This paper examines the influence of leadership styles on the job satisfaction of teachers working across various educational institutions in Gujarat, India. Characterized by a rapidly changing educational ecosystem driven by industrial growth, privatization, and the comprehensive implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP 2020), Gujarat presents a unique socio-economic landscape. This conceptual article explores how different leadership paradigms—specifically transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire models—impact both intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of teacher job satisfaction. By analyzing the structural divergences among government, grant-in-aid, and self-financed (private) institutions, the study uncovers how administrative competencies, institutional cultures, and governance frameworks interact with leadership behaviors. The analysis indicates that transformational and distributed leadership styles significantly enhance intrinsic motivation, professional autonomy, and institutional commitment. Conversely, rigid transactional models, predominantly observed in self-financed colleges and schools, often exacerbate administrative fatigue, workload pressure, and systemic dissatisfaction due to a commercialized focus on performance metrics and low compensation stability. Laissez-faire leadership leads to role ambiguity and organizational drift, severely diminishing teacher morale. The paper concludes with a strategic framework aimed at fostering participative governance and institutional reform, providing critical recommendations for policymakers, university vice-chancellors, and school administrators across Gujarat.
Soni et al. (Thu,) studied this question.