Puerto Rico School Administrators’ Authentic Leadership and Turnover Intent Moderated by Supervisor Support

The turnover rates of Puerto Rican high school teachers continue to increase and have an adverse effect not only on the quality of education but also on the budget of Puerto Rico’s Department of Education (PRDE). By examining the factors of perceived supervisor support and authentic leadership influencing teachers’ turnover intentions, steps can be taken to reduce the turnover rates. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school administrators’ authenticity and the turnover intentions of a sample of high school teachers employed by the PRDE. The framework was based on social exchange theory, authentic leadership theory, and the concept of turnover. The Authentic Leadership Questionnaire, the Turnover Intention Scale, the Perceived Supervisor Support Scale, and a demographic information sheet were used to collect data from the 294 high school teachers employed by the PRDE at the time of the study. By using moderated multiple regression, perceived supervisor support, years of teaching experience, and gender were used as factors to analyze the relationship between school administrators perceived authentic leadership and teachers’ turnover intentions. The results showed a significant relationship between school administrators’ authenticity and teachers’ turnover intentions. Perceived supervisor support, years of teaching experience, and gender also significantly moderated the relationship between school administrators’ authenticity and teachers’ turnover intentions. The results may be used by the PRDE and any organizational scenario with similar conditions and culture to make decisions and implement policies and strategies to decrease teachers’ turnover rates leading to positive social change