THE ROLE OF TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN INFLUENCING STUDENTS’ OUTCOMES IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KUWAIT
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
BY
FRAIH AL-FRAIH
(Student number: 0625637)
Brunel University
West London
January, 2014
2
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the role of transformational leadership in influencing students’ outcomes in public secondary schools using Kuwait as a case study. The standard of academic achievement in Kuwait’s public schools has been declining over the years, which calls for a different type of leadership to transform these schools. It is argued in this thesis that there is merit in bringing in private sector business models to the public education sector in order to transform the sector and improve the schools’ outcomes. Furthermore, not much research has been undertaken on the paths through which transformational leadership influences public school outcomes in developing countries such as Kuwait.
Following a critical review of leadership literature, a theoretical model for leadership that is transformational was conceptualised and this formed the basis of hypotheses formation and data collection. The thesis is thus original in its attempt to understand the paths through which school heads’ transformational leadership influence student’s outcomes in public secondary schools in a developing country (Kuwait).
The study adopted a positivist ontology and objective epistemology and obtained data from 495 school heads and staff from 86 public secondary schools in Kuwait via a structured questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation models (SEM) tested the direct and indirect effects of school heads’ transformational leadership in influencing students’ outcomes the student “achievement” and the student “engagement” via several mediating variables including “school culture”, “class room condition” and “academic emphasis”. The analysis identified idealized influence (attributes) and idealized influence (behaviour) as the underlying dimensions of transformational leadership that directly and indirectly influences both student engagement and student achievement as the final outcome. The findings also confirmed differences between males and females in their leadership styles and subsequent influence on students’ achievement, and student engagement with the latter appearing to be better school heads. Therefore, two structure equation models were built to investigate the characteristics of each gender leadership style on the outcome variables. The findings also revealed that males’ leadership style has significant effect on student achievement but not student on engagement, while female leader ship style has significant effect on both student achievement and student engagement stronger than the males’ effect counterpart. Generally however, transformational leadership style has significant effect on both student achievement and student engagement.
The study objectives were met and the study contributes to understanding the role of transformational leadership and its influence on staff and students’ achievement, from a developing country in the GCC. Managerial recommendations and suggestions for policy makers are made. Study limitations are highlighted leading to suggestions for further study.
Key words: Transformational Leadership, Public Schools, Secondary Schools, Student Outcomes, Structural Equation Modelling, Kuwait.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ii
LIST OF TABLES ix
LIST OF FIGURES xi
ABBREVIATIONS xii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT xiv
DECLARATION xv
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 The notion of leadership 3
1.3 Background 5
1.4 Study rationale 9
1.5 Aims and objectives 10
1.6 Research questions 11
1.7 Thesis structure 14
1.8 Chapter conclusion 16
CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND STUDY CONTEXT 17
2.1 Introduction 17
2.2 Academic public school deficiencies 17
2.3 Historical review 19
2.4 Kuwaiti education 21
2.5 Higher education in Kuwait Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.6 Private schools 22
2.7 Relationship between economic growth and education 22
2.8 Teachers in Kuwait 25
2.9 School management and hierarchy 31
2.10 Chapter conclusion 31
CHAPTER 3: LEADERSHIP LITERATURE REVIEW 33
3.1 Introduction 33
3.2 Meaning of transformational leadership 36
3.3 Comparing leadership with management 39
3.4 Evolution of leadership theory 42
3.4.1 Traits 42
3.4.2 Styles 43
3.4.3 Situational theories 45
3.4.4 Charismatic 46
3.4.5 Transactional 47
3.4.6 Distributed 48
3.5 Transformational leadership 52
3.5.1 Components of transformational leadership 55
3.5.2 School context 59
3.6 Role of transformational leadership in the education system 60
3.6.1 Transformational leadership, and purposes and goals 62
3.6.2 Transformational leadership and structure and social networks 64
3.6.3 Transformational leadership and organisational culture 65
3.6.4 Transformational leadership and organisational matters 66
3.6.5 Transformational leadership and teacher efficacy 67
3.7.6 Transformational leadership and student achievement and engagement 69
3.7 Critique of principals as transformational leaders 71
3.8 Personal moderators 72
3.9 Literature synthesis and transformational leadership conceptual framework 73
3.10 Crystallisation of the major research question and hypotheses 79
3.11 Chapter conclusion 81
CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 83
4.1 Introduction 83
4.2 Research objectives 83
4.3 Summary of research hypotheses Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.4 Social science research paradigm 85
4.4.1 Ontological assumptions 86
4.4.2 Epistemological assumptions 88
4.4.3 Axiological assumptions 90
4.4.4 Methodological approach adopted in this research 90
4.5 Research design 92
4.5.1 Unit of analysis 93
4.5.2 Research approach 93
4.5.3 Research purpose 94
4.5.4 The design of the questionnaire 96
4.5.5 Pilot study 99
4.5.6 Sampling and data collection 100
4.6 Data analysis procedure 101
4.7 Validity and reliability 101
4.8 Values and ethics 102
4.9 Chapter conclusion 104
CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS AND DATA ANALYSIS 105
5.1 Introduction 105
5.2 Population and sample 105
5.2.1 Gender 106
5.2.2 Age 107
5.2.3 Experience 108
5.2.4 Qualifications 108
5.2.5 Position 109
5.2.6 School size 109
5.3 Factor analysis 110
5.4 Descriptive analysis 114
5.5 Testing research variables against demographic characteristics 115
5.5.1 Testing against gender 115
5.5.2 Testing against age 116
5.5.3 Testing against experience 118
5.5.4 Testing against educational level 120
5.5.5 Testing against position 121
5.5.6 Testing against school size 122
5.6 Modelling the relationship between research and outcome variables 123
5.7 The Conceptual Model 128
5.7.1 Male model path analysis and assertion of proposed hypotheses 130
5.7.2 Testing the research hypotheses regarding the total effects of male model 140
5.7.3 Female model path analysis and assertion of proposed hypotheses 141
5.7.4 Testing the research hypotheses regarding the total effects of female model 144
5.7.5 The whole sample model 146
5.7.6 Direct and indirect effects of the whole sample model 147
5.8 Summary of findings 152
5.9 Chapter conclusion 153
CHAPTER 6: DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 155
6.1 Introduction 155
6.2 Adopting management models to the public sector 155
6.3 Mediating and moderating variables 157
6.4 General discussion of descriptive findings 158
6.5 Transformational leadership 159
6.6 Indirect effects of leadership 162
6.6.1 Classroom conditions 164
6.6.2 School culture 166
6.6.3 Academic emphasis 168
6.7 Direct effects 169
6.8 Gender differences in leadership style 170
6.9 Context 173
6.10 Conclusion 175
CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 177
7.1 Introduction 177
7.2 Study objectives 177
7.3 Transformational leadership 178
7.4 Methodological issues and generalisation 181
7.5 Knowledge contribution 182
7.6 Policy recommendations 184
7.7 Managerial recommendations 186
7.8 Limitations of research 187
7.9 Areas for future research 187
REFERENCES 190
APPENDIX ONE: COVERING LETTER 209
APPENDIX TWO: QUESTIONNAIRE 210
LIST OF TABLES
Table 2.1: The areas under each governmental directorate in Kuwait 29
Table 2.2: Components of Kuwaiti education system 30
Table 3.1: Differences between management and leadership 40
Table 5.1: Gender 107
Table 5.2: Age profile 107
Table 5.3: Experience 108
Table 5.4: Qualifications 109
Table 5.5: Position 109
Table 5.6: School size 110
Table 5.7: Factor analysis 113
Table 5.8: Descriptive statistics 114
Table 5.9: Mann-Whitney test - gender 116
Table 5.10: Mann-Whitney test - age 117
Table 5.11: Kruskal-Wallis test - experience 120
Table 5.12: Kruskal-Wallis test - education 121
Table 5.13: Kruskal-Wallis test - position 122
Table 5.14: Kruskal-Wallis test - school size 122
Table 5.15: Multivariate analysis 125
Table 5.16: Tests between subjects effects 127
Table 5.17: Correlation matrix between latent constructs - male model 130
Table 5.18: Construct reliability and extracted variance - male model (1) 136
Table 5.19: Construct reliability and extracted variance - male model (2) 138
Table 5.20: Path analysis and verification of proposed hypotheses - male model 138
Table 5.21: Total effects - male model 139
Table 5.22: Correlation matrix between latent constructs - female model 142
Table 5.23: Construct reliability and extracted variance – female model 143
Table 5.24: Path analysis and verification of proposed hypotheses - female model 144
Table 5.25: Total effects - female model 145
Table 5.26: Correlation structure between latent constructs 147
Table 5.27: Path analysis - whole sample model 148
Table 5.28: Hypotheses testing - whole sample 149
Table 5.29: Whole sample construct reliability and extracted variance 150
Table 5.30: Summary comparison of findings 152
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1: Transformational leadership conceptual framework 78
Figure 5.1: The conceptual model 130
Figure 5.2: Model fitting (male’s perceptions) 137
Figure 5.3: Model fitting (female’s perceptions) 143
Figure 5.4: The whole sample model 147
ABBREVIATIONS
ABEGS / Arab Bureau for Education in the Gulf StatesAE / Academic Emphasis
AGFI / Adjusted Goodness of Fit Index
CC / Classroom Conditions
CFA / Confirmatory Factor Analysis
CFI / Comparative Fit Index
CN / Critical N (statistical analysis)
CTE / Collective Teacher Efficacy
FDI / Foreign Direct Investment
GCC / Gulf Cooperation Council
GDP / Gross Domestic Product
GFI / Goodness of Fit Index
GLM / Generalised Linear Model
IFI / Incremental Fit Index
KMO / Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value
LISREL / Linear Structural Relationships version 8.5 (statistical analysis software)
LOLSO / Leadership for Organizational Learning and Student Outcomes
MLQ / Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire
NCSL / National College for School Leadership
NFI / Normed Fit Index
NNFI / Non-Normed Fit Index
NS / Non-Significant (statistical analysis)
PNFI / Parsimony Normed Fit Index
RFI / Relative Fit Index
RMR / Root Mean Square Residual
S / Significant (statistical analysis)
SA / Student Achievement
SC / School Culture
SD / Standard Deviation
SE / Student Engagement
SEM / Structural Equation Modelling
SI / Staff Influence
SP / School Path
SPSS / Statistical Product and Service Solutions
SRMR / Standardized Root Mean Square Residual
TIMSS / Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
TL / Transformational Leadership
TS / Transformational School
UN / United Nations
UNESCO / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank the ALMIGHTY GOD for giving me the strength and spirit to persevere during the past four years. It is because of GOD’s will that I have managed to successfully complete my studies.
The work would not have been completed were it not for the support I received from my supervisor, Dr. Maged Ali and Dr.Jamal Alzayer
I would also like to extend my gratitude to both faculty and staff members of the Brunel and Ahlia Universities for giving me this opportunity to conduct my research in an area that is important to me and to Kuwait. I particular I would like to thank Dr.Tillal Eldabi for his encouragement and support throughout this journey.
The school headmasters and staff in the Kuwait public secondary schools were very cooperative and constructive in supporting this research and they need to be commended for that and for providing the data that forms the basis of this thesis.
Finally, my gratitude is extended to my wife, children and family; they were very loving and understanding even though I was prevented from spending as much time as I would wish with them while conducting this study.
DECLARATION
Unless otherwise stated and duly referenced, this thesis is the original work of the author.
Signed…………………
Date: …………………
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Human resource management, and in particular the notion of leadership, is not well developed and understood in many developing countries (Wood et al., 2004),including Kuwait. The concept of leadership is yet to be explored thoroughly and to be utilized as a key success factor for organisations in such countries, yet it is essential to the future of Gulf Cooperation Council countries such as Kuwait if they are to compete in a globalized world and wean themselves off dependency on oil revenues. This study critically examines the role of school heads’ transformational leadership practices in public school outcomes in Kuwait, leading to a conceptualization of a theoretical framework. There is keen interest in the links between leadership and student outcomes because of the belief that leaders play a vital role in improving students’ outcomes (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2001). Sufficient evidence is available that school leaders are capable of having significant positive effects on student learning and other important outcomes (Silins and Mulford, 2002; Waters et al., 2003; Leithwood et al., 2004; Robinson et al., 2009). Leithwood et al. (2004) reviewed both quantitative and qualitative research on school leadership and concluded that leadership is second only to classroom instruction among school-related factors in influencing student learning.
Research has moved on to include questions about how those effects occur and the paths through which such leadership practices occur (Leithwood et al., 2010), which forms the basis of this study. Identification of these mediators helps leaders in knowing and deciding where policy makers and educators can best focus their efforts.
Several orientations toward studying the role of public school principals have evolved over time, with earlier studies generally describing the nature of the principal’s position and work (Crowson and Porter-Gehrie, 1980; Kmetz and Willower, 1981). However, these studies did not link leadership to other processes and outcomes such as students’ achievements, nor did they examine the mechanisms through which transformational leadership works in a school context, which this thesis seeks to address. The field of leadership in public schools has thus remained ill understood. This may be due to the different methodological approaches adopted, the complexity of the organisational situation, and different contexts.
Whilst a majority of leadership studies have focused on individual leader’s behaviour and effectiveness (Yukl, 2002), there is still a growing interest in understanding whether transformational leadership may be a viable and effective leadership for school principals (Al-Ghanim, 2007). Transformationalleadershipenhances the motivation, morale, andjob performanceof followers through a variety of mechanisms. These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the project and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that enhance their performance (WIKIPEDIA).There is therefore a need to search for greater understanding of the relationship between school principals’ leadership styles and various public schools’ learning outcomes (teachers’ motivation and performance, pupils’ achievement, etc.).It is of particular importance to determine the paths through which transformational leadership influences students’ outcomes, as this is an area that has not been well studied (Bruggencate et al., 2012).