Implementing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) in a challenging context: Results from a large scale quantitative study

Author(s):

Leentjie Van Jaarsveld(presenting / submitting)PJ {Kobus} Mentz

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

26. Educational Leadership

Format:

Paper

Session Information

26 SES 03 B, Educational Leadership in Challenging Educational Contexts

Paper Session

Time:

2017-08-22

17:15-18:45

Room:

K1.02 Auditorium 2

Chair:

David Gurr

Contribution

Implementing the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) in a challenging context: Results from a large scale quantitative study

An emphasis on school performance is not just a national issue but must be examined within the global context (Pashiardis, 2015). Successful leadership is ensured by school leaders' compliance to a set of basic practices within particular school contexts (Marishane, 2013). Thus, school leadership could be described as highly contextualized. Furthermore, successful leadership supports diverse learner populations, which in turn promotes school quality, equity and social justice and is not isolated from the community. The worldwide goal of education systems is that schools must be successful, and yet, when results of standardized tests, such as PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS are revealed, many students perform below the bench mark, especially in South Africa (Spaull, 2013). The question thus arises whether school leadership, and particularly styles, has an influence on school performance. Leadership styles are primarily concerned with relationships, structured tasks and a leader's position. Clark (2016) noted that in an ever changing leadership environment leadershipstyles have to be evaluated. Chandra and Priyono (2016) emphasise the impact of leadership styles on performance, the work environment and job satisfaction while Shamaki (2015) asserts that the appropriate leadership style could make teachers more effective in terms of job productivity. Furthermore, the adoption of different leadership styles by school leaders shows positive results with regards to school effectiveness (Tatlah & Iqbal, 2012). As change in any education system is inevitable, leadership styles of educational leaders which can vary according to their cultural, personal, psychological and educational qualities and play a key role in the change process (Inandi, Tunc & Gilic, 2012). Looking at research conducted in several countries regarding leadership styles, the results are quite different. In most European countries the entrepreneurial style of the principals can be regarded a European dimension of successful school leadership. On the other hand, the participative leadership style is associated with low-performing schools (Pashiardis, 2011). Research that has focused on the teachers’ job satisfaction with reference to the leadership style of the principal has been surveyed for our purpose of this research. It was found that the democratic leadership style is the most appealing leadership style that attracted teachers in Kenya (Kiboss & Jemiryott, 2014) and Nigeria (Shamaki, 2015) while the transformational leadership style was preferred by teachers in Turkey (Okçu, 2014) and Rawalpindi (Ali & Waqar, 2013). It is evident that preferred school leadership styles are rooted within contextual aspects such as tradition and culture. However, in this study the focus was on the results of the teachers and principals with regards to the MLQ in the South African context. The paper will describe school leadership styles and the influence that the styles have on school performance. The research questions were:

a) What leadership style is preferred by principals and teachers in the South African context?

b) What is the impact of a chosen leadership style on the academic performance of schools in the South African context?

Method

A quantitative approach with a post-positive paradigm was followed. A systematic random sample of 72 secondary schools in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa were selected. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (36-item, 5-point Likert scale) was used to investigate the transformational, transactional and passive-avoidant leadership styles, based on statements (Oberfield, 2012). The validity of the questionnaire was based on the literature regarding principal leadership styles contained in the Full Range Leadership Theory (FRLT) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient was applied to determine the internal consistency of the items that contribute to constructs in order to determine reliability in the South African context. Statistical significance (p-values) and effect size (d-values) were calculated using data aggregated to school level, to determine if differences between groups in the study population can be regarded as practically significant. A factor analysis was conducted in order to determine the validity of the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) in the specific context of the secondary schools in KwaZulu Natal and to confirm how it compares with implementation in other contexts. Ethical approval was obtained from the University under whose supervision the research was done as well as from the Department of Basic Education in KwaZulu Natal. Principals of selected schools also granted permission. Participants were informed about what the research entailed, were ensured of anonymity and given the option to withdraw from the research if they wished (Creswell, 2012). The identity of participants was protected during the data analysis and the final report by not linking them to particular answers. The data collection was done by means of descriptive statistics (SPSS program) calculation of averages, standard deviation (SD) frequencies and percentages of the responses indicated on the questionnaire. Dependent t-tests were used to test whether the principals and teachers' responses were statistically significantly different, where data of teachers had been aggregated to school level. Cohen's (2011) d-values were determined, where values of approximately 0.5 were considered to indicate an important difference in practice. Statistical significance was evaluated at the 5% level.

Expected Outcomes

The results show a difference between teachers and principals regarding the transformational leadership style. Principals felt that they follow the transformational leadership style while the teachers disagreed. Furthermore, a significant difference was found between teachers and principals with regard to the passive-avoidant leadership style. The principals indicated that they are not at all passive-avoidant while the teachers felt that some of the principals follow a passive-avoidant leadership style. No factor in principal leadership style climate showed statistically significant differences between high- and low-performing schools. The principals in high performing schools were perceived as less passive-avoidant in practice than those in low performing schools. The teachers seem to interpret some of the transactional statements in the MLQ as transformational statements. This is a finding very specific to the South African context and not found in the results from research in the US. It is evident that there is a lack of communication between principals and teachers which results into different perspectives regarding the leadership style. This could be addressed in order to create transparency which could lead to more successful schools. A principal manages and leads a school effectively by applying an appropriate leadership style. However, the chosen style is not necessarily the best style for this purpose. Furthermore, the style is not always necessarily the teachers’ and learners’ choice. It is important that schools keep up with a constant changing world. Therefore, the transformational leadership style would be applicable.

References

Ali, U. & Waqar, S. 2013. Teachers’ organizational citizenship behavior working under different leadership styles. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 28(2): 297-316. Chandra, T. & Priyono. 2016. The Influence of Leadership Styles, Work Environment and Job Satisfaction of Employee Performance—Studies in the School of SMPN 10 Surabaya. International Education Studies, 9(1): 131-140 Clark, S. 2016. School leadership in turbulent times and the value of negative capability. Professional Development in Education, 42(1): 5-18. Creswell, J.W. 2012. Educational Research. Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Boston: Pearson Education. Inandi, Y., Tunc, B. & Gilic, F. 2012. School administrators’ leadership styles and resistance to change. International Journal of Academic Research, 5(5): 196-203. Kiboss, J.K. & Jemiryott, H.K.S. 2014. Relationship between principals’ leadership styles and secondary school teachers’ job satisfaction in Nandi South District, Kenya. Journal of Education and Human Development, 3(2):493-509. Marishane, R.N. 2013. Educational leadership in a time of reform. (In The effective management of a school. Towards quality outcomes, R.J. Botha. Pretoria: Van Schaik. Oberfield, Z.W. 2012. “Public management in time: a longitudinal examination of the Full Range of Leadership Theory.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 24(2): 407-429. Okçu, V. 2014. Relation between leadership styles of high school administrators, diversity management, and organizational commitment of teachers. International Journal of Academic Research, 6(5): 9-22. Pashiardis, P. 2011. A validation study of the leadership styles of a holistic leadership theoretical framework. International Journal of Educational Management, 25(1): 11-32. Pashiardis P. 2015. Effective school leaders(hip) as a process for (quality) improvement. International conference, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa (13 – 15 April 2015). Shamaki, E.B. 2015. Influence of Leadership Style on Teacher’s Job Productivity in Public Secondary Schools in Taraba State, Nigeria. Journal of Education and Practice, 6(10): 200-203 Spaull, N. 2013. Poverty & privilege: primary school inequality in South Afrca. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(5):436-447. Tatlah, I.A. & Iqbal, M.Z. 2012. Leadership styles and school effectiveness: empirical evidence from secondary level. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 69: 790-797.

Author Information

Leentjie Van Jaarsveld (presenting / submitting)

North West University, South Africa

Faculty of Education

Potchefstroom

PJ {Kobus} Mentz

North West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

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