Rektorers transformativa ledarskap i praktiken En kvalitativ studie om transformativt ledarskaps uttryck och upplevda effekter på lärarnasmotivation i svenska kommunala skolor

Transformational leadership in schools is extensively studied.However, existing research is largely quantitative in nature.It often treats the principal as the sole leader and rarely focuses on the Swedish public schools.This limits the knowledge of how the four dimensions in transformational leadership are implemented in everyday leadership practice.This qualitative study explores how principals practise idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualised consideration, and how they perceive these behaviours support teachers.Semi-structured interviews with six Swedish principals were analysed using thematic analysis.Findings show that transformational leadership is shaped by organisational constraints and is primarily expressed through principals' day-to-day relational work rather than visions and speeches.Presence, availability, trust, clarity and creating structure and stability as central expressions of leadership and as key factors supporting teachers' motivation.This study adds empirically grounded insight into transformational leadership in Swedish schools.Future research should include perspectives from both principals´and teachers´ to examine the extent to which principals' leadership intentions align with teachers' experiences.