Schools’ Leadership and Employees’ Workengagement: Evidences from Secondary Schools

Abstract

The study explored relationship between leadership styles of school
heads as perceived by secondary school teachers with teachers’ work
engagement. Leadership styles of school heads had been explored using
The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, The MLQ (FORM5X) in
terms of transformational, transactional and avoidant leadership whereas
teachers’ work engagement had been explored by administering UWES17. The universe of the study were school teachers comprising sample of
272 using convenience sampling technique. Data had been collected
from 30 schools, 19 from urban and 11 from rural places where number
of respondents from each school did not exceed than 10. Results of
descriptive statistics reveal that out of 30 heads being rated by teachers,
approximately 10% were found as transformational, within transactional
leaders, 87% utilize Contingent Reward Management, 80% use
Management by Exception- Active and 34% leaders exploit Management
by Exception- Passive whereas 55 % of them were avoidant leaders.
Results of statistical correlations using PPMC declared that leadership is
related to work engagement (r=.233) where transformational leadership
positively relates (r= .280) and within transactional leadership,
contingent reward management (r= .288) and management by exceptionActive (r= .150) positively relates to teachers’ work engagement.
However, management by exception-Passive (of transactional
leadership) (r= -.126) and avoidant leadership (r= -.210) negatively
relates to teachers’ work engagement. The study confirms that leadership
styles are correlated to teachers’ work engagement indicating that transformational leadership as the most effective form of leadership and
also the active side of transactional leadership which is characterized by
rewarding the right work, being proactive in accounting for mistakes is
linked to increasing work engaged behaviours in teachers. Whereas
punitive culture, dealing with mistakes after happenings and avoidant
leadership is seen to decrease work engaged behaviours in teachers.
Work engagement being positive work behaviour and having lasting
positive impact on employees’ general well being, must be promoted