Transitivity between school principals' instructional and administrative advice-seeking relations in a rural district: friendship matters

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the interconnectedness of instructional and administrative advice-seeking relationships (ASRs) among school principals within a rural district, controlling for the influence of existing one-way and mutual friendship ties comparatively.Design/methodology/approachWe collected data from a low-density rural district in Istanbul, T & uuml;rkiye. Using exponential random graph models (ERGMs), we performed social network analysis (SNA) to examine the patterns of instructional and administrative ASRs between school principals.FindingsGrounded in social capital theory, our research reveals distinct network patterns: Instructional ASRs are characterized by a decentralized, relatively dense, but hierarchical structure, while administrative ASRs tend to be sparse and non-reciprocal. Mutual friendship ties are critical in facilitating instructional ASRs among principals, unlike one-way friendship nominations. Notably, we found a significant transitivity effect; when reciprocal administrative ASRs occur, although they are infrequent, they may lead to increased engagement in instructional ASRs, but the reverse is not significantly observed.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the social capital theory by introducing likely tie transitions at play, where reciprocal administrative ASRs predict the transition of instructional ASRs, while revealing nuanced asymmetries in network dynamics. In addition, it innovatively employs ERGMs to examine the role of friendship ties in instructional and administrative ASRs, bridging a methodological gap in educational leadership studies. The findings demonstrate how friendship ties facilitate access to instrumental resources in rural settings, offering new insights into relational dynamics within non-urban educational districts.