Principals’ attentional scope and teacher creativity: the role of principals’ ambidexterity and knowledge sharing

The study relies on the perspectives of principal information processing, learning and creativity, and examines an innovative model linking principals’ attentional scope (PAS) to a teacher’s creativity through the mediating effect of principals’ ambidexterity and internal and external knowledge sharing. Data were collected from a survey of 833 teachers at 75 Israeli Arab elementary schools. Multilevel structural equation modeling was conducted to test the proposed model, using the M-plus program. Results showed that PAS is positively related to ambidexterity and its separate dimensions of exploration and exploitation activities. Principals’ ambidexterity and exploration ability were related to the process of internal and external knowledge sharing, which in turn related positively to teacher creativity. Furthermore, principals’ ambidexterity and both internal and external knowledge sharing were found to be the missing link between PAS and a teacher’s creativity. This paper contributes to the literature on leadership, innovation and creativity, highlighting the importance of school principals’ characteristics for teacher creativity, and in particular how school leaders’ acquisition of knowledge and information affects their own learning, and encourages internal and external knowledge sharing and creativity.