ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AS DIDACTIC INFRASTRUCTURE: A SERIAL MEDIATION MODEL OF STUDENTS’ SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIORS IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.n4.4750

Keywords:

Ethical Leadership Climate, Didactic Climate, Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction, Moral Motivation, Sustainable Behavior

Abstract

Sustainable development agendas increasingly depend on whether educational institutions can cultivate not only knowledge but also everyday pro-environmental action. Building on ethical leadership theory and self-determination theory, this study examines whether ethical leadership climate functions as a form of “didactic infrastructure” that shapes students’ sustainable behaviors through learning-environment conditions and meaning-related psychological mechanisms. Using cross-sectional survey data from higher education students (final analytic sample N = 769 after attention-check screening), we tested a serial mediation model linking ethical leadership climate to sustainable behavior through didactic climate (autonomy-supportive teaching, perceived course value, and belonging/collaboration), basic psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and moral motivation (purpose-oriented study motives, prosocial impact orientation, and openness to value diversity). Path analyses with robust standard errors and bootstrap confidence intervals indicated that ethical leadership climate was strongly associated with didactic climate and, in turn, with need satisfaction and moral motivation. Sustainable behavior was significantly predicted by moral motivation, need satisfaction, and didactic climate, while the direct effect of ethical leadership on sustainable behavior diminished once the mediating mechanisms were included, consistent with an indirect-effects explanation. The model accounted for substantial variance in sustainable behavior even after controlling for demographic and background covariates. Findings suggest that sustainable student conduct is not merely an individual preference but an outcome of ethically grounded institutional climates that support autonomy, belonging, and purpose-making within learning environments.

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2026-02-18

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Uygur, M. R., Skučaitė, G., & Toye, S. A. (2026). ETHICAL LEADERSHIP AS DIDACTIC INFRASTRUCTURE: A SERIAL MEDIATION MODEL OF STUDENTS’ SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIORS IN HIGHER EDUCATION. Veredas Do Direito, 23, e234750. https://doi.org/10.18623/rvd.v23.n4.4750

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Vol. 23 (2026): Veredas do Direito, v. 23, 2026

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