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11 – 20 of over 22000Lei Mee Thien, Donnie Adams and Hai Ming Koh
This study aims to investigate the relationships between distributed leadership, teacher academic optimism and teacher organisational commitment with the contextual influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationships between distributed leadership, teacher academic optimism and teacher organisational commitment with the contextual influence of gender and teaching experience.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed partial least squares structural equation modelling for data analysis. This study has selected 421 teachers from 18 secondary schools in Penang.
Findings
Distributed leadership has a positive direct effect on teacher academic optimism and organisational commitment. The relationship between distributed leadership and teacher academic optimism was stronger for male teachers and senior teachers who have more than ten years of teaching experience. However, gender and teaching experience have no significant moderating effects on the relationship between distributed leadership and teacher organisational commitment.
Research limitations/implications
The reason for the non-existent relationship between distributed leadership and teacher organisational commitment across gender and teaching experience remains unknown. In-depth investigation using interview method is required for further exploration.
Practical implications
This study complements and extends prior research on the relationships between distributed leadership, teacher organisational commitment and teacher academic optimism by providing evidence from Malaysia on how they contribute to the organisational conditions of their school.
Originality/value
This study has its originality in investigating the relationships between distributed leadership, teacher organisational commitment and academic optimism with the contextual influence of gender and teaching experience in the non-western society.
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Hanifi Parlar, Muhammet Emin Türkoğlu and Ramazan Cansoy
This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarian leadership and commitment and the mediating roles of silence and trust in school principals.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the relationship between authoritarian leadership and commitment and the mediating roles of silence and trust in school principals.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a cross-sectional design to illustrate the relationships among authoritarian leadership, trust in the principal, silence and affective commitment using path analysis evidence provided by 409 K–12 teachers.
Findings
The findings revealed that authoritarian leadership indirectly affected teacher commitment through trust in the principal and acquiescent silence. Furthermore, trust in the principal played a partial mediating role between authoritarian leadership and defensive silence. Authoritarian leadership behaviours decreased teachers' affective commitment by decreasing trust in the principal and increasing organisational silence.
Originality/value
Although leadership and culture have been studied intensively in recent years, authoritarian leadership, which is more commonly seen in Eastern societies, has been less studied in school contexts in the Middle East and Asia. Thus, this study contributes to the literature by examining the factors that might influence affective commitment in schools in an urban setting: authoritarian leadership, silence and trust in school principals.
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James Ko, Yin Cheong Cheng and Theodore Tai Hoi Lee
The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of school autonomy and accountability and related multiple changes and impacts in key areas of school education in Hong Kong…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of school autonomy and accountability and related multiple changes and impacts in key areas of school education in Hong Kong since implementing school-based management (SBM) from 1990s.
Design/methodology/approach
To explore the evolution and the uniqueness of autonomy and accountability in the Hong Kong school system, the paper begins with an historical account, followed by an evaluation of the effects of SBM as shown in policy documents, local research, international reviews and illustrative findings from a case study. The local and international implications of SBM for research and practice are then discussed.
Findings
This paper shows the links between school autonomy and accountability by exploring the potential effects of both of these factors on educational management and student achievement, which are increasingly emphasised in educational policies. The investigation shows that the assumed links and effects are not always consistent or empirically supported. The positive effects that school autonomy has on school governance and management, teachers’ work, school-based curriculums and student learning are all significant when there is also strong leadership, comprehensive continuous professional development and a positive, collaborative school climate. These key elements work alongside school autonomy to facilitate positive change.
Research limitations/implications
School autonomy and accountability should be viewed as necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for school improvement and development. Further characterisation of the processes happening in schools is needed to explore the different realisations of school autonomy and accountability.
Originality/value
This investigation of school autonomy and accountability in Hong Kong provides the international audience with a deeper understanding of the dynamics involved in the development of SBM.
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Lei Mee Thien, Igusti Ngurah Darmawan and Donnie Adams
This study aims to investigate the direct and indirect relationships among principal instructional leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and teacher commitment using multilevel…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the direct and indirect relationships among principal instructional leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and teacher commitment using multilevel analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed quantitative cross-sectional research design. Data were collected from 1,328 teachers selected from 71 Malaysian primary schools.
Findings
The direct relationship between instructional leadership and teacher commitment was significant at the school level. Similarly, instructional leadership exhibits a significant direct effect on collective teacher efficacy. Collective teacher efficacy also has a significant direct effect on teacher commitment. The results also indicate a significant indirect effect at school level between instructional leadership and teacher commitment through collective teacher efficacy.
Research limitations/implications
The multilevel analysis among instructional leadership, collective teacher efficacy, and teacher commitment warrant further investigations with larger sample sizes at both group and individual levels.
Originality/value
This study supplements previous findings by contributing more rigorous empirical evidence using multilevel analysis. The findings extend current knowledge in the principal instructional leadership literature in the context of a Southeast Asian country.
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Barrie O. Pettman and Richard Dobbins
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
Abstract
This issue is a selected bibliography covering the subject of leadership.
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Ping‐Man Wong and Alan Chi‐Keung Cheung
To cope with the challenges of the twenty‐first century, the Hong Kong SAR government initiated the Curriculum Reform in 2001. In 2006, a research team from a tertiary institution…
Abstract
Purpose
To cope with the challenges of the twenty‐first century, the Hong Kong SAR government initiated the Curriculum Reform in 2001. In 2006, a research team from a tertiary institution was commissioned to review the progress of change for smooth implementation of the reform in its next phase. This paper aims to examine this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The nature of the review is basically a survey, applying questionnaires and follow‐up focus‐group interviews to collect data from different groups of subjects. The sample was around 20 per cent of the population, i.e. a total of 252 primary (n=138) and secondary (n=114) schools.
Findings
The paper reports findings on the support for the Reform by primary and secondary schools. Five areas of agreement among school heads are examined, which include challenges to be met, guiding principles of the reform, learning goals, reform framework and the overall agreement with the rationale of the reform. It is found that, while the curriculum reform was supported among school heads, senior teachers and teachers, there was a gap between the views of senior management team and frontier teachers.
Research limitations/implications
This is a very comprehensive research project with a limited timeframe. The paper can only report and discuss findings mainly on the support for curriculum reform by school heads. Other aspects of the study will be discussed and reported separately in subsequent papers.
Practical implications
The gap between the views of senior management team and frontier teachers is worth probing as this is the most obstructive factor to the implementation of the reform. Identifying the cause would be the first step in formulating strategies to address and, hopefully, to facilitate the smooth transition from the phase of implementation to the continuation phase of the change process.
Originality/value
The study has suggested the development of a two‐dimensional framework of agreement areas and stakeholders which will contribute to a better understanding of the change process in general, and achievements of a curriculum reform in particular. Other issues are also discussed.
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The purpose of the study was to investigate to what extent Papua New Guinea (PNG) high school principals engage in tasks which constitute instructional leadership. The major…
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate to what extent Papua New Guinea (PNG) high school principals engage in tasks which constitute instructional leadership. The major finding of the study was that the principals did engage in tasks which constitute instructional leadership, but the results indicated that their involvement in performing the five major functions were to a lesser degree than was deemed desirable and expected by the principals and teachers surveyed. This paper calls on the education authorities in PNG to re‐examine the selection, promotion, training and staff development opportunities for principals in order to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of principals in their jobs. With the challenges and demands of the changing educational environment in PNG now, more effective principals equipped with leadership and organizational knowledge and skills are required to lead schools.
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Payal Sharma and Jagwinder Singh Pandher
This study aims to identify various teachers’ professional activities (TPAs) and classify these TPAs according to their relative importance for the professional development of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify various teachers’ professional activities (TPAs) and classify these TPAs according to their relative importance for the professional development of teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
The systematic review of the literature had been conducted to identify various TPAs in the institutions. Later, an empirical research had been conducted through confirmatory factor analysis using AMOS 20.0 to classify these TPAs according to their relative importance using the natural gap in standardized beta (β) values. In total, 96 administrators of 35 technical institutions of Punjab (India) offering engineering and management programs and 93 veteran educational experts had responded in a field survey.
Findings
The results of the study identified eight TPAs and further revealed that “regular self-assessment,” “adopting a creative problem-solving approach” and “developing deep commitment to make the difference” qualify among the “most important” activities for the professional enhancement of the faculty.
Originality/value
The study highlights different TPAs that they must establish, raise, promote, encourage and organize for their development. The study further classifies different activities according to their relative importance. The institute can evaluate their resources, budgets and efforts according to the relative importance of such activities. The classification of TPAs would help faculty to increase their efficacy.
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Faranak Joolideh and K. Yeshodhara
This paper aims to investigate the organizational commitment of teachers in India and Iran. It is an attempt to understand how these perceptions vary by demographic variables such…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the organizational commitment of teachers in India and Iran. It is an attempt to understand how these perceptions vary by demographic variables such as age and subject taught by teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 721 high school teachers in Bangalore (India) and Sanandaj (Iran). They were asked to responsed to the Meyer and Allen questionnaire. Data were analyzed via SPSS version 11.0.
Findings
Results revealed that Indian teachers had better organizational commitment in the affective and normative components and Iranian teachers were found to have better organizational commitment in the continuance component. In both countries age groups and subject taught by teachers did not have any influence over their organizational commitment.
Research limitations/implications
This research was limited by the relatively restricted sample of high school teachers in both countries. Future research should test initially confirmed associations in different school contexts with substantially dissimilar teacher demographics, and include consideration of dispositional antecedents that may affect teacher perceptions.
Originality/value
This is the only study comparing Indian and Iranian organizational commitment in schools. The study provides an initial understanding of the possible effect of cultures on the organizational commitment of teachers in two different countries.
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