Distributed leadership, teacher autonomy, and well-being: A multilevel analysis of novice teachers’ teaching practice quality in Taiwan using TALIS 2018 data

In response to global educational reform, improving novice teachers’ teaching practice quality is essential for student learning and system sustainability. However, empirical evidence on how leadership influences instructional outcomes for early-career teachers is limited. Using data from 1311 teachers in Taiwan with less than 5 years of experience from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey dataset, this study employs hierarchical linear modeling to examine the impact of distributed leadership on teaching practice quality, with teacher autonomy and well-being as mediators. The findings reveal that distributed leadership indirectly improved teaching practice quality by enhancing teachers’ perceived autonomy in curriculum and instruction, supporting its role as a psychological mechanism that links organizational support to professional behavior. While distributed leadership positively predicted teacher well-being, well-being did not significantly affect teaching practice quality, neither directly nor indirectly. No significant association was found between autonomy and well-being. The results highlight that novice teachers’ teaching improvements stem more from professional agency and decision-making authority than emotional well-being. The findings augment existing studies by clarifying the differential pathways through which distributed leadership operates while identifying the limits of well-being as a performance driver in this context. Implications for school leadership and teacher development are discussed.