College Students’ Perception of Teachers’ Humble Leadership and its Impact on Creativity: The Mediating Role of Trust in Teachers

Abstract

Purpose: Grounded in social exchange theory, this research endeavors to elucidate the mediating effect of trust in teachers within the nexus of college students’ perceptions of teachers’ humble leadership and their creativity. Method: Survey data were gathered from 556 college students in Jiangxi Province, China, utilizing PROCESS for data analysis. Findings: The results showed that college students’ perceptions of teachers’ humble leadership and significantly and positively predicted trust in teachers (B = 1.068, p < 0.001); while trust in teachers significantly and positively predicted creativity (B = 0.204, p < 0.001). The results of the mediation test show that after including trust in teachers as a mediating variable, the direct relationship between college students’ perceptions of teachers’ humble leadership and creativity still exists and is significant (B = 0.254, p<0.001). However, the first step of the structural model analysis showed a significant positive effect of college students’ perceptions of teachers’ humble leadership on creativity (B = 0.471, p<0.001). It can be seen that B decreased from 0.471 to 0.254, that is, trust in teachers played a partial mediating role in the significant positive effect of college students’ perceptions of teachers’ humble leadership on creativity. Implication to Research and Practice: The study is unique in its scope and contribution, as it tries to develop an understanding of how college students’ perceptions of teachers’ humble leadership foster students’ creativity. Therefore, the findings provide theoretical and practical implications into fostering creativity among college students.