The Structural Relationships Among Instructional Leadership, Distributed Leadership, Teacher Self-Efficacy, Teacher Collaboration, and Teaching Practices

Drawing on social cognitive theory and social capital theory, this study examined the influence of instructional leadership (IL) and distributed leadership (DL) on optimising teaching practices (TP), with teacher self-efficacy (TSE) as a mediator and teachers’ collaboration (TCOL) as a moderator. Data from Vietnam’s TALIS 2024 were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicated that both IL and DL significantly affected all dimensions of TP. Specifically, IL exerted the strongest influence on clarity of instruction, while DL had the greatest impact on cognitive activation. TSE mediated all relationships, whereas TCOL moderated only the relationship between TSE and cognitive activation. These results underscore the importance of school leaders in supporting TP and promoting teacher development and TCOL. The study also offers practical recommendations for policymakers and school leaders to implement leadership development programs, teacher professional development initiatives, and structured collaborations to enhance TP in schools.