Subordinate Loyalty to Immediate Superior: A Neglected Concept in the Study of Educational Administration.

The theoretical significance of Blau and Scott's concept of subordinate loyalty to an immediate superior was discussed, and the concept was applied in the study of hierarchical relationships in public secondary schools. Teacher loyalty to the principal was examined with respect to the authoritarianism, hierarchical influence, emotional detachment, and hierarchical independence of the principal. In addition, the Blau and Scott hypothesis that loyalty to superiors in a hierarchical organization tends to be pronounced at alternate levels was tested in a secondary school setting. A significant negative relationship was found between teacher loyalty and authoritarianism and significant positive relationships between teacher loyalty and both hierarchical influence and emotional detachment However, the "alternate-levels hypothesis" was found not to hold, and there was no significant relationship between loyalty and hierarchical independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]