Effects of Leadership on School Performance: Comparison between Perceptions of Teachers and Head Teachers of Special and Regular Schools

Effects of Leadership on School Performance: Comparison between Perceptions of Teachers and Head Teachers of Special and Regular Schools Vol. IV, No. IV (Fall 2019) 309 help establish the criteria for the selection of headteachers, designing professional development programs for the leadership at school level and in designing job description and performance appraisal for headteachers . Review of Literature Generally, educational leadership is considered as an important tool for enhancing the performance of school(s). Educational and/ or instructional leadership has to play different roles including coordinating, controlling & supervising the school’s activities along with developing and implementing curricula and designing instruction (Hallinger, 2003) or instructional strategies. In educational institutions particularly, in schools, the bureaucratic style of leadership provides instructions on performing tasks for achieving the desired or anticipated results and/ or goals (Sergiovanni, 1998). Visionary leadership envisions the school performance through the inspiration for a change in school (Bush & Glover, 2003) culture and environment. The transformational style of leadership emphasizes on "transforming" the team members to assist each other and contribute to the organization completely (Memon, 1999). A concept of leadership style is an extension of understanding leadership behaviors and it is important to study leadership styles because of its importance for the success of any institution (Subramaniam, 2011). In an Autocratic or authoritarian style, the leader is assertive and makes all the decisions (Dinham, 2005: 352) whereas in democratic or participative style the team members participate in decision-making (Adeyemi, 2007). The laissez-faire or freerein style abdicates the responsibility to lead that is there is a lack of leadership (Hood, 2003). There are various research studies conducted in Pakistan about the school leadership e.g., Khaki and Safdar (2010) argued about the ability and skills of headteachers whereas Shafa (2010) highlighted continuous support of management to headteachers. Simkins, Sisum and Memon (2003) talked about the hierarchical system and Memon and Bana (2005) shed light on leadership styles. Different qualities and characteristics of appearing to be associated with educational leaders including effective teaching and learning (Ofsted, 2008) which seems to be an important factor of the school’s success, besides having knowledge of adult development and awareness about the theories and research on teaching and learning (Sherrill, 1999) process. Matthews (2007) in a study presented the perception of staff about the qualities and characteristics of educational leaders including having vision, coaching and encouraging initiative, motivating, rewarding and valuing staff, effective communicator, role model, building teams and empowering them, involving community in school affairs, supporting professional development, innovative and enthusiastic, decision making through consultation, and quality conscious in every action and task. DiRanna and Loucks-Horsley (2001) mentioned the ability in organization design, public relations and knowledge about change theory, as the important role of school leaders. Lambert (2005) noted teachers assuming more responsibility for school effectiveness, McMahon (2001) argued about creating a supportive climate and Collinson and Cook (2003) talked about innovation under effective leadership. The reciprocal relationship of principals with teachers (Clement & Vandenberghe, 2001), sharing knowledge and capacity building of teachers for their motivation are some other aspects of effective leadership to improve the performance of their teachers (Leithwood, Harris & Hopkins, 2008; Hopkins & Reynolds, 2001). Research Methodology This was exploratory research of quantitative nature. The investigator interviewed the headteachers and teachers of selected special and regular schools. For the analysis of data, Mean, Standard Deviation and Independent Samples, t-tests were used at 0.05 significance level. Population and sample The population of this study included headteachers, and teachers of regular and special schools located in three regions i.e. central, east and s o u t h regions of Karachi. Out of 25 special schools, 09 special schools from District East Karachi, 02 special schools from District Central Karachi and 14 special schools from District South Karachi were selected through purposive sampling. Out of 50 regular schools, 19 regular schools from District East Karachi, 08 regular schools from District Central Karachi and 23 regular schools from District South Karachi were selected through purposive sampling. One special school of Federal Government, 01special school of Provincial Government, 09 special schools administered by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and 14 special schools from the private sector were selected through purposive sampling. Three regular schools of Federal Government, 07 regular schools of Sadia Siddiqui, Shahida Sajjad and Irshad Hussain 310 Global Social Sciences Review (GSSR) Provincial Government, 13 regular schools administered by Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and 27 regular schools from the private sector were selected through purposive sampling. Demographic Characteristics of Sample The sample of this study included 100 headteachers selected through convenient sampling, 50 were selected from special schools and 50 were selected from regular schools located in Karachi city. Out of 50 headteachers f rom special schools, seven were male and 43 were female. Out of 50 headteachers from regular schools, 13 were male and 37 were female. There was no gender discrimination in the selection of the sample, but it reflects that a high proportion of females as compared to males was serving in schools. Most of the headteachers from special schools were 40 to 49 years old; whereas, most of the headteachers from regular schools were 30 to 39 years old. Likewise, a large number of headteachers from both categories of the schools were post-graduate in qualification. The highest qualification of most of the headteachers from special schools was Masters’s degree in special education; whereas, mostly, the headteachers in regular schools had no professional qualification. Most of the headteachers in special schools were designated as principals, whereas in regular schools all headteachers were designated as principal. The working experience of most of the headteachers in special schools and from regular schools was more than 11 years. Mostly, the headteachers from both types of schools had tenure of 1-3 years as the headship of their present school. The sample of this study also included 200 teachers, selected through convenient sampling; 100 each, from the same special schools and regular schools from which the headteachers were selected. Out of 100 teachers from special schools, 06 were male and 94 were female. There was no gender discrimination in the selection of the sample, but it reflects that a high proportion of females as compared to males was serving in special schools. Out of 100 teachers from regular schools, 32 were male and 68 were female. This again reflects the high proportion of females as compared to males was serving in regular schools. Most of the teachers from special schools were 30 to 39 years old whereas most of the teachers from regular schools were below 30 years age. Qualification wise, most of the teachers from special schools were post-graduate; whereas, most of the teachers from regular schools were graduates. Most of the teachers in both types of schools had no professional qualifications. Most of the teachers both in special schools as well as in regular schools were class teachers. The working experience of most of the teachers in special schools and from regular schools was 811 years. The Instrument of the Study This study used two closed-ended, structured questionnaires based on literature review and opinion of experts in the field. The questionnaire for the headteachers and questionnaire for the teachers both having 14 items reflect the parameters of the effect of the leadership of headteachers on the performance of the school. Reliability Analysis The Reliability Coefficient (Cronbach alpha) of the instrument calculated through the “Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)” was 0.827, which shows that the instrument was very much reliable. Results and Interpretation The results of the study are based on the following research questions to demonstrate the effect of headteachers’ leadership on the performance of the school.