Leading the Self, Shaping the School: Self-Management and Culture in Jordanian Public Schools

This study examines the degree to which public-school principals in Jordan’s Ajloun Directorate of Education demonstrate self-management skills and their relationship with organizational culture from teachers’ perspectives. Using a correlational survey design and a validated questionnaire, data were collected from 810 teachers selected via simple random sampling. Teachers reported moderate levels of principals’ self-management and school organizational culture. No statistically significant differences appeared in perceived self-management by principal gender or years of service. A positive association emerged between principals’ self-management and organizational culture, suggesting that strengthening self-regulation—goal setting, time and stress management, and reflective practice—can improve collaborative norms, trust, and instructional focus. Implications include embedding self-management competencies into leadership standards, selection, induction, and professional development; providing coaching and mentoring that target self-regulatory routines; and aligning appraisal and feedback systems with culture-building behaviors. Policymakers and district leaders can leverage these findings to design capacity-building initiatives that enhance school climate and, ultimately, student learning. Future research should test causal pathways and contextual moderators through longitudinal and intervention designs.