Principal leadership styles and school violence: The mediating role of teachers’ professional commitment in Israeli Arab schools

School violence is shaped not only by student behavior but also by broader social dynamics and school level conditions, making leadership, and teacher-related factors especially important for understanding safer school climates. This study examines the direct and indirect associations (via teachers’ professional commitment) of transformational and transactional leadership with school violence. To reduce common method bias, data were collected from two sources: 213 senior management team members (SMT) and 213 teachers who were not SMT members, drawn from 71 middle and high schools in the Arab educational system in Israel. Data was aggregated at the school level of analysis. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analysis indicated that teachers’ professional commitment functions as a mediating mechanism linking both leadership styles to school violence. Higher professional commitment appears to enhance the effectiveness of principals’ leadership practices, supporting stronger leadership processes at the school level and contributing to a safer, more positive learning climate. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.