The Mediating Effect of Ethical Climate on the Relationship between Servant Leadership and Organizational Trust of Public Secondary School Science Teachers

This study was conducted to determine the significance of the mediation of the ethical climate on the relationship between servant leadership of school heads and organizational trust of science teachers in Baganga North District, Division of Davao Oriental, Region XI, Philippines. A quantitative, non-experimental research design was used in the study, particularly descriptive correlation and mediation analysis. There were 200 teachers who responded to the survey. Additionally, adapted survey questionnaires were utilized for servant leadership, organizational trust, and ethical climate. As statistical tools, mean, Pearson r, and path analysis were employed. Results show that the level of servant leadership of school heads and organizational trust of science teachers were high, while the ethical climate was very high. Data revealed significant relationships between servant leadership of school heads and organizational trust of science teachers, between servant leadership of school heads and ethical climate, and between ethical climate and organizational trust of science teachers. Further, ethical climate has a partial mediating effect on the connection between servant leadership of school heads and organizational trust of science teachers among public secondary schools. These findings underscore the importance of fostering an ethical school environment to enhance leadership effectiveness and strengthen institutional trust among educators.