The Influence of Principals Leadership Style on Teachers Job Satisfaction at

Primary School in Kuching, Sarawak

Poh Chiek Sing

Abstract
This study aims to investigate the influence of principals leadership style on teachers
job satisfaction in primary school in Kuching, Sarawak and determine the best suit
leadership styles in promoting teachers job satisfaction. The findings of this study are
expected to benefit among others, school heads and teachers among other
stakeholders who will get first-hand information on influence of leadership styles on
teachers job satisfaction. In addition, the study provides knowledge to the general
public and helps them understand the role of effective school leadership on teachers
job satisfaction. It is a descriptive research design. The target population of interest
are 20 selected public primary schools registered in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The
study applies purposive sampling techniques and stratified random sampling
technique to obtain appropriate sample. The study purposively selects 20 public
primary schools (10 best performing and 10 least performing) and 20 respondents
from each of the schools as representative of the target population. The data collection
technique for this study is an open-ended interview, documentary analysis and
questionnaire method. Quantitative data will be analysed through the use of
descriptive statistics which included frequencies, percentages and means as measures
of central tendency, while the qualitative data will be analysed through the use of
content analysis.
Keywords: Principals leadership style, teachers job satisfaction.

Background of the Study

Among public primary school in Malaysia, it is obviously seen that there are
some of the school perform high while some of them have very low performance.
Hence, a big gap between school performances existed. To ensure that there is no
child left behind in school, it is critical to examine factors which influence school
performance so that every child is fairly educated. There must be a key of success for
the high performing schools. School leader is the main actor in playing their role and
responsibility for their school achievement as educational institutions are critical
places where the next generation is educated. They face the challenge of maintaining
school goals and improve school performance.
Leadership styles and teachers job satisfaction are believed to be one of the
elements which influence school effectiveness. School leadership is the process of
enlisting and guiding the talents and energies of teachers, pupils, and parents toward
achieving common educational aims. Leadership style and job satisfaction seem to go
hand in hand with fulfilling their roles and functions towards teachers job
satisfaction. School leader adopt various leadership styles. Hallinger and Heck (1998)
as cited in Machumu & Kaitila (2014) found that a school leaders leadership style is
the main factor that greatly influences school effectiveness and should be
underscored. Leadership is defined as a social process in which an individual or a
group influences behaviour toward a shared goal (Wayne & Cecil, 2013).
Besides school leaders leadership style, teacher job satisfaction is another
critical factor affecting school effectiveness. Northouse (2010) believed that a teacher
job satisfaction may serve to influence their morale, motivation and general
willingness to maximize their teaching potential. Teachers who are not satisfied with
their jobs may result in bad teaching or learning process, and school effectiveness will
consequently be negatively impacted. Therefore, a good school leadership is essential
to ensure school effectiveness.
It is noted that teachers satisfaction level is different under different situation.
Principals can therefore increase satisfaction level of their teacher by identifying their
needs and trying to satisfying or meeting them. Therefore, principal has important role
to play in providing effective leadership in primary schools, thereby enhancing better
job satisfaction among teachers. The effectiveness of principal in performing this role
has been a matter of concern to many educationists. To attain school effectiveness in
most of our school, an appropriate leadership styles that influence teachers job
satisfaction and performance should be employed.
Leadership style employed in any organization influence two major things that
is job satisfaction and organization performance. Yet, most primary schools in
Malaysia are facing the problems of leadership due to limited professional
development opportunities and inadequate teachers professional support and
supervision. Therefore, it is appropriate to investigate the different effects of the
dimension of leadership styles on teachers job satisfaction and work attitudes in
Malaysia.
In general a number of scholars (Greenleaf, 1977; Podsakoff et al, 1990;
Davis, 2003; Yuki 2002) pointed out that research on leadership style have generated
empirical results that have verified the impact of leadership style on employee
attitude, effort, and in-role performance. However, in spite of the extensive research

and accumulated evidence on the effects of leadership style on performance and job
satisfaction, similar stream of research has been very limited in educational settings
(Leithwood et al., 1999). Therefore, Edwards and Grill (2012) have strongly argued
that more research is needed to understand the effects of leadership styles on teachers
job satisfaction in school settings. The study expects to add more knowledge and
understanding of the effects of leadership styles on teachers job satisfaction in school
setting.
In school contexts, previous researchers have established that schools with
satisfied teachers are more productive than schools with schools with unsatisfied
teachers. Teachers who are satisfied with their job are more enthusiastic and interested
in devoting more energy and time to student achievement (Nguni et al., 2006).
Therefore, understanding the important factors affecting teacher job satisfaction is
vital to attain the required information to support an educational system to succeed in
its objective (Pene et al., 1997). Since the principals leadership behaviour is one of
the positive factors that have a direct relation with job satisfaction (Bogler, 2001,
Miears, 2004), considerable research has been carried out on the influence and impact
of leadership behaviour on job satisfaction (Stockard and Lehman, 2004 as cited in
Hui, H., Hashem Salarzadeh Jenatabadi, Noor Azina Ismail, & Che Wan Jasimah bt
Wan Mohamed Radzi, 2013).
Against this background it would be interesting to find out the type of
leadership style that goes with effective job satisfaction among teachers in some
selected primary school in Kuching, Sarawak.

Problem Statement
The purpose of this study is to discover the influence of leadership styles on
teachers job satisfaction. The central focus for the study is to analyse the leadership
styles used by head teachers in primary schools in Kuching, Sarawak. This study
addressed the kind of school leadership style that best suit for promoting teachers job
satisfaction in primary school. It investigates the concerns of teachers towards their
job satisfaction in school. The study clarifies the influence of different types of
principals leadership styles towards teachers job satisfaction.

Theoretical Framework
Definition of Leadership

A review of the different definitions of leadership has to be considered in order to

understand the leadership styles of a principal. Koontz and ODonnell (1959) as cited
in Mwangi (2013) explain that leadership is a way of influencing people to follow
achieving of a common goal. Crosby and Bryson (1999) as cited in Mwangi (2013)
further expound that leadership is the inspiration and mobilization of others to undertake
collective action in pursuit of common good.
Transformational leadership
Transformational and Transactional Leadership

Teacher job satisfaction

Job Satisfaction
Job satisfaction can be defined as an employees affective reaction to a job,
based on a comparison between actual outcomes and desired outcomes (Mosadeghrad
& Yarmohammadian, 2006 as cited in Rajaeepour Saeed et. al., 2011). Also, job
satisfaction can be defined as an overall feeling about ones job or career in terms of
specifies, i.e. compensation, autonomy, coworkers; administration.
Nowadays, the quality of an organisations human resources is one of the
important elements for the survival of organisation to reach its goal and objective. The
individual in an organisation need to be happy and appreciated so that the people
contribute the organization in a positive way as well as feeling satisfied by the
organization. An organization where employees are highly motivated, high efficiency
and organization objectives are achieved (Gll, 2009, p. 44 as cited in Aydin, Uysal,
& Sarier, 2013). The organizational efficiency is possible on the condition of
teachersjob satisfaction and their willing to act in accordance with the organizational
purposes.
The school efficiency and achievement seems to be relying on the way
teachers feel about their work and how satisfied they are with it. Therefore, one of the
most important tasks of school management is to ensure teachers satisfaction.
Principal as the leader in school plays an important role to generate creative solution
within school organisation, determine the school policy and make necessary
improvements in the school regulations. Hence, it is not surprising that researchers
suggest that schools must give more attention to increasing teacher job satisfaction
(Heller, Clay, & Perkins, 1993, p.75 as cited in Bogler, 2001). Transformational
leaders increase the level of job satisfaction of employees by developing shared
vision, motivating the followers (Voon, Lo, Ngui & Ayob, 2011, p.26 as cited in
Aydin, Uysal, & Sarier, 2013).

Many researches on teacher job satisfaction is based on the work of Herzberg,

Mausner, and Snyderman (1959) who developed a theory of motivation and job
satisfaction which has been called motivation-hygiene theory, or Herzbergs theory.
This theory postulates that the gratification of certain needs, called motivators (i.e.,
achievement, recognition, work itself, responsibility and advancement), increase
satisfaction, but when the motivators are not gratified, only minimal dissatisfaction
results. On the other hand, when factors called hygienes (i.e., interpersonal relations,
supervision, policy and administration, working conditions, salary and personal life)
are not gratified, negative attitudes are created, producing job dissatisfaction.
Gratification of hygienes leads only to minimal job satisfaction. In brief,
administrators should be aware of both sets of actors as they attempt to design and
enrich teaching jobs to make them inherently challenging and interesting as well as to
eliminate those aspects of the job that are most likely to produce dissatisfaction
(Wayne & Cecil, 2013).

Conceptual Framework

Independent variables

Dependent variables

Leadership Styles Teachers Job Satisfaction School effectiveness

Research Objectives
The main purpose of the study is to investigate the standard principals leadership
styles used by principal in primary schools is the best and more acceptable and determine
which cause teachers job satisfaction.
i.

Specifically, the objectives of this study are as follows:

The dominant leadership style commonly adopted by principals in primary
schools in Sri Aman.

ii.

The current level of job satisfaction among teachers in primary schools.

iii.

The type of leadership styles that promote high teachers job satisfaction among
the in primary schools in Sri Aman.

Research Questions
The following research questions guided the study:
i.
What is the dominant leadership style commonly adopted by principals that
influences high job satisfaction among teachers in primary schools in Sri Aman?
ii.

What is the current level of job satisfaction among teachers in primary schools?

iii.

Which type of leadership style promoted high teachers job satisfaction in primary
school in Sri Aman?

Research Design
The study is a cross sectional survey design with qualitative and quantitative
research approaches to provide a holistic picture and in-depth understanding of the
problem. This approach allows the researcher to investigating the influence of
principals leadership styles on classroom teachers job satisfaction in Sri Aman.
Instrument
The study use interview, documentary analysis, and questionnaire as the
instruments in the process of collecting data for triangulation in the study.
A quantitative questionnaire using Likert-type scales will be administered to
200 teachers in Sri Aman, Sarawak schools.
The first section of the questionnaire was about transformational and
transactional leadership. It was taken from MLQ (Bass, 1985). It was a 27-item
question with a 5-point scale which asked the respondents about the leadership style
of their principals, according to the three categories of transformational leadership
(charisma/inspiration, personal consideration, and intellectual stimulation) and the
two categories of transactional leadership (contingent reward and management by
exception). The MLQ was tested by Bass in a number of studies. The MLQ has been
used in K-12 educational settings. Ingram (1997) used the MLQ to study
transformational and transactional leadership behaviors of principals as perceived by
teachers in inclusive educational settings. In this study, Ingram reported the high
validity found for the overall transformational and transactional leadership constructs
in three studies that used the MLQ in the general K-12 settings (King, 1989; Koh,
1991; and Hoover, Petrosko & Schultz, 1991, as cited in Ingram, 1997).
- The second section of the questionnaire dealt with autocratic and
participative strategies of decision making. It was taken from Friedmans
(1985) questionnaire on the decision-making style of school principals.
Friedmans questionnaire, which is based on Vroom and Yettons (1973)
concept of decision processes, entails four main forms: (a) manager makes
own decisions without consulting with subordinates, (b) manager consults
with subordinates but makes own decisions, (c) manager makes joint decisions
with subordinates, and (d) manager delegates decisions to subordinates.
According to Vroom and Yetton, the first form of behavior refers to
autocratic management, the second one to consultative management, the
third to group decision making, and the last to the delegation type of decision
making.
The third section of the questionnaire dealt with teachers occupation perceptions.
It was a 28-item question (scored from 1 = disagree strongly to 5 =
agree strongly), which asked about various facets of the teaching occupation
(Yaniv, 1982). From Yanivs questionnaire, five subscales were used in the
current study: Perceived Status, Perception of the Profession, Professional
Identity, Perceived Autonomy, and Professional Competence. Coefficient
alphas ranged from = .54 to = .93, indicating that some subscales were relatively
high and others relatively low in their internal reliability.

The last section of the questionnaire regarding teacher satisfaction was

taken from a questionnaire on principals and teachers job satisfaction that
had been previously administered and validated (Tarabeh, 1995). The question
included 25 items with a 7-point Likert-type scale (scored from 1 = never
to 7 = always). In his work on an Israeli sample of teachers and principals,
Tarabeh (1995) identified four dimensions describing teachers satisfaction:
fulfillment of expectations (= .93), guidance and assistance from the Ministry
of Education ( = .88), internal conditions ofwork ( = .81), and relationship
with students and parents ( = .72). The coefficient alpha for the whole
question was .94.
In order to assure reliability and validity of instrument in the study, multiple data
collection techniques know as triangulation are used. To ensure the validity and
reliability of the instruments, pilot studies are conducted at one performing school and
one least performing schools. Pretest will be carried out on the questionnaire on a
group of 30 teachers and a retest will be carried out after clarifying statement and
omitting items that are ambiguous or not relevant. The revised questionnaire is
finalised. It is to test the validity of instruments in generating necessary information
before embarking in data collection.

Sampling and Population

The study applies purposive sampling techniques and stratified random
sampling technique to obtain appropriate sample. The population of the study is a
total of 20 selected public primary school in Sri Aman. The respondents for the study
includes 200 of teachers from 20 selected primary school in Sri Aman. The study
focus on public primary schools (10 best performing and 10 least performing). The
sample involves 20 primary schools and 200 teachers (20 head teachers, 20 deputy
head teachers and 80 classroom teachers). Purposive sampling is used to select head
teachers while stratified random sampling is used to select classroom teachers and
primary schools. According to Krishnaswami and Ranganatham (2009) the power of
purposeful sampling lies in selecting information rich cases for in-depth analysis
related to the central issues being studied.

Data Collection
The data collection technique for this study is an open-ended interview,
documentary analysis and questionnaire method. Primary data will be gathered
through questionnaire-based survey.
Letter will be send to JPN to ask for permission to carry out research at those
schools. Letter will be also send to principals in 20 schools in Kuching, Sarawak to
ask their permission to interview veteran teachers in their schools who have taught for
a minimum of five years as well.

After securing approval from state education department,

participants will be contacted in the following manner. Each
participant will be invited to participate via an email letter in which
the purpose of the research, the time involved, the informed
consent, and the data collection process will be explained. The
conditions of the informed consent will be described and directions
for accessing the link to the survey will be explained. Potential
participants will be informed that only the researcher would have
access to the data and that there would be no identifying
information. They are also assured that their identities will not be
revealed in the final research report. The potential participants will
be informed that they did not have to answer any question that they
did not wish to answer and that they are free to withdraw their
consent and discontinue their participation at any time. They will be
informed that there are no anticipated risks, compensation or other
direct benefits.
The respondents will be instructed to refer to their current school principal and
to fill out a questionnaire that asked a range of questions about that asked a range of
questions about that principals leadership style and decision-making strategy, their
perceptions about the teaching occupation, and their satisfaction from various issues
related to the school work.
In return for participating in the survey, participants will be
given the opportunity to request copies of the resulting study data
and articles that might be written by the researcher regarding. The
researchers email address will be provided so that interested
participants can contact her for the results.
The open-ended interview will be carried out among teachers with at least 8
years of experience teaching in the school. The discussion and conversation will be
recorded. Then, it will be transcribed and analysed.
Documentary analysis
Data Analysis Techniques
The data will be analysed using both qualitatively and quantitatively.
Quantitative data will be analysed through the use of descriptive statistics which
included frequencies, percentages and means as measures of central tendency.
Software Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) is used to process quantitative data.
The qualitative data will be analysed through the use of Content analysis. It
enables researchers to organise a large amount of materials. This is done by
developing appropriate categories/ratings or scores that the researchers used for
subsequent comparison and analysis which based on identifying themes and patterns.
The conclusion will be made after a thorough analysing on data collected
using both qualitative and quantitative approach.

Significance of the Study

The study is significant to the field of education in that it builds upon the
available body of knowledge relating to leadership styles and teachers job
satisfaction. There have been several studies that look at the relationship between
leadership styles and teachers job satisfaction. The school system has experienced and
continues to experience enormous leadership challenges. This study will go a long way to
help principals on ways to enhance their leadership behaviour. The outcome of the study
will help stakeholders such as parents, Ministry of Education Officials among others;
understand the effects of leadership styles on teachers job satisfaction among primary
schools in Sarawak. There is need for school principals to consider their styles of
leadership and the impact on teachers job satisfaction in their schools.
This study also focuses on the effects of leadership styles and
provides an in-depth look into this challenging level of education. This
is critical to the organizational development and academic growth of
the students, because the principal is the main source and the driving
force that sustains the welfare of an institution. In addition to the
significance for the field, the study is important to the school system
where the study was performed. The study can lead to improvements
in the principal preparation program in order to raise the morale level
for teachers. With the demands on this growing school system to hire
and retain teachers, this study will help Ministry Officials with
strategies to improve the level of performance in public schools.
Significantly, job satisfaction is very essential to the continuing growth of
educational systems around the world. It determines educational success and
performance. Educational administration and operation in a school is sufficient to
affect teachers' sense of job satisfaction. Therefore, administration authority particular
the principal must carefully consider in the demands of teachers to make sure every
teacher is satisfied with their jobs. According to Rajaeepour Saeed et. al. (2011),
schools must give more attention to teacher job satisfaction because it may promote
efficiency and staff satisfaction.

Frederick Herzberg (1959) as cited in Rajaeepour Saeed et. al. (2011),

psychologist and researcher studied job satisfaction because he believed higher
satisfaction led to higher productivity, decreased absenteeism, and better working
relations. He found that positive feeling about work, a sense of personal worth, and a
sense of personal fulfillment were related to achievement and responsibility
(Wetherell, 2002 as cited in Rajaeepour Saeed et al., 2011).
In the educational realm, teacher satisfaction is considered influential in its
relationship to school effectiveness and school outcomes; therefore, it is conceived of
as a key factor in improving school performance (Thompson et al. 1997; Sargent and
Hannum, 2005 as cited in Bogler & Nir 2010).

First of all, the study recommends the type of leadership styles which school
principals should imbibe more in their administration in order to enhance high
teachers job satisfaction.
Besides, the study suggests strategies that needed to be developed by school
authorities to deal with the needs of those teachers who experience less job
satisfaction.
At the same time, the study may suggest type of leadership style which should be
avoided in the management of primary schools.
There is need to give principals management and leadership skills.

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