Novice teachers face various challenges in their profession. As a result, 18% leave the profession due to challenges such as inadequate support and intolerable expectations from the school administration. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore how novice teachers perceive school principals' and school leaders' support and its impact on professional performance as it relates to their self-efficacy and on-the-job satisfaction. This perception affects self-efficacy and on-the-job satisfaction. The guiding theory for this study was the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, which is based on knowledge attributes including empathy, emotions, and evaluations. In the analysis of an individuals' self-efficacy, this theory is suitable because external factors are considered to affect the self-confidence of an individual. This theory of emotion is closely related to stress, mental health, and coping and therefore, can be of use with novice teachers in helping them adjust to the high pressure and expectations in their careers. Twelve novice elementary teachers participated in data collection, which involved one-on-one interviews. Two research questions were formulated, the first question focused on the perception of novice teachers and support received from school principals regarding the self-efficacy of novice teachers. The second question asked about measures that school principals can use to improve the on-job satisfaction of novice teachers. Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used, and participants noted that support is limited, and inadequate support causes low self-efficacy. Participants also opined that school leadership can improve on-job satisfaction through becoming accessible and providing trained administration support. Based on the results, school leadership has a major role to play in motivating and improving the performance of novice teachers, such as increasing support. Future research should focus on secondary educational settings and the perception of the school principals and leaders on the topic. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]