Date of Award

1998

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

First Advisor

Richard W. Fossey

Abstract

Principal leadership has been identified to be a crucial factor in the success of a school. One measure of school success is student academic achievement. Effective school literature suggests that there exist a relationship between principal leadership and student academic achievement. Thus, this study explored the relationship between principal leadership style (transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire) and student academic achievement in the Philippines. Three control variables were considered in examining this relationship and these were teacher educational background, student population, and student socio-economic status (SES). This study was conducted in thirty-six elementary public schools in the Philippines. The revised Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire - 5R (MLQ - 5R) measured the principal leadership style while the National Elementary Assessment Test (NEAT) of grade six students measured student academic achievement. The revised MLQ - 5R measures four transformational leadership (charisma, inspiration, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration), two components of transactional leadership (contingent reward and management-by-exception), and laissez-faire. There were four research questions posited in this study: (1) What leadership style best describe the school principals in the Philippines? (2) Is there a significant difference between teachers and principals with respect to their perceptions of the leadership style of school principals in the Philippines? (3) Is there a significant relationship between principal leadership style and student academic achievement in the Philippines? (4) What principal leadership style can be considered to be a relatively important predictor of student academic achievement in the Philippines? To answer these questions, the statistical analyses used to analyze the data were Pearson-product moment correlation, Cronbach's coefficient alpha, descriptive statistics, MANOVA, paired-samples t-test, and multiple linear regression. Results showed that the elementary school principals in the Philippines were described as transformational leaders by their teachers. With respect to teacher and principal perceptions, teachers and principals were found to be different; Principal ratings were higher than teacher ratings. Results also showed that principal leadership style, teacher educational background, grade six student population, and grade six student SES were not significantly related and not significant predictors of student academic achievement in the Philippines.

ISBN

9780591997774

Pages

130

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_disstheses.6734

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