Principal–teacher perceptual (in)congruence in instructional leadership, teacher collaboration, and organisational trust in Hong Kong schools

This study examines the joint impact of principals’ and teachers’ perceptions of instructional leadership on teacher collaboration. Using Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 data from Hong Kong, we employ polynomial regression with response surface methodology to understand how perceptual congruence and incongruence are associated with teachers’ collaborative practices. The findings reveal a U-shaped relationship for both congruence and incongruence: Collaboration is higher when principal and teacher perceptions align at high or low levels, compared to when their views converge around the mean. Collaboration also increases with perceptual disagreement, where one party's ratings are higher than the other's. These dynamics are significantly amplified in contexts where teachers report high levels of trust in their principals and colleagues, underscoring trust as a key moderating factor that enhances the benefits of both perceptual alignment and misalignment. The findings suggest that cultivating trust can be a critical strategy for leveraging perceptual dynamics to strengthen teacher collaboration. By adopting a congruence perspective and addressing methodological limitations, this study contributes to a more dyadic and relational understanding of the relationship between instructional leadership and teacher collaboration.