Leadership Styles of Principles and the Climate of Their Schools as Perceived by Teachers in Selected Secondary Schools in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to ascertain the dominant leadership style of the principals and the dominant school climate as perceived by teachers and to determine the relationship between the leadership style of secondary school principals and the climates of the schools they administer in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The instrument used was a self-administered 37-item questionnaire measuring leadership style and school climate. It was administered to 240 randomly selected teachers from eight secondary schools in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Comparison of mean scores was conducted to determine the dominant leadership style and school climate, while the relationship between leadership style and school climate was determined by using the Pearson Product Moment correlation. The study found that: (1) All the principals practise the three leadership styles - taskoriented, bureaucratic, and participative styles - on a different level; (2) The dominant leadership style of secondary school principals in Kuala Lumpur is the task-oriented style; (3) The three school climates - reward and participation, structure, and warmth and support - are associated with all the schools; (4) The dominant school climate associated with the majority of secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur is the structure climate; and (5) There is a relationship between each leadership style and school climate in the secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur.