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Arch Hellen Med, 44(1), January-February 2027, 24-31

ORIGINAL PAPER

Exploring the relationship between empowering leadership and the presence of teacher conflict in kindergartens in Crete

M. Anagnostaki,1,2 N. Rikos,3 E. Linardaki,2 A. Kokosali,4 G. Manolitsis,2 G. Kritsotakis,5 E. Smpokos,6 M. Linardakis6
160th Kindergarten of Heraklion, Primary Education of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete
2Department of Preschool Education, School of Education Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno, Crete
3Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete
4Fourth Primary School of Heraklion, Primary Education of Heraklion, Heraklion, Crete
5Department of Business Administration and Tourism, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete
6Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

OBJECTIVE To assess the degree of correlation between the empowering type of leadership of kindergarten's directors/leaders and the possible presence of conflict among teachers.

METHOD The survey was conducted between February and March 2025 among 220 teachers of 190 public kindergartens in the prefecture of Heraklion, Crete. They completed a structured questionnaire that included weighted Scales of Empowering Leadership & Intragroup Conflict. Their scores were determined on a scale of 0–100 and using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25.0, the correlations between them and the participants' characteristics were evaluated using Spearman and Mann-Whitney non-parametric methods.

RESULTS Out of the participants, 219 were female and the mean age of all participants was found to be 45.3 years. A total of 50.0% reported either holding or pursuing a postgraduate degree. In terms of job position, 55.0% were kindergarten teachers in a classroom and 56.9% reported working in education for >15 years. Empowering Leadership was assessed with high mean scores (69.9/100) and Intergroup Conflict with low mean scores (26.4/100) (p<0.05). The increased presence of Empowering Leadership was associated with a lower presence of Intragroup Conflict (rho=-0.272, p<0.05) while participants who demonstrated the presence of Intragroup Conflict in relation to counterparts also recorded significantly lower mean score of Empowering Leadership (59.2 versus 72.2, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS Empowering leadership is strongly distinguished in kindergartens in Crete, with the presence of conflicts being found to a low degree and associated with a lower presence of empowering leadership. The characteristics of empowering leadership can be an application of conflict resolution frameworks, with staff training in effective communication and promotion of cooperation through restorative practices, for the harmonious functioning of kindergartens.

Key words: Conflicts, Empowering leadership, Kindergarten, Teachers.Health units, Human resource management, Staff attracting, Staff retaining.

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