Exploring educational supervisors’ professional commitment: The roles of psychological capital, psychological empowerment, and professional competence

Abstract

Background Educational supervisors play a pivotal role in teacher development and school improvement, yet little research has examined the psychological mechanisms associated with their professional commitment, particularly in non-Western contexts. Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory and Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines how psychological capital (PsyCap) relates to professional commitment directly and indirectly through psychological empowerment (a motivational pathway) and professional competence (a capability pathway) among educational supervisors in Saudi Arabia. Method A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of 358 educational supervisors across the 10 educational districts of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Structural equation modelling was conducted using robust maximum likelihood estimation (MLR) with Satorra–Bentler corrections in R (lavaan 0.6–17), and indirect effects were tested with bias-corrected bootstrap confidence intervals (5,000 resamples). Results The measurement and structural models showed good fit (structural model: Satorra–Bentler χ²(60) = 65.87, p = .281, CFI = .998, TLI = .997, RMSEA = .017, 90% CI [.000, .037]). Psychological capital was positively associated with psychological empowerment (β = .68, p < .001) and professional competence (β = .72, p < .001), but empowerment was not associated with competence (β = −.06, p = .366). Psychological capital, empowerment, and competence were each directly associated with professional commitment (β = .23, .39, and .34, respectively; all p ≤ .001). Psychological capital also showed significant parallel indirect associations with commitment through empowerment (β = .26, 95% CI [.19, .34]) and through competence (β = .25, 95% CI [.15, .34]); the serial pathway through both mediators in sequence was not significant (β = −.02, 95% CI [−.05, .02]). The model accounted for 46.4% of variance in empowerment, 46.2% in competence, and 65.8% in professional commitment. Conclusion These findings are consistent with a dual-pathway model in which psychological resources are associated with professional commitment through largely independent motivational and capability-based mechanisms. Because the design is cross-sectional and based on self-report, these associations should not be interpreted as causal; they may instead help justify testing psychological-capital-focused interventions, empowerment-supportive leadership practices, and professional-development investments in future longitudinal or intervention research, including within reform contexts such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.