Leading for innovation: the mediating roles of trust and teaching effectiveness in pedagogical leadership in early childhood education

Purpose We aimed to examine how pedagogical leadership fosters teaching innovation among kindergarten teachers in China, with particular attention to the mediating roles of trust and teaching effectiveness. We further considered what is distinctive about these dynamics in the Chinese context, where public, nonprofit, and private kindergartens coexist within a hybrid governance system. Design/methodology/approach Data for this cross-sectional study were gathered from 554 kindergarten teachers in Fujian Province, spanning urban, suburban and rural areas, between November and December 2024. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the hypothesised relationships between pedagogical leadership, trust, teaching effectiveness, and teaching innovation. Findings Pedagogical leadership did not directly determine teaching innovation but operated indirectly through trust and teaching effectiveness. Trust strengthened teachers’ sense of professional competence, which in turn enabled their willingness to adopt innovative practices. The model confirmed a complete mediation pathway, underscoring the importance of relational and psychological mechanisms in driving innovation. Originality/value This study advances international scholarship by demonstrating that the influence of pedagogical leadership on innovation is indirect and context-dependent. It refines the professional capital framework by showing how trust (as social capital), teaching effectiveness (as human capital) and teaching innovation (as decisional capital) interact to clarify how leadership translates into innovation to foster the accumulation of professional capital. Beyond theoretical advancement, the findings provide practical guidance for policymakers and principals in high-accountability, high power-distance systems worldwide.