Structural Equation Modeling of Factors Affecting Empowering Leadership of School Administrators, Primary School in The Northeast of Thailand

The transformation in Thailand's education has led to numerous challenges for school personnel. Schools, often regarded as second homes that bring joy to work, have experienced a decline in employee morale. Teachers, in particular, face various stressors such as continuous meetings, managerial criticisms, heavy workloads, and stress, resulting from the swift changes in educational management requirements (Thongkhundam et al., 2022). This situation has led to abnormal behaviors and expressions, both physically and mentally, due to excessive workloads and decision-making powerlessness. To address these challenges, school administrators must empower their personnel, particularly teachers, to regain control over their work and foster a sense of pride and satisfaction. Empowering leadership, characterized by the delegation of authority and responsibility, plays a crucial role in this endeavor (Arnold et al., 2000). It enables teachers to perceive their capabilities, exert self-control in their work, and experience increased motivation and confidence. Additionally, empowering leadership fosters trust, openness, participative decision-making, confidence, leading by example, and showing concern for others. However, for empowering leadership to be effective, factors influencing it must be understood and addressed. Firstly, administrators must trust their followers, believing that assigned tasks and responsibilities will be carried out successfully (McAllister, 1995). Secondly, the quality of leader-member exchange is crucial, as they directly impact the exchange of contributions, loyalty, and affect between leaders and followers (Liden & Maslyn, 1998; Wang et al., 2020). Keywords: Empowering Leadership, Trust in Follower, Leader-Member Exchange, Administration School