This research aims to analyze how school principal leadership styles and teacher classroom leadership affect teachers’ professional motivation within a holistic framework by addressing leadership at both the school- and classroom-level. With this end in mind, we have employed a SEM to analyze the correlations between principals’ leadership styles, teacher classroom leadership, and teacher motivation. The study’s sample group consisted of 325 teachers employed in primary education institutions. The Leadership Style Scale, Teacher Classroom Leadership Scale, and Teacher Professional Motivation Scale were used to collect data. We found that although teachers’ classroom leadership levels were higher than principals’ leadership levels, principals’ leadership had a higher direct impact on teacher motivation than did teacher classroom leadership and that quality interaction both in school and in the classroom is the single most influential component on teacher classroom leadership and motivation. Our findings suggest that the primary determinant of teacher classroom leadership and motivation lies in the quality of interactions within both the school and classroom environments. These results underscore the significance of principals’ leadership roles in current scholarly discussions on shared leadership in educational settings and on the conceptualization of teacher leadership. Consequently, sharing leadership does not diminish its impact but rather amplifies it. Nevertheless, while promoting shared leadership and empowering teachers are indeed virtuous endeavors in and of themselves, principal leadership is one of the most influential factors affecting teacher motivation.
