The dual increasing-reducing effects of principals' digital instructional leadership on teacher burnout in online teaching mediated by teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy

Purpose – Digital instructional leadership is an emerging concept gaining importance in practice and research. As online education becomes mainstream and is expected to be increasingly integrated into instruction in the 21st century, it is essential to expand our understanding of how this leadership model influences teaching attitudes and experiences. The present study focused on the relationship between digital instructional leadership and teachers' burnout in online teaching and the mediating functions of teachers’ self-efficacy and collective efficacy in online teaching. Design/methodology/approach – The data were derived from a cross-sectional survey of 293 Israeli public school teachers. Findings – The results indicate the direct and indirect associations between digital instructional leadership and teachers' burnout in online teaching. Digital instructional leadership appears to exert a dual effect on teachers' burnout: on one hand, it directly increases burnout in online teaching, and on the other, by promoting teachers' self-efficacy and collective efficacy in online teaching, it reduces the sense of burnout. Originality/value – The findings show how important it is to understand the complex manner in which digital instructional leadership and the transition to online teaching raise new job demands, but also provide resources in line with the job demands-resources theory.