Perspectives on Directors' Transformational Leadership: Insights from Cambodian High School Teachers

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58421/gehu.v3i4.328

Authors

Keywords:

Cambodia, Educational leadership, Provincial differences, Teacher perceptions, Transformational leadership

Abstract

Different types of leaders work in various settings. School directors have always been regarded as essential individuals in school settings, and they are usually regarded as sample individuals for teachers and other educational staff. The current study investigates high school teachers' perceptions of directors' transformational leadership (DTL) in four Cambodian provinces, concentrating on five essential dimensions: idealized influence (attributes), idealized influence (behaviours), inspirational motivation, individual consideration, and intellectual stimulation. Six hundred thirty-nine teachers participated in the study, indicating favourable evaluations of their directors' leadership methods. Although most variables exhibited uniform perceptions, the findings revealed significant differences in inspiring motivation and individual consideration, especially amongst Kampong Cham and Kampong Chhnang teachers. Teachers in Kampong Cham indicated elevated perceptions of motivation and personalized support from their directors, implying that the efficacy of leadership may differ by provincial settings. These findings emphasize the significance of comprehending local dynamics in educational leadership and reinforce the essential function of DTL in cultivating a supportive and motivated atmosphere for teachers. The study underscores the necessity for customized leadership approaches to elevate teacher satisfaction and promote educational findings in Cambodian schools. Last, but not least, it is recommended that future studies be conducted in provinces other than the four that were part of the current study and that the number of participants is increased. Additionally, combination designs and qualitative designs are recommended.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

P. Kwan, "Is transformational leadership theory passé? Revisiting the integrative effect of instructional leadership and transformational leadership on student outcomes," Educ. Adm. Q., vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 321–349, Apr. 2020, doi: 10.1177/0013161X19861137.

P. E. Poekert, "Teacher leadership and professional development: examining links between two concepts central to school improvement," in Teacher leadership and professional development, A. Alexandrou and S. Swaffield, Eds., Routledge, 2014, pp. 9–28.

M. Ş. Bellibaş, S. Gümüş, and Y. Liu, "Does school leadership matter for teachers' classroom practice? The influence of instructional leadership and distributed leadership on instructional quality," Sch. Eff. Sch. Improv., vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 387–412, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.1080/09243453.2020.1858119.

J. J. B. Mijs and E. L. Roe, “Is America coming apart? Socioeconomic segregation in neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and social networks, 1970–2020," Sociol. Compass, vol. 15, no. 6, pp. 1–16, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.1111/soc4.12884.

T. Huang, C. Hochbein, and J. Simons, "The relationship among school contexts, principal time use, school climate, and student achievement," Educ. Manag. Adm. Leadersh., vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 305–323, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1177/1741143218802595.

C. Sinnema, A. J. Daly, Y.-H. Liou, and J. Rodway, "Exploring the communities of learning policy in New Zealand using social network analysis: A case study of leadership, expertise, and networks," Int. J. Educ. Res., vol. 99, pp. 1–16, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.ijer.2019.10.002.

K. Leithwood, "A review of evidence about equitable school leadership," Educ. Sci., vol. 11, no. 8, pp. 1–49, Jul. 2021, doi: 10.3390/educsci11080377.

S. Lillejord and K. Børte, "Trapped between accountability and professional learning? School leaders and teacher evaluation," Prof. Dev. Educ., vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 274–291, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1080/19415257.2019.1585384.

S. Goldfinch and J. Halligan, "Reform, hybridization, and revival: the status of new public management in Australia and New Zealand," Public Manag. Rev., vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 2542–2560, Sep. 2024, doi: 10.1080/14719037.2024.2329770.

S. Em, "A review of different ideas concerning the characteristics of a good leader and shaping new ideas of an effective 21st century leader," J. Gen. Educ. Humanit., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 13–34, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.58421/gehu.v2i1.53.

J. Lambrecht, J. Lenkeit, A. Hartmann, A. Ehlert, M. Knigge, and N. Spörer, "The effect of school leadership on implementing inclusive education: how transformational and instructional leadership practices affect individualised education planning," Int. J. Incl. Educ., vol. 26, no. 9, pp. 943–957, Jul. 2022, doi: 10.1080/13603116.2020.1752825.

K. Leithwood, D. Jantzi, and R. Steinbach, "Leadership and other conditions which foster organizational learning in schools," in Organizational learning in schools, K. Leithwood and K. S. Louis, Eds., Taylor & Francis, 1999, pp. 67–90.

K. Promchart and W. Potipiroon, "Transformational leadership and turnover intentions among school teachers in the deep south of Thailand," Aug. 2020.

D. Jaroliya and R. Gyanchandani, "Transformational leadership style: a boost or hindrance to team performance in IT sector," Vilakshan - XIMB J. Manag., vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 87–105, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.1108/XJM-10-2020-0167.

M. N. Khattak, R. Zolin, and N. Muhammad, "Linking transformational leadership and continuous improvement: The mediating role of trust," Manag. Res. Rev., vol. 43, no. 8, pp. 931–950, Jan. 2020, doi: 10.1108/MRR-06-2019-0268.

S. Al-Husseini, I. El Beltagi, and J. Moizer, "Transformational leadership and innovation: the mediating role of knowledge sharing amongst higher education faculty," Int. J. Leadersh. Educ., vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 670–693, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1080/13603124.2019.1588381.

H. Antonopoulou, C. Halkiopoulos, O. Barlou, and G. N. Beligiannis, "Transformational leadership and digital skills in higher education institutes: During the COVID-19 pandemic," Emerg. Sci. J., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 1–15, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01252.

K. J. Roth, C. D. Wilson, J. A. Taylor, M. A. M. Stuhlsatz, and C. Hvidsten, "Comparing the effects of analysis-of-practice and content-based professional development on teacher and student outcomes in science," Am. Educ. Res. J., vol. 56, no. 4, pp. 1217–1253, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.3102/0002831218814759.

S. J. Alainati, N. S. Almonawer, and F. A. Al-Hammad, "Transformational leadership in education: review of literature," Int. J. Bus. Manag., vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 73–88, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.24940/theijbm/2023/v11/i2/BM2302-016.

J. Caulton, "Come, see, do: igniting the spark that energizes followers," in Followership and faith at work, D. J. Dean and R. B. Huizinga, Eds., Cham: Springer, 2022, pp. 49–69. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-90614-6_4.

M. E. Obmerga, "For whom the bell (really) tolls: A grounded theory of millennial academic supervisors' sensemaking of communitarian values as a springboard to enrich their transformational leadership attributes," Int. J. Leadersh. Educ., vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 283–315, Mar. 2024, doi: 10.1080/13603124.2020.1862919.

Y. Owusu-Agyeman, "Transformational leadership and innovation in higher education: a participative process approach," Int. J. Leadersh. Educ., vol. 24, no. 5, pp. 694–716, Sep. 2021, doi: 10.1080/13603124.2019.1623919.

N. Siangchokyoo, R. L. Klinger, and E. D. Campion, "Follower transformation as the linchpin of transformational leadership theory: A systematic review and future research agenda," Leadersh. Q., vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 1–18, Feb. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2019.101341.

X. Wang, Z. Liu, X. Wen, and Q. Xiao, "An implicit leadership theory lens on leader humility and employee outcomes: Examining individual and organizational contingencies," Tour. Manag., vol. 89, p. 104448, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2021.104448.

M. C. Crowley, Lead from the heart: transformational leadership for the 21st century. Hay House, Inc, 2022.

A. E. Rafferty and M. A. Griffin, "Dimensions of transformational leadership: Conceptual and empirical extensions," Leadersh. Q., vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 329–354, Jun. 2004, doi: 10.1016/j.leaqua.2004.02.009.

J. Chua and O. B. Ayoko, "Employees’ self-determined motivation, transformational leadership and work engagement,” J. Manag. Organ., vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 523–543, May 2021, doi: 10.1017/jmo.2018.74.

T. B. McNair, S. Albertine, N. McDonald, T. M. Jr, and M. A. Cooper, Becoming a student-ready college: a new culture of leadership for student success. John Wiley & Sons, 2022.

J. M. Gichuhi, “Shared Leadership and Organizational Resilience: A Systematic Literature Review. | EBSCOhost.” Accessed: Oct. 25, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd:152304991?sid=ebsco:plink:crawler&id=ebsco:gcd:152304991

G. Maheshwari, “Influence of teacher-perceived transformational and transactional school leadership on teachers’ job satisfaction and performance: a case of Vietnam,” Leadersh. Policy Sch., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 876–890, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1080/15700763.2020.1866020.

P. Hawkins, Leadership team coaching: developing collective transformational leadership. Kogan Page, 2011.

C. D. Francisco, “School principals’ transformational leadership styles and their effects on teachers self-efficacy,” Int. J. Adv. Res., vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 622–635, Oct. 2019, doi: 10.21474/IJAR01/9875.

M. Eliophotou Menon and A. Lefteri, “The link between transformational leadership and teacher self-efficacy,” education, vol. 142, no. 1, pp. 42–52, Sep. 2021.

M. A. Zainal and M. E. E. Mohd Matore, “The influence of teachers’ self-efficacy and school leaders’ transformational leadership practices on teachers’ innovative behaviour,” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health, vol. 18, no. 12, pp. 1–20, Jun. 2021, doi: 10.3390/ijerph18126423.

Y. Rachmawati̇ and S. Suyatno, “The effect of principals’ competencies on teachers’ job satisfaction and work commitment,” Particip. Educ. Res., vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 362–378, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.17275/per.21.21.8.1.

M. Salanova, A. M. Rodríguez-Sánchez, and K. Nielsen, “The impact of group efficacy beliefs and transformational leadership on followers’ self-efficacy: a multilevel-longitudinal study,” Curr. Psychol., vol. 41, no. 4, pp. 2024–2033, Apr. 2022, doi: 10.1007/s12144-020-00722-3.

M. Z. Gong and N. Subramaniam, “Principal leadership style and school performance: mediating roles of risk management culture and management control systems use in Australian schools,” Account. Finance, vol. 60, no. 3, pp. 1–40, Sep. 2020, doi: 10.1111/acfi.12416.

Ü. Kalkan, F. Altınay Aksal, Z. Altınay Gazi, R. Atasoy, and G. Dağlı, “The relationship between school administrators’ leadership styles, school culture, and organizational image,” Sage Open, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1–15, Jan. 2020, doi: 10.1177/2158244020902081.

I. Wilson Heenan, N. Lafferty, and P. M. McNamara, “Enactment of transformational school leadership—insights from primary school and system leaders,” Educ. Sci., vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 1–38, May 2024, doi: 10.3390/educsci14060557.

I. Hajiali, A. M. Fara Kessi, B. Budiandriani, E. Prihatin, M. M. Sufri, and A. Sudirman, “Determination of work motivation, leadership style, employee competence on job satisfaction and employee performance,” Gold. Ratio Hum. Resour. Manag., vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 57–69, Feb. 2022, doi: 10.52970/grhrm.v2i1.160.

A. B. Bakker, J. Hetland, O. Kjellevold Olsen, and R. Espevik, “Daily transformational leadership: A source of inspiration for follower performance?,” Eur. Manag. J., vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 700–708, Oct. 2023, doi: 10.1016/j.emj.2022.04.004.

I. U. Khan, R. U. Amin, and N. Saif, “Individualized consideration and idealized influence of transformational leadership: mediating role of inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation,” Int. J. Leadersh. Educ., pp. 1–11, Jun. 2022, doi: 10.1080/13603124.2022.2076286.

L. R. Farahnak, M. G. Ehrhart, E. M. Torres, and G. A. Aarons, “The influence of transformational leadership and leader attitudes on subordinate attitudes and implementation success,” J. Leadersh. Organ. Stud., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 98–111, Feb. 2020, doi: 10.1177/1548051818824529.

A. N. Khan and N. A. Khan, “The nexuses between transformational leadership and employee green organisational citizenship behaviour: Role of environmental attitude and green dedication,” Bus. Strategy Environ., vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 921–933, Mar. 2022, doi: 10.1002/bse.2926.

R. (Chuang R. Gao, W. H. Murphy, and R. E. Anderson, “Transformational leadership effects on salespeople’s attitudes, striving, and performance,” J. Bus. Res., vol. 110, pp. 237–245, Mar. 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.01.023.

L. Li and Y. Liu, “An integrated model of principal transformational leadership and teacher leadership that is related to teacher self-efficacy and student academic performance,” Asia Pac. J. Educ., vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 661–678, Oct. 2022, doi: 10.1080/02188791.2020.1806036.

D. Sirait, “The influence of principal transformational leadership, work culture and work environment on teacher performance in state senior high schools throughout Banjarbaru city,” J. Adv. Educ. Philos., vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 391–400, 2021.

M. Alzoraiki, A. R. Ahmad, A. A. Ateeq, G. M. A. Naji, Q. Almaamari, and B. A. H. Beshr, “Impact of teachers’ commitment to the relationship between transformational leadership and sustainable teaching performance,” Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 5, pp. 1–16, Mar. 2023, doi: 10.3390/su15054620.

T. Karakose, T. Tülübaş, and S. Papadakis, “The scientific evolution of social justice leadership in education: structural and longitudinal analysis of the existing knowledge base, 2003–2022,” Front. Educ., vol. 8, pp. 1–18, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1139648.

R. Yirci, T. Karakose, I. Kocabas, T. Tülübaş, and S. Papadakis, “A bibliometric review of the knowledge base on mentoring for the professional development of school administrators,” Sustainability, vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 1–25, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.3390/su15043027.

T. Karakose, T. Tülübaş, S. Papadakis, and R. Yirci, “Evaluating the intellectual structure of the knowledge base on transformational school leadership: a bibliometric and science mapping analysis,” Educ. Sci., vol. 13, no. 7, pp. 1–26, Jul. 2023, doi: 10.3390/educsci13070708.

T. Karakose, S. Papadakis, T. Tülübaş, and H. Polat, “Understanding the intellectual structure and evolution of distributed leadership in schools: a science mapping-based bibliometric analysis,” Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 24, pp. 1–23, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.3390/su142416779.

T. Karakose, I. Kocabas, R. Yirci, S. Papadakis, T. Y. Ozdemir, and M. Demirkol, “The development and evolution of digital leadership: a bibliometric mapping approach-based study,” Sustainability, vol. 14, no. 23, pp. 1–26, Dec. 2022, doi: 10.3390/su142316171.

J. Bloomfield and M. J. Fisher, “Quantitative research design,” J. Australas. Rehabil. Nurses Assoc., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 27–30, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.3316/informit.738299924514584.

S. J. Stratton, “Population research: convenience sampling strategies,” Prehospital Disaster Med., vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 373–374, Aug. 2021, doi: 10.1017/S1049023X21000649.

D. Hossan, Z. Dato’ Mansor, and N. S. Jaharuddin, “Research population and sampling in quantitative study,” Int. J. Bus. Technopreneurship IJBT, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 209–222, Oct. 2023, doi: 10.58915/ijbt.v13i3.263.

S. Em, S. Khan, and N. Nun, “Education system in Cambodia: a brief review from the prehistoric period to the present, and an education strategic plan for the future,” FIRE Forum Int. Res. Educ., vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 141–164, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.32865/fire202273320.

C. R. Boddy, “Sample size for qualitative research,” Qual. Mark. Res. Int. J., vol. 19, no. 4, pp. 426–432, Sep. 2016, doi: 10.1108/QMR-06-2016-0053.

F. D. Schönbrodt and M. Perugini, “At what sample size do correlations stabilize?,” J. Res. Personal., vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 609–612, Oct. 2013, doi: 10.1016/j.jrp.2013.05.009.

P. Roberts and H. Priest, “Reliability and validity in research.,” Nurs. Stand., vol. 20, no. 44, pp. 41–46, Jul. 2006.

K. Fitzner, “Reliability and validity a quick review,” Diabetes Educ., vol. 33, no. 5, pp. 775–780, Sep. 2007, doi: 10.1177/0145721707308172.

K. Bannigan and R. Watson, “Reliability and validity in a nutshell,” J. Clin. Nurs., vol. 18, no. 23, pp. 3237–3243, Dec. 2009, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2009.02939.x.

K. S. Taber, “The use of Cronbach’s alpha when developing and reporting research instruments in science education,” Res. Sci. Educ., vol. 48, no. 6, pp. 1273–1296, Dec. 2018, doi: 10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2.

C. Day et al., Successful school leadership: linking with learning and achievement. McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 2011.

A. Pankake and C. Abrego, Lead with me: a principal’s guide to teacher leadership, 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2017. doi: 10.4324/9781315767734.

J. Blase and J. Blase, Empowering teachers: what successful principals do. Corwin Press, 2001.

R. B. S. Madi Odeh, B. Y. Obeidat, M. O. Jaradat, R. Masa’deh, and M. T. Alshurideh, “The transformational leadership role in achieving organizational resilience through adaptive cultures: the case of Dubai service sector,” Int. J. Product. Perform. Manag., vol. 72, no. 2, pp. 440–468, Jan. 2023, doi: 10.1108/IJPPM-02-2021-0093.

Downloads

Published

2024-11-22

How to Cite

[1]
S. Em, S. Mok, and R. Sam, “Perspectives on Directors’ Transformational Leadership: Insights from Cambodian High School Teachers”, J.Gen.Educ.Humanit., vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 411–432, Nov. 2024.

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)