Principal Leadership Style and Teacher Commitment among a Sample of Secondary School Teachers in Barbados
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18533/journal.v4i5.706Keywords:
Barbados, teacher commitment, principal leadership style, sex.Abstract
In Barbados, the issue of principal leadership and teacher productivity has occupied the attention of teacher unions and educational authorities alike. The teachers have been calling for principals to be removed while the principals have been arguing for greater autonomy to discipline teachers. This state of affairs has, understandably, adversely impacted teacher commitment levels. In the literature there is a clear correlation between principal leadership style and teacher commitment, however, it is important to know whether or not the relationship holds true in the context of Barbadian schools. This author is of the view that if teacher commitment levels are to return to those in evidence in effective schools, then attention must be given to the way in which principals exercise their leadership functions. This study was therefore designed to examine in greater detail the relationship between principal leadership style and teacher commitment. The author employed purposive sampling to survey a cohort of ninety (90) teachers and eleven (11) principals drawn from eleven secondary schools. Results confirmed the relationship between principal leadership style and teacher commitment, and a statistically significant difference in the level of commitment reported by teachers at newer secondary schools and teachers at older secondary schools. Results also indicated that biographical variables moderated the relationship between principal leadership style and teacher commitment. Additionally, the regression model indicated that the principal leadership style sub-variables, in combination, accounted for some variance in the commitment demonstrated by teachers.
References
Batt, R. & Valcour, P.M. (2003). Human resources practices as predictors of work-family outcomes and employee turnover, Industrial Relations, 42(2), 189-220.
Bentley, R. & Rempel, A. (1980). Manual for the Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire (2nd ed) West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University, Centre for Instructional Services.
Best, J., & Khan, J. (2006). Research in education (10th ed.) Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Blumer, H. (1969) Symbolic interactionism: perspective and method. Prentice Hall Englewood Cliffs NJ.
Brown, K. & Wynn, R. (2009). Finding, supporting, and keeping: The role of the principal in teacher retention issues. Leadership and Policy in schools, 8, 37-63.doi:10.1080/15700760701817371.
Brunetti, G. (2001). Why do they teach? A study of job satisfaction among long-term high school teachers. Teacher Education Quarterly, 28(3), 49-74.
Buchanan, B. (1974). Building organizational commitment: The socialization of managers in work organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19, 533-546.
Coladarci, T. (1992). Teachers’ sense of efficacy and commitment to teaching. Journal of Experimental Education, 60, 323-337.
Collie, R., Shapka, J., & Perry, N. (2011). Predicting teacher commitment: The impact of school climate and social-emotional learning. Psychology in the schools, 48(10), 1034-1048. doi:10.1002/pits.20611.
Devos, G., Tuytens, M., & Hulpia, H. (2014). Teachers’ organizational commitment: Examining the mediating effects of distributed leadership, American Journal of Education, 120, 205-231.
Elliott, B. & Crosswell, L. (2001). Commitment to teaching. Australian perspectives on the interplays of the professional and the personal in teacher lives. Paper presented at the international symposium on teacher commitment at the European Conference on Education Research. Lille. France.
Firestone, W .A. & Rosenblum, S. (1988). Building commitment in urban high schools. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 10, 285-289.
Firestone, W. & Pennel, J.R. (1993, Winter). Teacher commitment, working conditions and differential incentive polices. Review of educational research, 63 (4), 489-525.
Gall, M., Borg, W., & Gall, J. (1996). Educational research an introduction (6th ed.). Longman Publishers USA.
Gay, l., Mills, G., & Airasian, P. (2005). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and application (8th ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Griffin, E. (1997). A first look at communication theory. New York: The MC Graw Hill Companies.
Henriques, P. A. (1996). Teacher attrition and staff turnover: A study of four parishes in Eastern Jamaica.
(Unpublished dissertation). University of the West Indies, Cave Hill.
Horng, E., Klasik, D., & Loeb, S. (2010). Principals’ time use and school effectiveness, American Journal of Education, 116 (4), 491-523.
Hoy, A., Hoy, W., & Kurz, N. (2008). Teachers’ academic optimism, the development and test of a new construct. Teacher and Teacher Education, 24, 821-835.
Ibrahim, M., Ghavifekr, S., Ling, S., Siraj, S., & Azeez, M. (2013). Can transformational leadership influence teachers’ commitment towards organization, teaching profession, and student learning? A quantitative analysis. Asia Pacific Education Review. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s/2564-013-9308-3
James-Thomas, A. (1998) Relationship among selected teacher factors and St. Vincent teachers levels of job satisfaction. Unpublished Thesis UWI Mona, Jamaica.
John, M. C., & Taylor, J. W. (1999, April). Leadership style, school climate, and the institutional commitment of teachers. International Forum, 2 (1), 25-57.
Johnson, S.M. (2004) Finders and keepers: helping new teachers survive and thrive in our schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Jones, B. A. (1988). Principals’ leadership style: its expression on teachers’ job satisfaction. (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation) University of the West Indies, Cave Hill.
Kardos, S. (2003) Integrated professional culture: Exploring New teachers experiences in four states. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.
Kelley, R. (2005). Relationships between measures of leadership and school climate. Project Innovation Inc. Proquest Innovation and Learning Company.
Leithwood, K. A., Jantzi, D., & Steinbach, R. (1999). Changing leadership for changing times. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
Leithwood, K.A. & Riehl, C. (2003). What do we already know about successful school leadership? A.E.R.A. Paper Task Force on Developing Research in Educational Leadership.
Litt, M.D. & Turk, D.C. (1985). Sources of stress and dissatisfaction in experienced high school teachers. Journal of Educational Research, 78, 178-185.
Louis, K. (1998). Effects of teacher quality of work life in secondary schools on commitment and sense of efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 9, 1-27.
Lumenberg, F. C., & Orstein, A. C. (1991). Educational administration: concepts and practices. California: Wadsworth.
Ma, X., MacMillan, R. B. (1999, September/October). Influences of workplace conditions on teachers’ job satisfaction. Journal of Educational Research, 93 (1).
Marlow, L. Inmar, D., & Bentacourt-Smith, M. (1996). Teacher job satisfaction.
Mbwiria, K.N. (2010). Influence of principal leadership styles on teachers’ career commitment in secondary schools in Imenti South District in Kenya. Unpublished Thesis, Chuka University College, November, 2010.
Marshall, I. (2014). Principal leadership style and teacher satisfaction among a sample of secondary school teachers in Barbados. Caribbean Educational Research Journal, 2(2), 105-116.
Mathieu, J., & Zajac, D. (1990). “A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment. Psychological Bulletin, 108(2), 171-194.
Maehr, M., Smith, J., & Midgley, C. (1990). Teacher commitment and job satisfaction. Retrieved May 05, 2015 from files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED327651.pdf.
Mead, G.H. (1934). Mind, self and society. University of Chicago Press, Chicago I.L.
Meyer, J., & Allen, N. (1991). A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61-98.
Mowday, R., Porter, L., & Steers, R. (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover. New York, NY: Academic Press.
Nguni, S., Sleegers, P., & Denessen, E. (2006). Transformational and transactional leadership effects on teachers’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and organizational citizenship behaviour in primary schools: The Tanzanian case. School Effectiveness and School Improvement. 17(2), 145-177.
Nir, A. (2002). School-based management and its effect on teacher commitment. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 5, 323-341.
Park, I. (2005). Teacher commitment and its effects on student achievement in American high schools. Educational Research and Evaluation, 11(5), 461-485.
Persico, M. (2001). Exploring the relationship between the perceived leadership style of secondary principals and the professional development practices of their teachers. Retrieved February 10, 2005. International Leadership Association. Web site:
Pithers, R. T. & Soden, R. (1998). Scottish and Australian teacher stress and strain: a comparative study. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 269-279.
Reyes, P., & Shin, H. S. (1995, January). Teacher commitment and job satisfaction: a causal analysis. Journal of school leadership, 5(1), 22-39.
Riehl, C., & Sipple, J.W. (1996, Winter). Making the most of time and talent: secondary school organizational climates, teaching tasks environments, and teacher commitment: American Educational Research Journal, 33 (4), 873-901.
Ross, J.A., & Gray, P. (2006). Transformational leadership and teacher commitment to organizational values: The mediating effects of collective teacher efficacy. School effectiveness and school improvement, 17 (2), 179-199.
Rutter, M., Maughn, B., Mortimore, P., Ouston, J., & Smith, A. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.
Sammons, P., Day, C., Kingston, A., Gu, Q., Stobart, G., & Smees, R. (2007). Exploring variations in teachers’ work, lives and their effects on pupils: key findings and implications from a longitudinal mixed method study. British Educational Research Journal, 33(5), 681-701.
Simmonds, A. (1994) Teachers’ perceived leadership behaviour of principals ’and teachers’ performance in a sample of all age schools in rural and urban Jamaica. Unpublished thesis. University of the West Indies.
Sinclair, K. (1992) Morale satisfaction and stress in schools. In C. Turney, N. Hatton, K. Laws, K. Sinclair, and D. Smith. The School Manager. Sydney: Allen and Unwin
Smith, T. & Ingersoll, R. (2004). Reducing teacher turnover: What are the components of effective induction? American Educational Research Journal, 41(3), 687-714.
Somech, A., Bogler, R. (2002). Antecedents and consequences of teacher organizational commitment and professional commitment. Educational Administration Quarterly, 38 (4), 555-577.
Supersad, C. (1993) Participative decision making and its relationship to commitment, efficacy, and morale among secondary school teachers. Unpublished dissertation.
Thien, L., Razak, N., & Ramayah, T. (2014). Validating teacher commitment scale using a Malaysian sample. SAGE Open, April-June 2014: 1-9. DOI: 10.1177/2158244014536744, sgo.sagepub.com.
Turney, C., Hatton, N., Laws, K., Sinclair, K., Smith, D. (1992). The school Manager. New York: Allen and Unwin.
Wynn, S. & Patall, E. (2006). Mentoring, school climate and principal leadership: Connections to teacher retention. Unpublished findings.
Wynn, S., Carboni Wilson, L., & Patall, E. (2005). Beginning teachers’ perceptions of mentoring, climate and leadership: Promoting retention through a learning communities’ perspective. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.
Yavuz, E. (2008). Analysis of transformational and transactional leadership behaviours on organizational commitment (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Gazi University, Ankara.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
