Date
4-29-2026
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Denise Nixon
Keywords
transformational leadership, ethics, values, teacher impact
Disciplines
Education | Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Javier, Brittany Nicole Evans, "Exploring the Role of Values and Ethics in Transformational Leadership and Their Impact on Teacher Wellbeing: A Qualitative Transcendental Phenomenological Study" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8306.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8306
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the impact of values and ethics in transformational leadership on teacher wellbeing for teachers at a private Christian school. The transformational leadership theory proposes that leaders lead through inspiration, and this theory underpinned the study, as more recent research focused on specific aspects of transformational leadership and called for further research in the area of ethical leadership. The primary research question asked how values and ethics in transformational leadership impacted teacher wellbeing in a private Christian school in North Carolina. A transcendental phenomenological study was conducted, as a phenomenological qualitative study allowed for in-depth exploration of the experiences of teachers through focus groups, interviews, and questionnaires. The data was analyzed using a thematic analysis approach to describe the experiences of teachers working for transformational leaders guided by ethics and values. This study’s findings showed that the participants’ perspective is that values and ethics in transformational leadership positively impact teacher wellbeing. Additionally, the experiences of teachers working under a transformational leadership team that uses values and ethics to guide their decision-making process is overwhelmingly positive. Finally, the school culture factors that teachers noted as being associated with the wellbeing of teachers under this transformational leadership team were factors of support and a Christ-centered culture. Several recommendations include conducting a similar, quantitative study, exploring the connection between biblical values in leadership’s decision making and the impact on both teacher wellbeing and school culture, and studying the potential additional connections between positive wellbeing for teachers and high achievement from students.
