Indian Journal of Science and Technology

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to discover the effect of principals’ leadership practices on teachers’ commitment in national primary schools in the Tabah Merah district in Kelantan. Methods/Findings: This study involved 136 teachers. Selection of samples was done through stratified random sampling whereby 44 male teachers and 92 female teachers participated in this study. The instrument used was Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) which consisted of 44 items related to the functions of the principals. All the items used 5 point Likert scale and have the Alpha Cronbach reliability value of 0.903 to 0.940. The instrument to gauge teachers’ working attitude and commitment which was created by Collarelli and Bishop (1990) was adopted from without any amendments. It consisted of 17 items using the 5 point Likert scale and has the Alpha Cronbach reliability value of 0.91. The data was analysed using the SPSS version 21.0 which show the overall result of the variables including the mean and standard deviation. The result findings show that there is a significant relationship between the class observation dimension and giving feedback to the teachers (r=.78, p<.01) by instilling positive instructional climate. This study also shows that the dimension inculcating positive teaching climate has a significant relationship with existing school climate dimension (r=.76, p<.01). Besides, this study also found that instilling positive instructional climate has a significant relationship with evaluating teachers’ teaching program (r=.72, p<.01). Application: The study result summarized that the elements in the principals’ leadership practices have successfully influenced primary teachers’ commitment and competency and have proved to increase the effectiveness of the organization. Specifically, form the study findings, the researchers suggest that primary school principals focus mainly on their own aspects of leadership practices during their working time. This is because the principals’ leadership practices have proven to contribute positively towards teachers’ commitment and teaching quality.

Keywords: Principals’ Instructional Leadership, Teachers’ Commitment