GENERATION Z TEACHER PERCEPTIONS OF PRINCIPAL POWER AND THEIR SATISFACTION WITH SUPERVISION

Gen Z public school teachers in Indiana were surveyed concerning their perceptions of power used by their principal and their satisfaction with their principal’s supervision. One hundred and forty-five teachers responded to survey items regarding whether they have worked under one or more principals, the community type (rural, urban, suburban) where they teach, the Rahim Leader Power Inventory (RLPI) to measure perceptions of principal’s use of six different available power bases (coercive, reward, legitimate, information, expert, referent) and the abridged Job Descriptive Index (aJDI) to measure satisfaction. Reward power was the most perceived power base and referent power the least. Two statistically significant findings were revealed. First, the more participants perceived their principal using expert (F(6,138) = 55.12, p < .001) and referent power (t(6) = -5.32, p < .001) bases, the less satisfied with supervision they were. Secondly, Gen Z teachers who had one principal perceived their principal to access more legitimate power than Gen Z teachers who have had more than principal (t(143) = 2.16, p =.032). To effectively influence this influential generation, educational leaders should consider autonomy, personalized growth, tactful integrity, and aligned expectations. Gen Z teachers value trust and transparency, and clashes with traditional leadership methods can lead to dissatisfaction. Meeting their expectations for integrity and authenticity is key to enhancing their satisfaction with supervision.