Dr. Anna Thoma

Abstract: Collective teacher efficacy (CTE) has the greatest, positive effect on student achievement (Hattie, 2021). Spiritual leadership is a proven, effective leadership style for school leaders. This grounded theory study addressed the gap in current literature connecting spiritual leadership and CTE by exploring how spiritual leaders, in a public school setting, promote CTE. Ten titled, building level leaders from United States public schools, who self-identified as spiritual leaders were recruited as participants. Data were collected through semi-structured, individual interviews. Interviews and analysis occurred concurrently in a constant comparison model to saturate the emerging categories of the grounded theory. Transcripts were coded for leading spiritually, enabling components of CTE, and for the essence of each line. Codes co-occurring with leading spiritually were organized into four emerging themes: mindset, human connection, higher calling and actions. All codes were continuously analyzed, sorted and resorted into emerging themes and categories creating the grounded theory. There are five components to the grounded theory from this study: development over time, purpose/focus, disposition, human connection, and actions. Through the process of growing and changing, a spiritual leader identifies a purpose and leads with a focus on something greater than oneself, reflecting spirituality through actions and human connection.