Presentation of Authentic Leadership Model for High School Principals Case Study
Publisher: name: The University Of Kurdistan
Year: 2021

description: The present study aims to present an authentic leadership models in high\nschools. The research method is a combination of qualitative and quantitative\nstudies. In terms of time and objective, it is a cross-sectional applied\nresearch. In the first phase of the study the participants were 19 persons\nincluding university professors and principals and employees of the\nEducation Departments of Markazi Province, who were selected using\npurposive sampling method, and interviewed until theoretical saturation was\nrealized. The data analysis was based on open, axial, and selective coding,\nand validity of the analysis was assessed from internal and external\napproaches. Reliability of the research was verified using coders’\ncontingency coefficient, and the contingency coefficient of 0.77 was\nachieved after repeating the interview for the fourth time. In the quantitative\nphase, the statistical society consisted of 1128 high school teachers and\nprincipals, 330 of whom were selected using simple random sampling\nmethod and Morgan-Krejcie (1970) Table. The data collection tool was a\nself-made questionnaire based on the qualitative results. Validity of the\nquestionnaire was assessed by experts’ approach, and reliability of the\nquestionnaire was calculated as 0.84 using Cronbach’s Alpha Test. The data\nwas analyzed using descriptive statistics (average and standard deviation) and\nstatistical inference (structural equations) by SPSS20 and Amos24 software.\nThe findings identified organizational strategies, organizational status,\npersonal characters, and capabilities as the causative conditions of authentic\nleadership; strategic approach and principals’ superficial competition as contextual factors, improper targeting, lack of facilities, and excessive\ninterference as interventional factors; reconsidering management structure of\nthe schools, principals’ intellectual independence, and tolerance as strategies;\nand enhancing quality of education, increasing the principals’ social capital,\nand reducing social harms in the schools as outcomes of authentic leadership.\nStructural equations by Amos software were also indicative of the fact that\nthe proposed model fits well. The subject of leadership has always been one\nof the most important topics in management science and sociology of\norganizations. Self-awareness expresses a deep understanding of one's skills,\nvalues, and behaviors (Cottrill, Lopez & Hoffman, 2014). Morality refers to\ndirecting one's actions and decisions by a personal moral compass and\nignoring social pressures. Balanced processing is also dealing with all issues\nwithout neglect, respecting the views of others and considering all aspects\ninstead of being biased (Northouse, 2016). Relationship transparency is also\nthe degree to which the leader shows his or her originality to others, shares\ninformation with others, and expresses his or her true thoughts and feelings\n(Rego, Sousa, Marques, Pina & Cunha, 2014). Genuine leadership with\nelements of transparency, honesty and ethics can be the answer. On the other\nhand, due to the recentness of the concept of genuine leadership, it is\nnecessary to study genuine leadership and further explore the components\nand factors involved in it. The innovation of the research is that with a\ncombined study (qualitative and quantitative), an attempt has been made to\naddress different angles of this concept and to identify the factors affecting\ngenuine leadership for high school principals. The research method is a\ncombination of qualitative and quantitative studies. In terms of time and\nobjective, it is a cross-sectional applied research. In the first phase of the\nstudy the participants were 19 persons including university professors and\nprincipals and employees of the Education Departments of Markazi Province,\nwho were selected using purposive sampling method, and interviewed until\ntheoretical saturation was realized. The data analysis was based on open,\naxial, and selective coding, and validity of the analysis was assessed from\ninternal and external approaches. Reliability of the research was verified\nusing coders’ contingency coefficient, and the contingency coefficient of\n0.77 was achieved after repeating the interview for the fourth time. The data\ncollection tool was a self-made questionnaire based on the qualitative results.\nValidity of the questionnaire was assessed by experts’ approach, and\nreliability of the questionnaire was calculated as 0.84 using Cronbach’s\nAlpha Test. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (average and\nstandard deviation) and statistical inference (structural equations) by SPSS20\nand Amos24 software. The findings identified organizational strategies,\norganizational status, personal characters, and capabilities as the causative\nconditions of authentic leadership; strategic approach and principals superficial competition as contextual factors, improper targeting, lack of\nfacilities, and excessive interference as interventional factors; reconsidering\nmanagement structure of the schools, principals’ intellectual independence,\nand tolerance as strategies; and enhancing quality of education, increasing the\nprincipals’ social capital, and reducing social harms in the schools as\noutcomes of authentic leadership. Structural equations by Amos software\nwere also indicative of the fact that the proposed model fits well. The issue of\ngenuine leadership is one of the most important issues in the field of\neducation. Given the novelty of this issue, the need for further studies of\ngenuine leadership is inevitable. Therefore, the present study was conducted\nto provide a genuine leadership model for high school principals. The\nresearch method was performed in two steps: qualitative and quantitative.\nFindings from the experts' point of view showed that the causal factors\naffecting the original leadership included organizational policies,\norganizational appointments, personal characteristics and competencies. It\nshould be said that the basic principle of any organization is clarity and\ntransparency of policies and its implementation in practice. Based on the\norganizational justice approach, it can be said that the leader achieves\norganizational goals when employees have reached a fair perception of their\norganization. The findings showed that the genuine leadership model requires\ndifferent actions at the macro (policies), middle (organizational culture and\ntransparency within the organization) and micro (managerial individual and\npersonality factors) levels. Some of the findings of this model (strategic\napproach, competition at the managerial level, improving education and\nreducing social issues) were not present in the studies and are somewhat new\nand significant. Although the results of this study can be generalized to other\nsimilar communities, the findings are limited. One of these limitations is that\nthis study was a case study that requires studies at a larger level to make a\nmore accurate judgment. The researcher did not have the facilities and time\nto study in other areas. Another limitation was the lack of tools to measure\nand describe the current state of the original leadership. It is suggested that a\nclear and specific procedure be provided for the selection of principals for all\neligible people, and that school management move away from the\nappointment mode and pay more attention to their professional dimensions\nand competencies. It is suggested that criteria be selected for the selection of\nschool principals in accordance with the original leadership model and take\noperational mode. Another suggestion is to teach managers the basics and\nprinciples to promote the original leadership model. Another theoretical\nsuggestion is to provide an indigenous scale to assess the status of genuine\nleadership and to address it from a descriptive perspective.