From leadership to innovation: Psychological mechanisms behind teacher creativity in physical education

The current study uses socio-ecological systems theory to study the influence of servant leadership on the innovative behavior of the teacher in relation to physical education in Chinese schools. The research examines the intermediating roles of school climate for creativity and creative self-efficacy of teachers and the moderating role of leader support for innovation. Of the 600 self-administered questionnaires that were issued, 408 were duly completed through a three-wave face-to-face survey in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Hypotheses were tested using the structural equation modeling technique by employing Smart-PLS. This study establishes that servant leadership significantly predicts teachers' innovative behavior through the mediating mechanisms of a school climate for creativity, the teacher's creative self-efficacy, and the moderation role of leader support for innovation. These findings support the significance of servant leadership in creating an innovative and encouraging school climate and provide practical implications for educational managers and policy makers keen on enhancing innovation in physical education.