Relationship between school culture, sources of leadership efficacy and collective leadership among secondary school teachers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This study examined the relationship between school culture, sources of leadership efficacy and collective leadership among secondary school teachers in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. It is imperative to determine factors predicting collective leadership among secondary school teachers due to its implications on professionalism in the teaching community. Traditional models of leadership highlight skills and capabilities of an individual but to effectively address the challenges teachers face in schools, we need to move beyond focusing on the individual toward a collective. Studies on collective leadership in the Malaysian context is yet to be done and studying leadership in urban schools under high-accountability conditions measuring the teachers’ ability to cope in extraordinary conditions, is a worthy effort. The theoretical underpinning of this study was established from Rowan’s Conception of Organic Management, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory and McClelland’s Human Motivation Theory. This is a descriptive correlational study, conducted in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, covering districts of Bangsar/Pudu, Sentul and Keramat. The instrument for data collection was a survey in the form of a structured questionnaire, adapted from Leithwood (2012), Usher (2005) and Edward, Gruenert & Valentine (1998) from previously validated studies. A pilot study was conducted on a sample of 30 teachers where an average Cronbach Alpha reliability of 0.7 was obtained on the instrument. In the actual study conducted on 402 teachers, the reliability coefficient ranged from 0.81 to 0.94. The study was analyzed using SPSS version 23. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics tabulating mean, standard deviation, percentage, frequencies and Pearson correlation analysis as well as multiple regression, accordingly. This study discovered that the level of collective leadership (M=3.85, SD=0.38), sources of leadership efficacy (M=3.69, SD=0.45) and school culture (M=3.72, SD=0.46) in secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur is high. In addition, sources of leadership efficacy (r = 0.517, p < .01) and school culture (r = 0.538, p< .01) were positively significantly correlated with collective leadership. From the regression analysis, it is was found that both variables were significantly found to predict collective leadership. Since the two variables values are positive, this indicates that there are positive relationships between the variables and outcome, Ŷ = 0.332 x 1 + 0.372 x 2 + 1.672. Results revealed that collective leadership reaffirms the idea that having the influence of many individuals, albeit with different strengths and expertise, will not in any way compromise the initiatives and accountability of teachers, but amplify them. In addition, collective and collaborative ways increased teacher motivation and enhanced job satisfaction which lead to the development of stronger beliefs in the teachers’ own abilities. The findings of this study would inform transpiring policy and practice that inclusion of teachers in leadership roles is pertinent in the element of success in schools

Collective leadership among Malaysian secondary school teachers

To date the increasing trend in the teaching fraternity is moving towards one where members of an educational institution play a managerial role. The term given to this style of leading is collective leadership and it is given immense importance in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 which states that the system is moving towards having every participating member in a school to have greater share in decision making. This paper studies collective leadership by demography on Malaysian secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. The results show that there is no significant difference between gender as well as subjects and collective leadership, nonetheless, teachers with higher education and those who taught lower secondary levels had higher efficacy in collective leadership

Collective leadership among secondary school teachers

To date the increasing trend in the teaching fraternity is moving towards one where members of an educational institution play a managerial role. The term given to this style of leading is collective leadership and it is given immense importance in the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025 which states that the system is moving towards having every participating member in a school to have greater share in decision making. This paper studies collective leadership by demography on Malaysian secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. The results show that there is no significant difference between gender as well as subjects and collective leadership, nonetheless, teachers with higher education and those who taught lower secondary levels had higher efficacy in collective leadership

Predictor factors for collective leadership: a case of secondary schools

The purpose of this paper was to study the factors predicting collective leadership in Malaysian secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. The survey method is used to measure the variables, which influences collective leadership practices among 402 respondents from 103 government secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur. The findings utilized the inferential analysis – regression. The results show that school culture and sources of leadership efficacy are predictors for collective leadership. This Study focused on teachers from secondary government schools therefore results of this study cannot be projected liberally. The findings of the study supports the social exchange theory, which explains the relationship between the variables, studied. In addition, the findings of the research collaborate with Bandura’s (1986) theory with leadership elements. This paper introduces a new paradigm in research into sources of leadership efficacy and the concept of collective leadership