Azam Othman

Teachers’ perspectives on leadership practices and motivation in Islamic private schools, Southern Thailand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present teachers’ perspectives on leadership practices and motivation in the context of Islamic private schools in Songkhla, a southern province of Thailand.Design/methodology/approach – A survey method was employed to collect data from teachers in six selected Islamic private schools in Songkhla.Findings – The statistical data indicate that teachers’ motivation is significantly related to principals’ transformational leadership practices, as perceived by teachers. It was found that though teachers perceive their principals exhibited transformational leadership more frequently than transactional leadership, the principals are viewed to display more idealized influence (IIB & IIA) and inspirational motivation (IM) rather than individual consideration (IC) and intellectual stimulation (IS) practices. To strengthen teachers’ motivation in schools, they should exhibit the individual consideration (IC) and intellectual stimulation practices more frequently.Research lim...

Intercultural communication in the Malaysian Vision Schools: Implications for the management and leadership in a multicultural primary school

This article discusses intercultural communication in Vision Schools in Malaysia. It also elaborates the extent to which the Vision Schools foster racial interaction across the three major ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese, and Indians. A total of 887 primary school students were surveyed across the Vision Schools. It was found that the intercultural communication in the Vision Schools had triggered intercultural understanding and awareness of cultural diversity in the schools. The dynamics of intercultural interaction were, however, more profound in the national school compared to the other two vernacular schools (Chinese and Tamil national-type schools). Nevertheless, students seemed to appreciate national integration beyond their school experience. Despite their youth, the children understood the significance of maintaining and sustaining national unity. Inspiring school leadership towards fulfilling intercultural awareness and exposure will lead the establishment and existence of Vision Schools in the right direction.