Teacher Perception of Principals' Transformational Leadership and the Self-Efficacy of Teachers in Selected All-Female Schools in Saudi Arabia

A number of studies have addressed the correlations between transformational leadership and its impact on the self-efficacy of teachers. This quantitative, non-experimental study design adds to this growing body of knowledge by examining the transformational leadership qualities of school principals as perceived by female teachers, and its influence on their self-efficacy. For this study, the targeted population was 208 teachers within a single all-female school district in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. At the time of this study, this school district included eight all-female public schools, which were all similar with respect to physical infrastructure, curricula, number of teachers and students, and the socioeconomic status of the local population. Two validated survey instruments were used for this study: (a) the Principal Leadership Questionnaire (PLQ) for assessing transformational leadership characteristics; and (b) the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) to evaluate the teachers' sense of efficacy. The data were formatted using Qualtrics survey software and all data were analyzed in SPSS (V26). In total, data from 85 surveys were analyzed. Descriptive and statistical analyses indicated that the surveyed teachers did perceive that their school leaders' behavior reflected transformational leadership characteristics. Pearson's correlation analysis was utilized to determine the relationship between teachers' perceptions of their principals' transformational leadership and their sense of self-efficacy, revealing a statistically significant positive correlation between the two variables. A bivariate analysis was conducted using Pearson correlation coefficients and a 2-tailed test to investigate the relationship between all dimensions. The correlation indicated that vision, modeling, and goal acceptance were significantly correlated to efficacy for student engagement and instructional strategies. Conversely, results indicated the absence of statistically significant correlations between individualized support and student engagement; similarly, no correlation was found between intellectual stimulation and high expectations with any of the teacher-efficacy factors. Multiple linear regression was used to examine whether the moderating factors of teaching experience and level of education would represent significant predictors for the linkage between principals' transformational leadership and teachers' sense of efficacy. The results showed that neither variable was a significant predictor for teachers' views of their leaders' transformational behaviors and their level of efficacy. Finally, t-test analysis was used to examine the differences between elementary and secondary teachers' perceptions of their principals' transformational leadership behaviors. A significant difference was found between teachers' perceptions of their principals transformational leadership style and the school level (e.g., elementary, middle, or high school). The results from this study are consistent with the theoretical framework that transformational leadership theory has a positive impact on teachers self-efficacy, as well as support findings from prior studies in this area of educational research. The findings from this investigation provide useful data to those studying educational leadership, as well as school principals, administrators, and other leaders who play significant roles in changing, facilitating, and improving education. Additional studies are recommended to determine if this relationship exists in all-male schools in Saudi Arabia or in other countries.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Department dc:contributor.department

Counselor Education

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2021

Author dc:creator

• Alrehaili, Sara M.

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Alexander, Michael D.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Earthman, Glen I.
• Gratto, John Robert
• Mullen, Carol Ann

• transformation leadership
• self-efficacy
• teachers

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:29789

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/116383