Abstract

Objectives: The study aimed to examine the degree to which female principals of elementary schools in Dammam practice distributed leadership across its dimensions (school culture, shared responsibility, leadership practices, and professional development), and to determine the level at which female teachers possess leadership skills (strategic vision, technical skills, collaborative leadership, and influence and persuasion). It also sought to investigate the relationship between principals' practice of distributed leadership and teachers' leadership skills from the teachers' perspectives. Methods: The study adopted a descriptive correlational design. The population comprised 2,481 female elementary school teachers, from which a simple random sample of 365 teachers was selected. A questionnaire was utilized as the primary data collection instrument. Results: The findings indicated that the overall level of principals' practice of distributed leadership was moderate, with a mean score of 3.31. The dimension of school culture ranked first, followed by professional development, leadership practices, and shared responsibility. Likewise, the overall level of teachers’ leadership skills was moderate, with a mean score of 3.32. The dimension of influence and persuasion ranked highest, followed by collaborative leadership, technical skills, and strategic vision. Conclusions: The study recommended enhancing the implementation of distributed leadership, strengthening professional development programs, and expanding teachers’ involvement in school leadership roles.