| Abstract [eng] |
The modern education system faces the challenge of balancing formal quality of education with the need for authentic, autonomous, and creative educators. To achieve these goals, there is an increasing focus on servant leadership – a model oriented toward follower growth and empowerment. However, conformity – the tendency to align with group norms – naturally exists within organizations and can suppress employee initiative. This study analyzes how leader behavior affects employees' tendency to conform and identifies which specific aspects of leadership can encourage or reduce conformity The object of the work is the relationship between servant leadership and educators' conformity in educational institutions. The aim of the work is to reveal the links between servant leadership and educators' conformity in educational institutions within the Panevėžys region. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were set: to analyze the theoretical foundations of servant leadership and conformity phenomena; to investigate the expression of servant leadership in educational institutions from the educators' perspective; to determine the expression of normative and informational conformity traits among educators; and to identify the links between servant leadership and educators' conformity, assessing the significance of sociodemographic factors. A quantitative research strategy was chosen for the empirical study. An anonymous online survey was conducted involving 383 educators from educational institutions in the Panevėžys region. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, internal consistency analysis, nonparametric criteria, Spearman's correlation, and hierarchical linear regression. The research results revealed that servant leadership in the surveyed organizations manifests fragmentarily: leaders are favorably evaluated for functional competencies (ethical behavior, empowerment) but lack deep personal qualities (humility, authentic emotional support). The analysis of conformity showed that educators are more characterized by normative conformity, manifested as seeking security and a desire to fit into the group, and informational conformity, associated with adherence to rules. Statistically significant correlations determined that follower empowerment is the most effective instrument for reducing passivity and blind obedience. Meanwhile, emotional support and community building can have an ambiguous effect – strengthening group cohesion but simultaneously increasing defensiveness (a "tribal" mentality). Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed that servant leadership traits have incremental predictive value in explaining normative conformity, whereas informational conformity is more strongly determined by sociodemographic factors (gender, age, work experience, education). |
