Effects of school principals' leadership styles on leadership practices

Abstract

Leadership practices play a crucial role on teacher performance and hence the school effectiveness. Therefore, the principal focal point of the present research was to investigate the predictive level of the leadership styles of school principals for leadership practices according to teacher perceptions. In research, relational survey model was preferred from quantitative research models. The research population consisted of 7644 teachers and the research sample consisted of 404 teachers, all working at public schools in Istanbul. Data were collected using the "Multi-Factor Leadership Questionnaire" and "Leadership Practices Inventory." Data were analyzed by correlation and regression analysis techniques. According to the findings, a significant correlation was found between the leadership styles and leadership practices and its sub-dimensions. As perceived by teachers, the transformational leadership style affects the leadership practices positively while the laissez-faire style affects the leadership practices negatively. Although the transactional leadership style as perceived by teachers is significantly predictive of the leadership practices, the significance level was found not to be notable.