Tai Mei Kin

Principal change leadership competencies and teacher attitudes toward change: the mediating effects of teacher change beliefs

Abstract This study investigates the relationship between Principal Change Leadership Competencies, Teacher Change Beliefs and Teacher Attitudes toward Change. A total of 936 teachers from 47 High Performing Secondary Schools in Malaysia completed the survey. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the models. Firstly, the results showed that Principal Change Leadership Competencies was significantly related to Teacher Change Beliefs and implied that if school principals equipped themselves with sufficient Principal Change Leadership Competencies, Teacher Change Beliefs can certainly be enhanced. Secondly, Teacher Change Beliefs was significantly related to Teacher Attitudes toward Change whereby the stronger the Teacher Change Beliefs, the greater the enhancement of Teacher Attitudes toward Change. Thirdly, Teacher Change Beliefs was indeed a total mediator in the relationship of Principal Change Leadership Competencies and Teacher Attitudes toward Change. Put simply, via Teacher Change Beliefs, the impact of Principal Change Leadership Competencies on Teacher Attitudes toward Change was relatively strong as Teacher Change Beliefs greatly facilitated the influence of Principal Change Leadership Competencies on Teacher Attitudes toward Change. Thus, in-depth enhancing Teacher Change Beliefs is one of the effective ways to increase the likelihood of teachers to embrace change. Fourthly, Principal Change Leadership Competencies was more influential than teachers’ self-influence in enhancing Teacher Attitudes toward Change. Therefore, concerted effort must be given to prioritize the continuous development of principal change leadership in effective change management. The study encourages a fresh look at change leadership development and ultimately alters the traditional approach of school principals in managing change.

Teacher change beliefs: validating a scale with structural equation modelling

The objectives of the study were to validate a substantiated Teacher Change Beliefs Model (TCBM) and an instrument to identify critical components of teacher change beliefs (TCB) in Malaysian secondary schools. Five different pilot test approaches were applied to ensure the validity and reliability of the instrument. A total of 936 teachers from 47 high-performing secondary schools completed the survey. Structural equation modelling was applied to test the models. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify the underlying factors, whereas confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the measurement models. The analysis yielded a three-factor TCBM: (1) discrepancy, (2) efficacy and (3) principal support. The results demonstrated a good fit of the model: normed χ2 = 3.156, Tucker-Lewis Fix Index = .987, Comparative Fix Index = .991 and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .048. The results also provided evidence for convergent validity, discriminant validity and construct reliability. The TCBM is an empirically tested model derived in a local Malaysian cultural education setting. It provides direction for practitioners in planning and designing training programmes of change management for school principals in the enhancement of TCB among teachers in schools. Besides, Teacher Change Beliefs Scale is a promising and welcome tool for both practitioners and researchers. With only nine items, it is easy to administer and not time-consuming.

Measuring teacher attitudes towards change: an empirical validation

The objectives of the study were to validate a substantiated Teacher Attitudes towards Change (TATC) model and an instrument to identify critical components of TATC. A total of 936 teachers from 47 high-performing secondary schools completed the survey. Five different pretests had been applied to ensure the validity and reliability of the instrument: (a) review by academic colleagues; (b) verification and comments from panel; (c) personal interviews with respondents about the questionnaire format, syntax and design; (d) evaluation of item clarity; and (e) assessment of internal consistency reliability. Following these, exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify the underlying factors, whereas confirmatory factor analysis was applied to test the measurement models. The analysis yielded a three-factor model: (a) cognitive; (b) behavioural; and (c) affective reaction to change. The results demonstrated a good fit of the model: normed x2 = 4.412, TLI = 0.966, CFI = 0.977 and RMSEA = 0.060. Psychometric analyses provided evidence for convergent validity, discriminant validity and construct reliability. The TATC model is an empirically tested model derived in local Malaysian setting. It provides direction for practitioners in planning and designing training programs for school principals in enhancement of positive TATC. The TATC scale offers a promising measure for examining TATC for practitioners and researchers.

The development of principal change leadership emotional intelligence model

The main purpose of the study was to develop a substantiated Principals Change Leadership Emotional Intelligence (PCLEI) model to identify critical PCLEI that maximises change effectiveness in Malaysian secondary schools. It adopted a survey method with 731 school principals as respondents. It was tested rigorously with Rasch analysis and structural equation modelling. The analysis yielded a four-factor PCLEI model namely, Emotional Perceiving and Expressing, Emotional Utilisation, Emotional Understanding and Emotional Regulation with normed chi-square = 1.613, TLI = .971, CFI = .978 and RMSEA = .046. This is a coherent premier tested model derived in a local education setting with good convergent validity, discriminant validity and composite reliability. It would benefit educational practitioners in planning, designing and evaluating future training programs for present and prospective school principals.

Attitudes toward Change: A Comparison Between Senior Assistants and Teachers in Malaysian Secondary Schools

The central aim of the study was to examine the patterns of attitudes toward change (ATC) of senior assistants and teachers in Malaysian secondary schools. A total of 1,014 respondents were involved in the final analysis. The findings revealed that a) the senior assistants scored significantly higher than the teachers in all the three domains of ATC; b) the senior assistants and the teachers hold cognitively-based ATC; c) as a whole, senior assistants scored at the quadrant of Embracing whereas the teachers scored at the quadrant of Acceptance; d) in terms of quadrants, the senior assistants scored at the quadrant of Embracing for Cognitive, Affective and Behavioural whereas the teachers scored at the quadrant of Embracing for Cognitive and Affective but at the quadrant of Acceptance for Behavioural. In summary, there is a need for relevant parties to uncover the real situation to improve teacher attitudes toward change. Improvement of quality of teachers’ attitudes is an obligatory condition for high quality school education as teachers are the change implementers who are closest to the student. Indeed, the central pivot of any school change is the acceptance or the heart of the teachers to work through the change process.

A comparative analysis on principal change leadership competencies in Malaysian high- and mediocre-performing secondary schools

ABSTRACT The study aimed to examine the levels and patterns of Principal Change Leadership Competencies (PCLC) in Malaysian High-Performing Secondary Schools (HPSS) and Mediocre-Performing Secondary Schools (MPSS). Data were collected from school principals, senior assistants, and teachers in HPSS and MPSS. A total of 1,010 respondents completed the survey. The findings revealed that (1) school principals of HPSS and MPSS ranked themselves the highest in PCLC, followed by senior assistants and teachers; (2) school principals, senior assistants, and teachers of HPSS also rated school principals high in PCLC in comparison with those reported by their counterparts of MPSS, respectively; (3) school principals of HPSS scored higher than school principals of MPSS in all the four domains of PCLC; (4) school principals of HPSS were rated as competent in all the four domains of PCLC whereas their counterparts of MPSS were rated as competent in three domains of PCLC except Defusing Resistance and Conflict; (5) both school principals of HPSS and MPSS achieved the highest mean score of PCLC in Goal Framing, followed by Institutionalizing, Capacity Building, and Defusing Resistance and Conflict. Factors why school principals of MPSS were found less competent than school principals of HPSS in implementing change were discussed.