["European Journal of Education, Volume 61, Issue 2, June 2026. ", "\nABSTRACT\nBased on the job demands‐resources model, this study examined the effect of perceived principal leadership on primary school teachers' work engagement, and the mediating roles of occupational stress and job crafting in this relationship. Five hundred and fifteen Chinese primary school teachers completed a demographic form and responded to five self‐report measures. Structural equation modelling results showed that transformational and transactional leadership positively predicted vigour, dedication, and absorption. Results also indicated that role ambiguity and psychological strain mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and vigour, dedication, and absorption. Role overload and role ambiguity mediated the effects of transactional leadership on vigour, dedication, and absorption. Task crafting, skill crafting, and role crafting mediated the effects of transformational and transactional leadership on the three work engagement scales. Occupational stress (role overload, role ambiguity, and psychological strain) and job crafting (task crafting, skill crafting, and role crafting) serially mediated the effects of leadership (transformational and transactional) on the three work engagement scales. The findings enrich the literature and provide practical implications for primary school education.\n"]