Moral Leadership practices of school principals as perceived by teachers in selected Islamic higher secondary schools in Bangladesh

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current state of Moral leadership practices among Islamic Higher Secondary School (IHSSs) principals based on the teachers’ perceptions in Bangladesh. However, the aim of this study also to identity the abilities to inculcate high-quality moral values and good moral characteristics into the principal and provide them with the necessary moral leadership skills, abilities, and competencies that are required for each school principal to practice moral leadership for the moral development of Islamic schools. This study used the theory of moral leadership developed by James Rest and explored the practice of moral leadership in school principals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, by using the methods and procedures of qualitative research approach. The thematic data analysis techniques and methods were used to analyse the data for this study. This research also utilized the phenomenological qualitative research design and involved six Islamic school teachers as research participants. The data collection procedure was a qualitative in-depth face to face interview. The overall results of this study indicate questionable practices in Bangladesh's IHSS principals with regard to corruption, lack of practical skills in moral leadership, and non-compliance with the principles of moral leadership in the operation of Islamic schools. The study suggests that IHSS's Moral leadership behaviour should be reviewed and interactive programs planned in the form of moral leadership training, Seminars, forums and workshops should be organized to familiarize school principals with their moral roles and improve their moral skills and effectiveness. This will allow them to acquire moral leadership skills for developing IHSSs in Bangladesh. Keywords: Moral Leadership, School principals, Islamic Higher Secondary school and Bangladesh