Lokman Mohd Tahir

The Benefits of Headship Mentoring An Analysis of Malaysian Novice Headteachers’ Perceptions

In this article we examine the mentoring program for novice headteachers and what they perceive as its purposes, as well as the constraints to successfully implementing it in Malaysian schools. Using a survey research design we analysed responses from 200 newly appointed headteachers from two state departments of education, and interviewed six headteachers through two focus group interview sessions. As expected, headteachers revealed that mentoring had significantly improved their professional values as a school leader, and had led to the creation of a knowledge sharing culture that boosted their confidence level and improved their practical knowledge related to school leadership. However, headteachers also revealed that time constraints negatively impacted on the effective implementation of mentoring. The study also offers practical suggestions for the headship training system in Malaysian context.

Academics transformational leadership: an investigation of heads of department leadership behaviours in Malaysian public universities

Presently, the role and the function of universities in Malaysia have been described as being in a state of change. Several strategies have been adopted to assist in the re-branding of higher institutions of learning. As a consequence, an effective model of leadership practices, particularly at the Malaysian academic departmental level, has to be generated in order to replace the traditional leadership practices in meeting the national aspirations. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between department heads’ leadership behaviour with academics’ organisational commitment. Survey responses from 430 academics from Malaysian public universities were received and analysed. The main finding of this study reveals that the adoption of encouraging leadership behaviour (Kouzes and Posner’s Transformational Leadership) shows a 55% direct positive relationship with academics’ organisational commitment, with demographical factors playing no role as a moderator with either variable. This reinforces the rationalisation for adopting the model within the Malaysian academic setting, where department heads should indeed lead the academic organisation.

Facebook as a Tool: Exploring the Use of Facebook in Teaching and Learning

In this paper, we explore the use of Facebook as an alternative to learning management system for tertiary teaching and learning purposes in a Malaysian university context. Three embedded approaches for Facebook were implemented, namely for mixing information and learning resources, mixing expertise and mixing context of learning. Each of embedded approaches was analyzed through two ways: within and cross-case analysis. The results from cross-case analysis indicate that Facebook has the potential of mixing affordances of technical, social and pedagogical for teaching and learning, and thus can deliver positive tool for teaching and learning but can also be a negative tool if it is not appropriately utilize.

Novice Head Teachers’ Isolation and Loneliness Experiences: A Mixed-Methods Study

Most studies in headship focus on the elements of training and head teachers’ capabilities in leading schools. The concept of isolation experienced by head teachers during the early years of their headship is, however, overlooked. This article attempts to explore the neglected aspect of headships’ experiences with isolation that later contributes to the betterment of the headship appointment. This mixed-methods study explores the experience of head teachers’ isolation in the early phase of their leadership years, and presents findings on the strategies used to overcome the isolation. Using an open-ended questionnaire, a total of 170 novice head teachers from Malaysian primary and secondary schools were asked to give their responses on experiences of isolation. Furthermore, 10 novice head teachers, who experienced isolation in the early phase of their leadership years, were interviewed. Findings revealed that the level of isolation among the head teachers was fairly low, and they perceived their isolation experience as temporary.

Organisational climate as a predictor of workforce performance in the Malaysian higher education institutions

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether organisational climate (OC) predicts academic staff performance at Malaysian higher education institutions (HEIs). The study equally aims at validating the psychometric properties of OC and workforce performance (WFP) constructs. Design/methodology/approach Survey questionnaires were administered to 800 academic staff of eight selected HEIs. Principal component analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, full-fledged structural equation modelling and multiple regression analysis were performed to explore the underlying factors and test the factorial validity of the constructs. Findings The analysis yielded a five-factor index for the OC construct, whereas the WFP construct comprised two factors. The findings reveal a strong predictive causal effect between OC and WFP. These results suggest that establishing a positive OC enhances academic staff performance. Furthermore, the hypothesised model adds new knowledge to the literature of OC, from the Malaysian context, which could be used to predict WFP at the tertiary level. Practical implications The study concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the findings for HEIs. Originality/value This paper makes a significant contribution to the understanding of how OC could be used as an effective instrument in improving academic staff performance in the context of Malaysian HEIs.

Challenges in distributed leadership: evidence from the perspective of headteachers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues and challenges faced by headteachers in practicing the suggested distributed leadership (DL) approach in three primary schools to their middle layer leaders. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a case study design and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. A total of three headteachers were interviewed in examining and exploring challenges within the DL practices. The transcripts from the semi-structured interviews formed the basis of the findings. Findings – The findings suggest that senior teachers lack confidence in making decisions and rely on the consent from headteachers even though they are empowered to make their own decisions. Another significant issue faced by headteachers when distributing their leadership is the ability, expertise, experience, and willingness of teachers to hold leadership roles and responsibilities. Originality/value – The results are important since there have been few empirical studies on the issues and challenges faced by headteachers in practising DL approach in primary schools in the context of Malaysia. This initiative sidelines the traditional school leadership approach which emphasises on the accountability of headteachers as the sole school leader.

Headteacher-teacher relationship and its effect on teacher’s trust in Malaysian high performing schools

Purpose This study examines the relationship between headteachers and teachers and its effects on the role of trust in Malaysian high performing schools through the dyadic relationship theoretical approach. Design/methodology/approach Using a survey questionnaire, a total of 199 teachers from five high-performing schools were selected as respondents for data collection. Before proceeding with inferential statistical analysis, teachers were separated into the ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’. Findings The findings revealed that teachers from both groups perceived that their facets of trust are strongly associated with the type of relationship they have with their school leaders. The results also demonstrate that quality of dyadic relationships between headteachers and teachers moderately influences teachers’ trust. Practical implications The findings suggest that headteachers should always build good relationships with teachers to gain teachers’ trust for sustaining school effectiveness. The findings encourage t...

Primary school leadership in Malaysia: The experience of stress among deputy heads

Unquestionably, studies focusing on school leaders’ stress while managing schools have received extensive attention. However, there is still a lack of research focusing on deputies’ stress, even though deputies play an essential role in a school’s improvement process. Despite deputies’ dual roles, it is an accepted fact that deputies do experience stress while simultaneously dealing with their ‘superiors’, fulfilling their administrative tasks and helping teachers to work at their fullest capacity. Based on these two noteworthy premises, this mixed-methods study was designed to explore and address whether dealing with educational superiors causes stress to primary deputies. Regarding the sample, 120 deputies from across 45 primary public schools in two urban districts were selected as respondents for the study. Regarding the quantitative data, the non-parametric and descriptive statistics were employed in determining deputies’ views of their superiors. Further, eleven deputies were interviewed, and their anonymity was also protected to sustain the ethical considerations of the study. As expected, truculent attitudes and criticisms from school inspectors and parents were highlighted by deputies as contributing to their experiences of stress, with the levels of stress being classified as ‘moderate’ based on their demographic differences. Surprisingly, primary deputies revealed that they do not face much stress when working with their own head teachers; in fact, primary deputies informally revealed that their heads were quite open and understanding of their viewpoints and lenses.

Developing Critical Reflection Skill among Pre-Service Teacher through Collaborative Inquiry Using Social Media

Despite the constructive comments provided by the lecturer and teacher educators, pre-service teachers still failed to reflect critically in their teaching skills. Concerning this matter, David (2008) suggests teachers to meet regularly through collaborative inquiry while Croco and Cramer (2005) suggest the use of technology as added-value in improving their teaching skills. By using technology such social media, pre-service teacher should continuously engage in discussions with their lecturer and teacher educator so that they could constantly reflect critically during their teaching practice. The ability to reflect critically among trainee teachers must start with reflective thinking. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop critical reflection among the pre-service teachers based on a conceptual framework developed from Schons (1983) reflective practices model and Kilbanes (2007) collaborative inquiry model using social media. The research sample comprised five pre-service teachers from a Malaysian public university which was selected on the basis of their ability in using social media platform. The instruments used in this study were Facebook group and interviews. The transcripts derived from the online discussions among the students, pre-service teachers, lecturer and teacher educators through Facebook group were analysed using coding procedure developed from Henris (1992) cognitive skills model and Kilbanes (2007) collaborative inquiry model. The findings indicated that the pre-service teachers were able to develop critical reflections during their teaching practice and thus, improved their teaching skills.

Technical college teachers sharing their knowledge: does leadership, institutional factors or barriers predict their practices?

Abstract This study determines the preferable leadership practised by colleges’ directors, institutional factors and challenges encountered in knowledge sharing in Malaysian technical higher learning institutions (HLIs). Using a pragmatic mixed-method strand, we obtained 212 teachers and instructors’ viewpoints on knowledge sharing factors and barriers. The study also interviewed four teachers in exploring college directors’ leadership practices and issues faced while sharing their knowledge and experiences with their colleagues. The findings revealed that technical college teachers favoured enabling others to act as a preferable leadership practice that empirically supports their knowledge sharing practices. Thus, reward system and culture were antecedents and significant predictors for teachers’ knowledge sharing practices in technical HLIs compared with their colleges directors’ transformational leadership practices. Teachers also highlighted that their directors provide affirmative responses concerning the knowledge sharing activities; thus, practising their roles as a knowledge sharing catalysts. However, lack of support from the management, micro-politics and teachers’ own negative perceptions were identified as challenges and constraints teachers encountered while sharing their knowledge with their peers. The findings put forward some suggestions for improvement on technical college’s knowledge sharing practices.