POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN TEACHING (PGDT)

JANUARY SEMESTER 2018

HMEF5023_V2

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

MATRICULATION NO : 771010095118001
IDENTITY CARD NO. : 771010095118
TELEPHONE NO. : 012-5979566
E-MAIL : sarimahmunzir@oum.edu.m
LEARNING CENTRE : KEDAH LEARNING CENTRE
(ALOR SETAR)

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 CONTENT PAGE

1.0 A SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE 3

1.1 THE STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE ARTICLE

1.1.1 STRENGTHS 3

1.1.2 LIMITATIONS 4

2.0 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY 5

3.0 BACKGROUND OF CORRESPONDENCES 6

4.0 HOW TO CONSTRUCT THE INTERVIEW QUESTION 6

4.1 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW 7

4.1.1 VIEWS OF THE STAFF (1) 10

4.1.2 VIEWS OF THE STAFF (2) 11

5.0 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY 13

6.0 REFERENCES 15

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1.0 A SUMMARY OF THE ARTICLE

Transformational leadership can be described as a process inspiring change thus encouraging

followers to achieve greater heights, to improve themselves and to improve organization processes.
It is an enabling process causing followers to accept responsibility and the processes to which they
are assigned (Koehler & Pankowski, 1997). Transformational leaders’ impact on their followers
was ascribed to their ability to nurture followers’ needs, empower them, and give them a sense of
mission toward ethical and broad objectives that exceed their own goals. One important feature in
transformational leadership is confidence or trust in the leader. There is a significant effect on
teachers‘ motivations to learn by applying the transformational leadership based on this study.
Furthermore, the greater levels of commitment lead to higher levels of productivity. Meanwhile,
teachers’ job satisfaction was linked to their perceptions about their job. Transformational
leadership as a leadership approach adopted by the headmaster is an important element in students’
excellence and schools’ success. Commitment of teachers towards the tasks entrusted to them start
with the comfort and enjoyment of their work. All their actions are attributable to a number of
factors that make the existence of an atmosphere and work environment in schools including
approach to leadership in school management.

1.1 THE STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE ARTICLE

1.1.1 STRENGTHS

This research added up the information about the applicability of more aspiring leadership styles,
or we can specifically categorize as transformational leadership, in certain parts of the countries
around the world. Identification of the practiced leadership style of headmasters or principals as
well as the preferred style within schools and determination of the advantages and challenges of
implementing transformational leadership may contribute to the growth and sustainability of the
organization. Higher job satisfaction, job performance, and organizational commitment suggest a
more contented workforce, leading to a balanced and viable organization. The project is valuable

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to the research community because research has suggested that transformational leaders aid their
subordinates in performing better. The study was designed to determine whether schools would
benefit from practicing empowering leadership styles, such as transformational leadership, and
discovering advantages and challenges to implementation of transformational leadership. The
results of this study will add to the body of knowledge by applying the transformational leadership
model to a school.

1.1.2 LIMITATIONS

There are a few limitations to the article. These limitations were described as (a) data were being
sought were in quantitative because the effects were not measurable, and (b) the study was relying
on self-reported data. Conducting research based on unmeasurable criteria such as commitment
was subjective. The different definitions and methodological approaches also make it difficult to
compare findings from different studies. A better option is a more statistical criterion such as an
increase of teachers’ attendance to school, meetings and programs in percentage to alter the
interpretation of commitment. Having less access to upper management may also impact
perception of leadership style. Data may be biased by the use of a self-reported questionnaire
instrument. The administrative and subordinate questionnaires were used to protect confidentiality
of the participants as well as to help minimize stress and discomfort. Some people may be
uncomfortable giving open and honest answers and may choose to bias the findings by providing
answers they perceive are desired. Using this questionnaire limited researcher bias because the
participants had no contact with the researcher. Another perceived limitation to this study was the
one-time data collection event. Experiences and situations happening within the workplace could
influence the answers given on the questionnaires at any given time and the outcome may be
entirely different. A longitudinal study may refine the determination of leadership style among the
principals or headmasters.

The small sample size may be perceived as a limitation to the study in addition to the specific
population chosen for the study. This study was focused on the perspectives of the teachers only.
Obtaining current leadership perceptions from other staff may have impacted the current
leadership style and changed the interpretation.

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2.0 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

The review of the research on the links between transformational leadership and specific teacher
outcomes generally points to positive and significant effect. This study found that the
transformational leadership behaviors were positively related with teachers’ job satisfaction,
commitment, motivation to learn, and trust in the leader. This means that leadership behaviors
which involve headmaster's inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual
consideration do explain how teacher feels about wanting to, needing to, or feeling obligated to,
stay with the organization. The more the headmaster displays these behaviors, the more teachers
may want to, need to, or feel obligated to stay in the school. However, educational environment
pressures the schools’ educational staff in many ways, such as external restrictions, imposed
reforms, imposed standards, multiple goals, and so forth. These impositions and pressures affect
teachers’ well-being, as reflected in their quality and intensity of motivation, affect, and burnout
(Retelsdorf et al., 2009). In line with this assertion lies the claim that in educational systems the
power should be delegated to allow school principals to facilitate teachers’ motivation,
satisfaction, and well-being (Blase and Kirby, 2000; Briggs and Wohlstetter, 2003; Leithwood et
al., 1999). Although past research studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of transformational
leadership by linking it to followers’ trust, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job
performance (Fuller et al., 1996; Lowe et al., 1996), seldom did researchers address the possible
processes underlying those relations. Hence, the present findings, alongside Bono and Judge’s
(2003) study, give a first empirical indication of a possible reason for this effectiveness, namely,
promoting an autonomous motivation that minimizes burnout and, according to past research,
relates to self-actualization (Roth et al., 2007), high performance, and well-being (for a review,
see Gagne Thus), the research aimed to explore the relations among leadership styles, teachers’
types of motivation, and teachers’ burnout are a better and appropriate to be applied in my
background.

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3.0 BACKGROUND OF CORRESPONDENCES

Puan Jam Maslinda and Puan Nurhalisma are senior staffs at Sekolah Agama Al-Islahiyah, which
is situated in Simpang Empat, Perlis. They had served as educators at the school for more than five
years. Puan Jam specialize in teaching Science and Arts while Puan Nurhalisma specialize in
Malay Language and Physical Education. Previously they have taught in a few schools around
Perlis (after completing their diploma and degree in teaching). This exposure to a wide range of
curricula, education management approaches and great teachers has taught them a lot. Both have
been teaching for about 6 to 10 years now and enjoy it more each year.

Puan Jam is a mother of four, meanwhile Puan Nurhalisma is a mother of two and is now expecting
a new baby. Both of them were born in Perlis. Their philosophy is they believe it is important to
model the types of behaviors and attitudes of the students will depend on for their own success in
the future –traits such as continuous, iterative adaptation, reflection on learning, risk taking
and solicitation of feedback.

They were the types of teachers that ask students to give feedback on the approaches we’ve taken
as a class –what aspects have helped them more than others. This way the students and themselves
can both modify their habits and techniques, and improve. They are also dedicated teachers who
is always support and give full commitment in all school related activities.

4.0 HOW TO CONSTRUCT THE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

A crucial part of good research design concerns making sure that the questions design addresses
the needs of the research. To put this another way; somehow, we need to ensure that the questions
asked are the right ones. In this case, the aim is to focused on the influence of the principal’s
transformational leadership practices on teachers’ trust in their leader and teacher’s job
satisfaction. So, the questions that has been design are based on this aim. Clear and concise

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 interview questions can help get the best response. Secondly, begin with a broad span of questions,
then narrow them down until each one relates to the goals in some way. Keep questions and
answers simple, using as few words as possible. To obtain a solicit feedback, an open-ended
question is a better opinion. Open-ended questions solicit answers that you may not anticipate, and
do not have a specific range of answers to choose from. Open-ended questions are a chance for
respondents to communicate their specific experience or expectations. Such questions might look
like these:

 "Do you feel yourself as a part of the school?"

 "Who inspired you the most in your working environment?"
 Open-ended questions are good for clarifying a previous answer--"Why do you feel this way?"

4.1 CONDUCTING THE INTERVIEW

I started by asking the teachers what they perceived as their major role and duties in the school,
their constraint, and their perception of a good leader in school although this was the major
question in the paper. They have the following to say. The Teachers Thinking about Their Roles
and Duties. Typical comments on the mix of responsibilities are as follows: Teachers play vital
roles in the lives of the students in their classrooms. Teachers are the best example when talking
about the role of educating the students in their care. Beyond that, teachers serve many other roles
in the classrooms, build a warm environment, mentor and nurture students to become role models,
and listen and look for signs of trouble. In summary, they view their duties well. Thus, the
development of teachers may mean that they are sufficiently clear about their roles and duties.
Constraints. Many constraints affect the work of a teacher, including lack of formal training. For
example, lacking of financial resources, poor salaries, lack of computers or laptop for clerical work
and records, over centralization, poor quality buildings, little funding for professional
development, no school transport, no telephones in schools to contact parents, lack of reading
materials, bookshops and libraries in schools, and untrained librarians where libraries do exist. It
is clear that a teacher cannot function well with such limitations. This means that teacher may have
the desire to carry out his or her functions well, but these constraints prevent him or her from
achieving his or her aims. The complex and fragile nature of the job are testified by the following

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comments: At a certain level, teachers have problems and when the headmaster go to the Provincial
or Divisional level they will send him to the hierarchy. Thus, it takes time to solve such problems
especially when it comes to financial resources it is always very difficult. Clearly, there are many
constraints upon the work of principal in the school. These constraints are compounded by large
school classes lacking basic equipment and a slow pace of change in the system, which seems to
be getting worse rather than better. The over centralization of education decision-making having
a negative effect as far as newly appointed teachers are concerned. New teachers have to start
chasing their documents at various ministerial levels, most of which are salary related. Due to lack
of coordination between ministries, it may take one or two years for a newly appointed teacher to
get their first pay, which is inconceivable but true. New teachers spend 3 months of work, day in
and day out without any salary. Principals’ Perception of a Good Leader. In this paper, I discovered
that the headmaster of this schools expressed a number of common views as to the qualities which,
they believe, make an effective leader. Both of them believe that a good leader should present the
ability to manage family life and professional tasks, defer to a more qualified person in discussion,
have the ability to mediate.

What Are Leadership Styles of Headmaster in The School in relation to Transformational

Leadership? The above reflects question one of the research questions. However, during the
interview I read the leadership style and asked the teachers to choose which is best in describing
their headmaster. I am quite convinced with the teacher’s choice of describing their headmaster as
transformational leader. The rationale for identifying principals’ leadership styles stems from the
fact that once those leadership styles are identified, proper recommendations could be made
regarding training for improvement. The statement made by Beare et al. [27] sums up the assertion
of this paper and it aims to promote good leadership in. There is no doubt that seeking excellence
in education must ensure the presence of the development of potential leaders as urgency. In
seeking an answer to research question one, I believe that those who work closely with the
headmaster on a day-to-day basis are more likely to be able to describe the leadership styles of
their headmaster. As noted above all teachers interviewed described the headmaster as
predominantly transformational leader. When trying to examine these key aspects of
transformational leadership as perceived by teachers, there was evidence of elements of power and
competence. The other aspect is that the teachers see their headmaster as being democratic. It may

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be that they are describing what they could become if given the time and training, for example, a
more aspirational view of their leadership styles. There is no evidence to suggest that such a style
of leadership is being practiced, but rather a hope is given that this someday might be the case. In
an environment where there is less emphasis on leadership, I had no doubt that the headmaster’s
description as a transformational leader is accurate. What Are Teacher’s Perceptions of the Type
of Leadership Their Principal Portrays? This is to answer question three. In other words, to answer
this research question I interviewed the teachers to find out who they think is the leader in their
school. Teachers’ Perception of Who Is the Leader in Their School. During the interviews for this
paper, teachers had this to say as to whom they perceive to be the leader of their school.

He leads with his vice and other administrative staff of the school. In fact, I can say that we work
as a team. That is why in my mind, the school is performing positively at Certificate Exams and
our school is the envy of other schools in the community. (Puan Jam Maslinda)

The headmaster is the leader of the school and at the same time a teacher, he don’t only lead but
he teaches the pupils in preparing for their final national examination. (Puan Nurhalisma)

Teachers perceive their principals to be leaders of their school. They also note that leadership is
enhanced by principal collaboration with other staff and student leaders. They view some of their
headmaster as team leader who lead by example. What Are Teachers Perceptions of the Type of
Leadership Their Principal Portrays? These answers varied and during the interviews, the teacher
had the following to say of their headmaster:

He is an honest man, and transparent in his dealing with us as teachers, which is refreshing and I
hope to learn from him a great deal. (Puan Nurhalisma)

He is a family man; he is just like a father to all of us here and we appreciate that. He persuades
us to always do well and by doing so our school is progressing in every aspect most importantly
in daily lesson. And that we have come here to learn and to succeed in our endeavors to be good
citizens as well as future leaders. (Puan Jam Maslinda)

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The teachers interviewed perceive the leadership of their headmaster as moral, honest, and
transparent. To them, their headmaster is like a father figure: man, of great integrity and also easy
to approach and talk to, inspiring their teachers to work hard toward their academic achievement.
They view their principal as being democratic. The democratic leadership style is reflected in the
literature for this study as one of the leadership styles. From this result, it seems there is a need for
formal training, to avoid the trial and error approach to become common. In my view, there is a
willingness to learn and improve from the headmaster. The government and private institutions
should seize the moment and make sure they give these principals the tools they need to do their
jobs, in addition to a good salary. In addition, public and private institutions should work toward
creating an environment conducive to school leaders expressing their opinions without fear or
favor.

4.1.1 VIEWS OF THE STAFF (1)

Leadership is often described as the ability to enlist, mobilize, and motivate others to apply their
abilities and resources to a given cause. This capacity is fundamental to discussions of charismatic
or transformational leadership in general and in the educational sphere in particular. It illuminates
the ways in which individuals influence others and persuade them to devote their utmost efforts to
tasks that promote their goals. Transformational leaders’ impact on their followers was ascribed
to their ability to nurture followers’ needs, empower them, and give them a sense of mission toward
ethical and broad objectives that exceed their own goals. These leadership abilities were described
as linked to transformational leaders’ tendency to articulate a clear vision, serve as a model, and
provide attention and consideration to followers. Headmaster leadership excellence as a leader of
high-performing school organizations (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2014; Harris et al, 2013;
Ibrahim & Wahab, 2012) was a major factor that can improve student learning outcomes.
Headmasters need to understand the significant role in influencing commitment and teacher job
satisfaction towards creating an excellent school. High-performing schools are schools that
achieve the best level, quality and excellence in all areas related to academics, character building,
management, communications, infrastructure, and most importantly, leadership (Ministry of
Education Malaysia, 2014; Leithwood & Sun, 2012; Leithwood & Mascall, 2008; Leithwood &
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Jantzi, 2005; Sin, 2001). teachers who do not get job satisfaction caused them to be less committed
to the task given. To tackle these problems, headmaster need to equip themselves with knowledge
of organizational leadership and subsequently, practice leadership approach that can achieve closer
bonding with the subordinates to create a harmonious working environment and high job
satisfaction.

The interview from the first senior staff showed that transformational leadership practices of the
headmaster and teachers’ job satisfaction are at a high level; and there is a significant relationship
between transformational leadership level and job satisfaction among teachers whilst teachers
commitments is average. However, the results showed that there is a significant relationship
between the headmaster’s transformational leadership level and teachers’ commitments. Puan Jam
Maslinda quoted that in current school, she doesn’t mind working extra time and had access to
appropriate teaching aid facilities; and is overall satisfied with the leadership management.
Although many leadership approaches being practiced, she believed that transformational
leadership practices are the best example for this leadership approach could drive change to the
many behaviors of the members in the organization. She strongly thinks that a transformational
leader is a change agent who will drive change in the organization or school. School organization
is in dire need of leadership formula like this, especially in terms of judgments and teacher
development as an individual. The results of this study support the findings of Menon (2014);
Amin, Shah, and Tatlah (2013); Abas (2011); Aydin, Savier, and Uysal (2013); and Top et al.
(2012) which showed that one of the factors that respondents have job satisfaction is the
transformational leadership practices of the principal/headmaster. Such leader is capable of
working and influencing teachers to work together in achieving the mission and vision of the
school. They will support and strengthen the individual who is always ready to excel. If the practice
of transformational leadership can be enhanced, job satisfaction of teachers in schools will also be
enhanced and work potential can be developed to achieve organizational goals.

4.1.2 VIEWS OF THE STAFF (2)

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of leader empowering behavior, job
satisfaction and organizational commitment. The results showed that statistically significant
relationships exist between leader empowering behavior, job satisfaction and organizational
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commitment. Structural equation modelling confirmed that leader empowering behavior predicts
job satisfaction, which, in turn, predicts organizational commitment.

In addition, the interview with Puan Nurhalisma also presented a relationship between
transformational leadership levels among headmasters with teachers’ commitment is at an
intermediate level. Transformational leaders must play an exemplary role to his followers. Some
leadership aspects must be shown so that followers can feel the enthusiasm of working and be
more committed. Commitments are variables that are used to measure employee relationship with
the organization. Commitment also has relationships with loyalty, obedience and satisfaction
towards the organization (Ibrahim et al., 2014; Selamat, Nordin, & Adnan, 2013; Meyer & Allen,
1997). The information from the interview showed that the headmaster in Sekolah Agama Al-
Islahiyah (Rendah) had implemented transformational leadership at a high level. The mean scores
for transformational leadership practices were at a high level. This proves that the practice of
transformational leadership is suitable to be practiced in primary schools by headmasters. In fact,
there was a significant relationship between the level of headmaster’s transformational leadership
practiced and the teachers’ job satisfaction and commitments. Therefore, it is hope that to ensure
the success of transformational leadership practiced, the headmaster should be supported by the
middle leadership team to drive the school’s performance. In addition, the approach to school
leadership in Malaysia need to move away from conventional leadership to distributive leadership
as practiced now in most developed countries. Leadership scenario is able to give more power and
opportunity to the senior assistant teacher and mid-level management officials such as the head of
the area to make decisions at the school level. In this respect, teamwork must be nurtured and
instilled among teachers for successful realization of the goals and vision built together.
Headmasters must be committed to building a capacity of school leadership by adding value to the
four dimensions in the practice of transformational leadership which are fostering an ideal
influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and provide individualized attention
to all subordinates in the hope they get job satisfaction and committed to the task given and can
achieve excellence in the vision and mission targeted by the school and the Ministry of Education.

The results indicated that leader empowering behavior predicts job satisfaction, which, in turn,
predicts organizational commitment. A leader’s empowering behavior impacts positively on

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employee attitude towards their jobs. This positive attitude leads to employee desire to maintain
their relationships with the company.

5.0 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY

The results showed that the leader of an organization, whether school principal or headmaster,
have an important role as an agent of change as they have expertise as leader through leadership
practices practiced. This scenario is clearly illustrated by the findings from this study that there
exists a significant relationship of the level of transformational leadership with teachers’ job
satisfaction and commitments, where these two items are very helpful in the success of any school
organizations. Overall, the results of this study have raised a number of implications towards the
headmaster’s transformational leadership practiced. Headmaster is urged to pay more attention
towards their credibility as leaders in terms of their appearance, confidence in decision making,
motivating subordinates and have considerations on an individual basis. This study aims to help
the headmaster in the school to assess them whether they have adopted the four dimensions in the
practice of transformational leadership at a high, medium or low level. If this practice is applied
in the leadership of a headmaster, it will have a positive impact on the success of the vision and
mission that has been made. The study is also expected to provide guidance to all administrators,
not only the headmaster but also to the senior teachers and assistant teachers to implement
transformational leadership practices within them. To produce high performance schools,
headmasters need to practice transformational leadership practices that lead towards continuous
improvement changes. For successful realization of such students, leaders such as headmasters
should always implement improvements and practice transformational leadership. As previously
noted, additional research is needed to shed more light on the links between transformational
leadership and teacher variables and outcomes. The number of available studies is limited and in
some cases is associated with specific contexts. More research is needed on different countries and
educational systems as factors associated with different countries and systems (e.g. autonomy,
centralization etc.) may limit the effectiveness of transformational leadership practices at the
school unit.

Moreover, it is important to strive for more conceptual and methodological clarity in relation to
the variables investigated in leadership research. There are different approaches to the definition
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and measurement of transformational leadership as well as of the teacher variables discussed in
this paper. The different definitions and methodological approaches make it difficult to compare
findings from different studies. A major challenge for leadership models lies in the resolution of
existing methodological problems, which will, in turn, allow for more research on their effects on
educational outcomes. Bass (1999) points to the need for new methods for measuring
transformational leadership and considers laboratory methods promising in the identification of
cause and effect relationships. The review of the literature presented in this paper clearly points to
the need for additional perspectives and approaches in the investigation of the effects of
transformational leadership on teacher outcomes.

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6.0 REFERENCES

Bass, B. M. (1999). Two of research and development in transformational leardeship. Europen

Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 8(3), 9-32.
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Blase, J. and Kirby, P.C. (2000), Bringing Out the Best in Teachers: What Effective Principals Do,
Corwin, Thousand Oaks, CA.

Bono, J.E. and Judge, T.A. (2003), “Self-concordance at work: toward understanding the
motivationaleffectsoftransformationalleaders”,AcademyofManagementJournal,Vol.46 No. 5, pp.
554-71.

Fuller, J.B., Patterson, C.E., Hester, K. and Stringer, D.Y. (1996), “A quantitative review of
research on charismatic leadership”, Psychological Reports, Vol. 78 No. 1, pp. 271-87.

Ibrahim, M. S., Ghavifekr, S., Ling, S., Siraj, S., & Azeez, M. I. K. (2014). Can Transformational
Leadership influence on teachers’ commitment towards organizational, teaching profesion and
students learning? A quantitative analysis. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev., 15, 177-190.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12564-013-9308-3

Koehler, J. W., & Pankowski, J. M. (1997). Transformational Leadership in government (p. 16).
Florida: St. Lucie Press.

Leithwood, K. A., & Mascall, B. (2008). Collective leadership effects on student achievement.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(4), 529-561.
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effects of Transformational school leadership a meta-analytic review of unpublished research.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 48(3), 387-423.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013161X11436268

Menon, M. E. (2014). The relationship between transformational leadership, perceived leader

effectiveness and teachers’ job satisfaction. Journal of Educational Administration, 52(4), 5.

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Putrajaya: KPM.

Retelsdorf, J., Butler, R., Streblow, L. and Schiefele, U. (2009), “Teachers’ goal orientations for
teaching: associations with instructional practices, interest in teaching, and burnout”, Learning and
Instruction, Vol. 20, pp. 1-17.

Roth, G., Assor, A., Kaplan, H. and Kanat-Maymon, Y. (2007), “Perceived autonomy in teaching:
how self-determined teaching may lead to self-determined learning”, Journal of Educational
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Selamat, N., Nordin, N., & Adnan, A. A. (2013). Rekindle teachers’ organizational commitment:
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