The Combined Mediating Effects of Collaborative Leadership of School Heads and School Climate on the Relationship Between School Culture and Sense of Community

This study examined combined mediating effects of collaborative leadership and school climate on the relationship between school culture and teachers’ sense of community among secondary school teachers in Caraga Region, Philippines. Using a descriptive-correlational, cross-sectional design, data were obtained from 452 teachers using stratified sampling. Validated Likert-type instruments demonstrated high internal consistency; Pearson’s r and path analysis examined relationships and mediation. Results showed high levels of school culture (M = 4.58), collaborative leadership (M = 4.49), school climate (M = 4.50), and sense of community (M = 4.33). Positive relationships were found between school culture and collaborative leadership (r = .738), collaborative leadership and sense of community (r = .552), school culture and school climate (r = .752), school climate and sense of community (r = .734), and school culture and sense of community (r = .631), (p < .05). Path analysis indicated that school culture strongly predicted collaborative leadership (β = .738) and school climate (β = .752), while school climate exerted a stronger effect on sense of community (β = .586) than collaborative leadership (β = .135). The direct effect of school culture on sense of community was not significant (β = .092, p = .138), supporting the study’s full mediation model. The findings suggest that strengthening collaborative leadership and a supportive school climate may provide organizational pathways through which school culture is translated into a stronger sense of community. The study contributes an integrated model of teacher connectedness and informs educational leadership and policy in Philippine schools.