Synthesis and the Research Gap
annahiraeta
feedbackforSummaryofarticles18.docxRunning head: SUMMARY OF ARTICLES 1
SUMMARY OF ARTICLES 18
Article Summaries: Influence of Transformational Leadership on Student Performance and
Engagement
Article Summaries: Influence of Transformational Leadership on Student Performance and
Engagement
Munir, F. & Aboidullah, M. (2018). Gender Differences in Transformational Leadership
Behaviors of School Principals and Teachers’ Academic Effectiveness. Bulletin of
Education & Research, 40(1), 99–113.
Summary
While transformational leadership constructs are commonly understood across different groups of leaders, questions over their specific use among men and women leaders have been raised. In this article, Munir and Aboidullah (2015) explore the gender variations in the transformational leadership behavior of school heads and their effects on teachers’ academic effectiveness. Using four transformational leadership principles and constructs (idealized influence, individualized considerations, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation), Munir and Aboidullah (2015) evaluate the gender differences in school principals’ transformational leadership characteristics. To this end, the researchers administered Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires to more than 250 school heads and 2300 instructors from both private and public learning institutions. The findings suggested that there were no significant variations in the application of transformational leadership behaviors across different genders. Furthermore, the study showed the existence of a strong negative relationship between transformational leadership behaviors and teachers’ academic effectiveness. Comment by Owner: Number these APA style Comment by Owner: Citation needed for instrument
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This study attempts to fill the research gaps by incorporating gender dimensions into transformational leadership in learning environments. The article also provides insights into the current study gaps by indicating that there are no gender variations in the application of transformational leadership by school heads. In so doing, it directs the dissertation research on the idea that investigations should also factor in gender dimensions to transformational leadership. Furthermore, the article suggests that school leaders are commonly viewed as the key to the success of their schools. In this respect, their successes are dependent upon the teachers’ academic effectiveness. Indeed, the study reflects previous researches that behaviors of the most influential leaders greatly affect the performance of teachers and students respectively. For instance, Munir and Aboidullah (2015) argue that transformational school leaders stimulate the employees for dramatic changes by improving their high order needs and motivate them for the realization of excellent performance that exceed their expectations. Their ability to promote excellent performance stems from the fact that they present themselves as role models and gain follower trust and confidence by empowering employees, and raising awareness about their potentials. Comment by Owner: Very clearly stated. Good for you. Comment by Owner: You have an interesting question.
Allen, N., Grigsby, B., & Peters, M. L. (2015). Does Leadership Matter? Examining the
Relationship among Transformational Leadership, School Climate, and Student
Achievement. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 10(2), 1-
22.
Summary
In this scholarly article, Allen, Grigsby and Peters (2015) explore the potential relationship between transformational leadership, school climate, and student mathematics and reading attainment. Using survey design, the researchers gathered data from a purposeful sample of elementary school heads and a convenience sample of their respective educators who are situated in small suburban school district of southeast Texas. Thereafter, Allen, Grigsby and Peters (2015) used Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires to assess the extent to which a school principal displays the qualities of transformational leadership based on the teachers’ perceptions. Additionally, the researchers used the School Climate Inventory-Revised survey to assess instructors’ perceptions of the school climate. Nonetheless, the results of the study indicated that there was no relationship between transformational leadership and student academic achievement nor between school climate and student achievement.. An investigation conducted by Allen, Grigsby and Peters (2015) on whether a relationship exists between principals’ perceptions of their own transformational leadership qualities and their teachers’ perceptions of the same qualities, showed that only 25 correlations were statistically significant. Comment by Owner: You need citations for instruments
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This study contributes to giving a different dimension to the transformational leadership hypothesis and school performance. Its relevance to the current study stems from the fact that t it indicates that there are no significant relationships between transformational leadership and students’ academic performance. In so doing, it dismisses the study’s hypothesis, which holds that transformational leadership improves students’ academic achievement and engagement. Therefore, the article can be insightful in explaining situations in which the current research finds no relationship between transformational leadership and school performance. While Allen, Grigsby and Peters (2015) argue that there are no relationships between the leadership variables and academic performance, they observe that a principal’s leadership skills impact various teacher characteristics, ranging from job satisfaction and efficacy to engagement levels and academic emphasis. The study also provides insights into the characteristics of school climates that support teacher performance. Allen, Grigsby and Peters (2015) view school climate as specifically important for the investigation of the characteristics of schools that positively influence students’ academic achievements.
Gill, A., Mand, H. S., Culpepper, A., Mathur, N., & Bhutani, S. (2011). The relations of
transformational leadership and empowerment with student perceived academic
performance: A study among Indian commerce students. Business and Economics
Journal, 2011, 1-9.
Summary
Many scholars have revealed a strong relationship between transformational leadership and student performance and empowerment. For instance, Gill et al. (2011) indicate that there exists a strong positive correlation between students’ perceived transformational leadership strategies used by instructors and principals, and students’ perceived academic performance. In their attempt to evaluate the effects of transformational leadership and empowerment with student perceived academic performance, Gill et al. (2011) examined college and university learners in Punjab and Delhi to determine their perceptions on whether transformational leadership applied by faculty leaders and empowerment enhance students’ perceived academic performance. Their quantitative study found a strong positive relationship between transformational leadership use and perceived student empowerment. Comment by Owner: Your format is effective.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
The study contributes to identification of research gaps by offering useful information on how school principals and learners can interact to optimize performance and engagement. The article also informs the current study by indicating that the fruits of transformational leadership in school can only be realized through student involvement. According to Gill et al. (2011) students are some of the most significant stakeholders in a learning institution’s revenue generation goal. Nonetheless, they pose some challenges for schools and universities due to different learning styles. Students stem from different geographical and cultural backgrounds. As a consequence, their learning approaches and challenges may differ. These problems pose leadership challenges to instructors and school leaders. This is particularly true when the instructors are unable to overcome the leadership challenges of improving performance, students often tend to withdraw from the educational programs that do not favor their academic institutions. Increased rates of withdrawal can be attributed to low performance in the class environment and examinations. According to Gill et al. (2011), the application of transformational leadership by educators and school provides the highest prospects for learning institutions because they can be employed to enhance student perceived academic performance. Since transformational leadership and empowerment have a major promise for the enhancement of students’ perceived intellectual performance, leaders can empower students to handle their study issues, trust their intelligence, and allow freedom in their studies.
Jovanovica, D., & Ciricb, M. (2016). Benefits of Transformational Leadership in the
Context of Education. Logos Universality Mentality Education Novelty.
Summary
There has been a surge in studies that profess the benefits of transformational leadership in learning institutions. For instance, in their article titled Benefits of Transformational Leadership in the Context of Education, Jovanovica and Ciricb (2016) note that schools are becoming complex in their management and methods of organizing the learning. Consequently, there have been significant changes in the styles of leadership as the function of management. Modern strategies to leadership such as transactional, charismatic, and transformational leadership continue to be more common in educational environments. According to Jovanovica and Ciricb (2016), each of these leadership approaches hold theoretical significance on their influence and values not just in time, but also in various contexts. After assessing the influence of these leadership styles on school performance, Jovanovica and Ciricb (2016) indicate that transformational leadership is one of the most appropriate approach for guiding learners in different school conditions. The researchers indicate that the importance of transformational leadership in school environments can be seen in three various dimensions: ethical dimension founded on moral standards, the validity of previous researchers, as well as the evidences of the leaders’ practices within the educational sector.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This study is relevant to the research gaps because it provides different dimensions of understanding the degree of effectiveness of transformational leadership in influencing student engagement and performance. One unique dimension that the study brings out is comparing the degree of effectiveness of transformational leadership and other leadership approaches with respect to improving school performance. Furthermore, unlike other research works, this article provides ethical dimensions of the efficacy of transformational leadership to explain how it generates desired student performance. Furthermore, while other studies only mention four major dimensions of transformational leadership related to school performance, the article incorporates six variables of this leadership theory. They include identifying and articulating vision, promoting the acceptance of group goals, offering individualized support, intellectual stimulation, offering an appropriate model, as well as high level of performance expectations.
Cruickshank, V. (2017). The influence of school leadership on student outcomes. Open
Journal of Social Sciences, 5(9), 115-123.
Summary
In a journal article titled The Influence of School Leadership on Student outcomes, Cruickshank (2017) remarks that the last three decades have witnessed many educational reforms that are meant to improve the level of student performance standards. These policy changes have led to school leadership coming to the spotlight in international education. According to Cruickshank (2017), such changes emerge from the view that school leadership can generate strong influence on the quality of educating and learning in their schools, and hence student academic attainment. In an exploration of different leadership theories and approaches, Cruickshank (2017) states that both transformational and instructional leadership approaches play a critical role in improving school performance. Cruickshank (2017) notes that the efficacy of transformational leadership in generating desired academic outcomes can be identified in three major ways. They include: promoting teaching and learning, fostering collaborative establishment of school objectives and vision, as well as creating awareness of and engagement with external stakeholders and factors that affect the school. Instructional leadership and transformational leadership are some of the most commonly mentioned models in educational literature. Scholars have attempted o endorse both of these models as appropriate approaches of leadership for school leaders to embrace (Cruickshank, 2017). While there is an overlap between these models, there are also unique variations. Comment by Owner: In this paper, your writing is very strong.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This study contributes to understanding the current research gaps by exploring the dynamics of transformational leadership and their relevance to the instructional environment. The article is relevant to the current research topic because it provides approaches for understanding transformational leadership within a school’s instructional environment. For instance, the study tries to link transformational leadership with instructional leadership model that is commonly applied by teachers who interact with their students on a daily basis (Cruickshank, 2017) For instance, instructional leadership places emphases on the academic developments of learners. Such foci include the value of developing clear educational objectives, planning the curriculum, as well as assessing the quality of instructors and their teaching (Cruickshank, 2017) Thus, the instructional leadership style is founded on the presumption that a principal’s activities should be focused on the enhancement of desired outcomes for students, as well as the significance of improving the quality of classroom teaching and learning (Cruickshank, 2017) More precisely, instructional leadership emphasizes on determining a school’s vision and goals, supervision of the delivery of the curriculum, as well as promotion of positive school learning environments. As such, the qualities of instructional leadership bear resemblance to transformational leadership principles. For instance, both transformational and instructional leadership approaches promote goal and vision development (Cruickshank, 2017) Furthermore, there is a noticeable impact of transformational leadership on student achievement primarily because it places more focus on the quality of instructors and their teaching styles.
Boberg, J. E., & Bourgeois, S. J. (2016). The effects of integrated transformational leadership on achievement. Journal of Educational Administration, 54(3), 357-374.
Summary Comment by Owner: Excellent summary.
The aim of the research presented in the article was to evaluate an integrated transformational leadership model with an inclusion of three school mediators. The authors sought to shed more light on the levels of understanding of the variables that connect leadership and students’ academic achievement in the dimension that leadership are the main determinant of students’ success depending on their leadership qualities. The research approach involved a sample of 5,392 students who gave data related to student’s engagement, and 569 tutors who provided data on the nature of the school principals’ leadership as well as the efficiency of the teachers collectively (Boberg & Bourgeois, 2016). Data analysis was conducted at the school level. The results of the study indicate that the principal or school leadership was mediated by student engagement and collected teacher efficiency. This means that the transformational leadership styles applied by the school leaderships were determined by students’ performance and engagement and teachers’ collective performance.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
The study results to understanding the current study’s knowledge gaps by proposing ways in which transformational school principals can improve teachers’ efficacy to enhance student performance and engagement. This article’s findings also lead to understanding the knowledge gaps by showing that the transformational leadership models applied by the school heads were influenced by students’ performance and engagement as well as the overall teachers’ collective performance, which is largely determined by students’ performance and attitudes towards education. The article suggests that the interaction between students’ performance and teachers’ efficacy ought to be considered when choosing the models of transformational leadership styles to apply. Nevertheless, the research does not link the direct effects of principals’ transformational leadership models on students’ performance and engagement. Instead, it links students’ performance with teachers’ morale through the principals’ transformational model. This dissertation seeks to cover this gap by directly relating appropriate principals’ transformational leadership styles on students’ performance and engagement rather than through the teachers. For instance, the paper seeks to evaluate the relationship between the effects of school leaderships’ transformational leaderships’ as it relates to the students, and how it affects students’ performance and perception of academic work and achievement.
Collins, J. D., & Rosch, D. M. (2018). Longitudinal leadership capacity growth among participants of a leadership immersion program: how much does structural diversity matter? Journal of Leadership Education, 17(3), 175–194.
Summary
The aim of the study was to analyze the extent to which racial diversity in leadership sessions foretell lateral leadership strength amongst students. In the study, the researchers sought to examine the extent to which racial diversity influence the level of leadership gains in student leadership programs, and the degree to which differences occur between students from minority ethnic groups and majority groups with regards to leadership qualities and performance (Collins, & Rosch, 2018). Data was collected in 100 universities, and analysis was based on the assessment of social justice and outcomes of students’ degree of responsibility based on the leadership styles. The results indicate that white majority students expressed negative or deteriorated leadership qualities in racially diverse settings as compared to racial minority students such as African-Americans. This had a negative effect on their performance and engagement in relation to academic performance that was directly linked to socially inappropriate attitudes as a result of inappropriate leadership approaches amongst student leaders from majority races.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
The article plays a major role in exploring the knowledge gaps for the current study in various ways. For instance, the article proposes that there is a strong link between the racial perception of student leaders from majority races and their leadership skills. However, the study failed to link academic performance and the students’ leadership tendencies. For instance, effect of the type of leadership and behaviors exhibited by the White student leaders was not examined against the performance of students from minority or majority races. As such, the dissertation will seek to examine the effects of such negative attitudes of White student leaders on performance of both majority and minority students. The different types of leadership styles practiced by the student leaders will be examined against the overall performance to check if there is a relationship between student leadership styles on the overall class or school performance and how to apply transformational leadership in order to improve academic performance.
Gkolia, A., Koustelios, A., & Belias, D. (2018). Exploring the association between transformational leadership and teacher’s self-efficacy in Greek education system: a multilevel SEM model. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 21(2), 176-196.
Summary
This article documents a study whose purpose was to evaluate the effects that the head teachers’ transformational leadership styles have on teachers’ efficiency as expressed through students’ performance. The methodology and research approach applied in the study involved selection of teachers from 77 elementary and secondary schools in Greek operating in a centralized education or curriculum system (Gkolia, Koustelios & Belias, 2018). The researchers applied a multi-level Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) evaluation to investigate teachers’ efficiency in the selected schools in recognition of the centralized model of the schools. Data analysis was done through the use of Mplus software and the Muthen method. The researchers also factored in psychometric qualities in the Principal Leadership Questionnaire, and Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy scale tests (TSES), which were analyzed using techniques that aid in modeling relevant equations for the quantitative research (Gkolia, Koustelios & Belias, 2018). The results of the study indicate that head teachers’ transformational leadership qualities significantly affect teachers’ efficiency. Teachers’ efficiency, which is indicated by the levels of student’s engagement and teaching strategies have a corresponding effect on students’ performance.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This scholarly contributes to the exploration of research gaps of the present study by examining how transformational leadership can improve teacher efficacy to improve students’ performance and engagement. To this end, the research sheds light on the importance of transformational leadership on the part of the head teacher in that appropriate transformational leadership practices have positive impacts on teachers’ efficiency. The results also suggest that the positive effects on the teachers can translate to good performance on the part of the students. However, the research was conducted on a centralized school system, and only examined the effects of transformational leadership behaviors by the principal on the teachers. It did not address transformational leadership of the teachers who engage directly with the students. As such, this dissertation seeks to fill the gap by including the transformational leadership of the teachers, the way it is influenced by the leadership qualities of the principals, and the overall effects on students’ engagement, attitudes towards education, and performance. This is because principals’ transformational leadership on the teachers in not exhaustive in that it only relates to the students indirectly so that its effects on the students may not be as significant as required.
Marsh, H. W. (2016). Cross-cultural generalizability of year in school effects: Negative effects of acceleration and positive effects of retention on academic self-concept. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(2), 256–273.
Summary
This article presents the findings of a research doe to investigate the causes and factors surrounding the issues of students joining school late or repeating classes on performance, and the relation to cultural perception. The study investigates these effects in the dimension of transformational leadership in school to determine whether there was an effect of leadership on the performance of such students. The methodology involved sampling students from different cultural backgrounds from 40 schools across the US especially those who fit the de facto effect-joining school late or repeating classes (Marsh, 2016). The author included students who had joined school earlier than their modal age, and compared their perception or view of academic abilities. The results indicate that students who had joined school early and late due different reasons such as cultural issues had lower self-perception with regards to their academic abilities than those who had joined school in their modal age.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This study contributes to understanding the research gaps of the current study by examining exploring how transformational leadership can influence students’ perception, resulting in improved performance. For instance, the study sheds light on the effects of students’ perceptions on their academic abilities and the extent to which they value education based on the age to which the join school and whether they repeat school or not. The study is important in explaining the decline in performance amongst students who join school early and late depending on their attitudes and perceptions towards education. However, there is a gap in the research with regards to whether the performance of the students would improve if the leadership style at school and in class would have been tailored to the needs of the students. The research failed to link transformational leadership with the students’ self-perception with regards to their academic abilities. As such, the dissertation seeks to link students’ self-perception of their academic abilities with transformational leadership to find out whether transformational leadership can improve students view of their abilities irrespective of challenges such as repeating or either joining school early or late.
Price, H. E. (2015). Principals’ social interactions with teachers: How principal-teacher social relations correlate with teachers’ perceptions of student engagement. Journal of Educational Administration, 53(1), 116-139.
Summary
Price (2015) conducted a research to determine the levels of success of instructional and transformational leadership on students’ performance. The author also sought to demonstrate the efficiency of a combination of different approaches to transformational leadership as applied in improving students’ performance and engagement with time. The methodology of the study involved a collection of empirical data on students’ performance that had been accumulated for three years that involved impact study. Price (2015) critically surveyed the existing literature on transformational leadership and analyzed national examination performance that explored head teachers’ and tutors’ view of the appropriate strategies that they thought had led to students’ better performance. The researcher then conducted a case study of 20 schools to come up with the findings. The results of the study indicate that schools’ abilities to improve in terms of students performance with time and sustain the high performance is dependent on the head teachers’ understanding and correction of the problems that affect students’ performance.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
This research article contributes to demystifying the current knowledge gaps by shedding light on the various ways that experienced teachers and principals have used transformational leadership to sustain high performance in the institutions in which they have worked for more than three years. However, the limitation of the study to the research gap is that it examined ways through which school principals and teachers applied transformational leadership in national examinations, and the opinions were largely sourced from an independent school agency. As such, the results are not sufficiently reliable because students’ performance and engagement is multidimensional and goes beyond the scores in national exams only. As such, this dissertation will fill this gap by analyzing transformational leadership approaches that can increase students’ engagement and performance in all grades and exams rather than in national exams alone. This paper also seeks to focus on students’ motivation as induced by transformational leadership in order to increase their positive view and appreciation of academic work.
Tomsett, P. J. (2017). Transformational leadership in higher education research supervision (Doctoral dissertation, Prifysgol Bangor University). 1-225.
Summary
Tomsett (2017) assesses the different ways through which transformational leadership is applied by different leaders in institutions of higher learning and the extent to which they improve students’ performance and view of the difficulty of academic tasks. The aim of the research was to investigate ways through which leaders in higher learning institutions applies transformational leadership, and the mechanisms that determine the success of the leaders’ application of transformational leadership through measurement of the conventional confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) as well as bi-factor models (Tomsett, 2017). The methodology of the study involved 421 final year male undergraduate students between ages 25-57 from three universities who were working under 93 supervisors (Tomsett, 2017). The measures of transformational leadership behaviors of the supervisors were determined by the use of DTL-HE, and the indicators were characteristics such as being considerate, provide inspirational motivation, and intellectually stimulate the students (Tomsett, 2017). Data was analyzed by the use of Mplus 7.0.
Description of How the Study Leads to the Research Gaps
References
Allen, N., Grigsby, B., & Peters, M. L. (2015). Does Leadership Matter? Examining the
Relationship among Transformational Leadership, School Climate, and Student
Achievement. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 10(2), 1-
22.
Boberg, J. E., & Bourgeois, S. J. (2016). The effects of integrated transformational leadership on achievement. Journal of Educational Administration, 54(3), 357-374.
Collins, J. D., & Rosch, D. M. (2018). Longitudinal leadership capacity growth among participants of a leadership immersion program: how much does structural diversity matter? Journal of Leadership Education, 17(3), 175–194.
Cruickshank, V. (2017). The influence of school leadership on student outcomes. Open
Journal of Social Sciences, 5(9), 115-123.
Gill, A., Mand, H. S., Culpepper, A., Mathur, N., & Bhutani, S. (2011). The relations of
transformational leadership and empowerment with student perceived academic
performance: A study among Indian commerce students. Business and Economics
Journal, 2011, 1-9.
Gkolia, A., Koustelios, A., & Belias, D. (2018). Exploring the association between transformational leadership and teacher’s self-efficacy in Greek education system: a multilevel SEM model. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 21(2), 176-196.
Jovanovica, D., & Ciricb, M. (2016). Benefits of Transformational Leadership in the
Context of Education. Logos Universality Mentality Education Novelty.
Marsh, H. W. (2016). Cross-cultural generalizability of year in school effects: Negative effects of acceleration and positive effects of retention on academic self-concept. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(2), 256–273.
Munir, F. & Aboidullah, M. (2018). Gender Differences in Transformational Leadership
Behaviors of School Principals and Teachers’ Academic Effectiveness. Bulletin of
Education & Research, 40(1), 99–113.
Price, H. E. (2015). Principals’ social interactions with teachers: How principal-teacher social relations correlate with teachers’ perceptions of student engagement. Journal of Educational Administration, 53(1), 116-139.
Tomsett, P. J. (2017). Transformational leadership in higher education research supervision (Doctoral dissertation, Prifysgol Bangor University). 1-225.
