mproving student performance, regardless of background factors, is an important objective in educational research, policy, and practice. Academic optimism responds by identifying key variables that enhance performance for all students(Hoy, 2012). This study aims to advance this exploration by outlining critical antecedents for fostering such optimism in secondary schools. The academic optimism of schools comprises three interrelated subcomponents that positively impact student performance, even when controlling for background characteristics such as socioeconomic status (SES) or migration background (Boonen et al., 2014; Hoy et al., 2006a; McGuigan & Hoy, 2006). Teacher teams that demonstrate greater collective efficacy beliefs (1), prioritize academic emphasis (2), and foster trust in both their students and the parents (3) are more likely to achieve the goal of improving performance, in contrast to teacher teams lacking this academically optimistic focus (Hoy et al., 2006b). Previous studies have shown a link between authentic (Srivastava & Dhar, 2016), distributed (Cansoy & Parlar, 2018; Hasanvand et al., 2013), instructional (Allen, 2011),transformational (Atif & Abid, 2021) and social justice (Feng & Chen, 2019) leadership to increase the level of academic optimism. Building upon these findings, we hypothesize that, in terms of effectiveness, a leadership approach that directly evaluates and guides teacher performance in alignment with academic optimism – whether explicitly stated or demonstrated through the leadership's own actions – will generate an even more profound impact. This type of leadership behavior, which we will refer to as performance management for academic optimism, embodies a direct and purposeful approach, underscoring the notion that leaders play a pivotal role in shaping the organizational culture. In addition, we anticipate that a principal’s proactive efforts to enhance the team’s collective efficacy, foster trust in students and parents, and believe in the capabilities of all students will also deepen the connection between teachers on the one hand and increase the participation and involvement of parents and students on the other. Principals who take the initiative to emphasize the importance of reaching out to others are more likely to foster social bonds that can enhance the density of relationships within schools (Bishop Harris, 2015; Bryk, 2010). Research from Scott (2016) showed the importance of ongoing communication from teachers to parents to increase involvement. Clearly articulating these expectations by school leaders is anticipated to boost the likelihood of teachers investing more in such interactions (Epstein, 2002). Additionally, principals who cultivate a positive learning climate are anticipated to enhance teachers’ connectedness with the school (Hallinger et al., 2018). As these alignment practices become more widespread, we anticipate it will further augment the academic optimism of the school. The heightened connectedness and interaction will contribute to an increased confidence within the teacher team, build more trust in students and parents, and foster a stronger belief in the potential of all students. In prior qualitative research, teachers themselves highlighted the significance of connectedness as a vital condition for academic optimism, as well as the importance of authentic relationships with students and parental involvement (Lelieur et al., 2023). In summary, we hypothesize that school leaders who explicitly focus on academic optimism not only generate more academic optimism but also foster more alignment between teachers, students and parents, which, in turn, will further elevate the level of school academic optimism. In that way, this research seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by uncovering critical antecedents that promote academic optimism, paving the way for a more comprehensive understanding and practical application in educational settings.

Data were collected in Antwerp, the largest city in Flanders (Belgium) and with a (for this study) considerable variety of secondary schools in terms of ethnicity and SES. Via stratified clustered systematic sampling a total of 1061 teachers from 37 secondary schools participated in the study. The adapted and validated Survey for Academic Optimism (Lelieur et al., 2022) was used to assess teacher and school academic optimism. The alignment between teachers and the school, as well as between both students and parents with the school, was assessed through four distinct scales: teacher-school connectedness, parental involvement, parental participation, and student participation. These measures drew inspiration from the studies conducted by Vangrieken & Kyndt (2016) and De Groof et al. (2001). For the assessment of performance management for academic optimism, a traditional performance management questionnaire was modified and translated to align with the dimensions of academic optimism, (e.g.: My principal emphasizes the importance of trusting students). All measures use a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from "strongly disagree" (1) to "strongly agree" (7), to capture the perceptions of teachers. This study focuses solely on teachers, acknowledging their pivotal role in shaping schools, encompassing their distinctive perspectives and significant impact on the educational environment. The emphasis on teachers' perceptions aims to capture valuable insights for understanding school dynamics. Using a path model approach this study withholds multiple dependent and independent variables simultaneously. Therefore, structural equation modelling is a favoured technique to analyse the possible relationships, as it is designed to evaluate the appropriateness of the proposed hypothesis. The model is estimated using robust maximum likelihood estimation (MLR) to consider the nested structure of the data (Stapleton et al., 2016), and full information maximum likelihood (FIML), to handle missing data (Schlomer et al., 2010). To analyze model fit, we used the lavaan package (version 0.6-7) in R-studio and several fit indices were considered (Hooper et al., 2008).

Fit indices were acceptable (CFI=.915, SRMR=.065) to good (RMSEA=.045), and the overall image confirms our hypothesis. According to teachers’ perceptions, school leaders who explicitly focus on academic optimism not only generate more academic optimism but also foster alignment between teachers, students, and parents, which, in turn, also elevates the level of school academic optimism. Due to limited space and a large number of significant results, we will reserve the detailed presentation of the model for the actual presentation. Here, we will focus on some notable findings. Teachers’ perceptions of the principal’s performance management for academic optimism show the strongest association with teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement (ß= 0.642, p < .001). Parental involvement, in turn, significantly connects with all subdimensions of academic optimism. Higher levels of teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement are linked with higher levels of teachers’ perceptions of collective efficacy (ß= 0.397, p < .001), faculty trust in students (ß= 0.253, p < .01), faculty trust in parents (ß= 0.311, p < .001), and collective academic emphasis (ß= 0.261, p < .01). In addition, R2 shows that the model explains nearly 38% of the variance in faculty trust in parents. Performance management for academic optimism has also a positive association with parental participation (ß= 0.403, p < .001). However, parental participation is negatively linked with collective efficacy (ß= -0.184, p < .01) and faculty trust in students (ß= -0.125, p < .05). These findings suggest that, to enhance academic optimism, there are opportunities in fostering parental involvement (connecting parents to what happens in schools), whereas parental participation (giving parents a voice in what happens in schools) carries potential risks—a critical yet possibly overlooked insight. Recognizing the considerable challenges highlighted in prior research regarding parental engagement, especially in secondary schools, this study unveils promising avenues for further exploration.

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