using regression analyses.

The findings reveal a significant negative relationship between principals' abusive leadership and teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. The results also show that the duration of the relationship moderates the correlation between abusive leadership and teachers' extrinsic motivation, with teachers who have been in longer relationships with their principals showing greater resistance to the detrimental effects of abusive leadership on their extrinsic motivation. Group size was found to moderate this correlation, with larger groups exhibiting stronger buffering against the negative effect of abusive leadership.

The findings provide valuable insights into the dynamics of abusive leadership in educational settings and the potential moderating factors that can help alleviate its detrimental effects on teachers' motivations.