Review of literature on Leadership Styles and Teachers' Job Satisfaction
Leadership comes from “the word lead which contains the meaning of directing, fostering,
regulating, guiding, showing, and influencing” according to Whales et al. (2021). A quality,
habit, temperament, character, or attitude that identifies a leader when engaging with others
is known as a leadership style. It is a pattern of behavior used by a leader to persuade people
to collaborate to achieve the company's objectives (Whales et. al., 2021). Currently, most
school administrators have difficulty identifying which leadership style is the right one to
use in their administration (Lee & Mao, 2020). This suggests that leaders may assist in
clearing up the uncertainties caused by the overlap of tasks in work practices, command,
control, and administration at the highest level of management by implementing effective
leadership practices. According to Kalkan et al., (2020), lots of activities happen in schools,
sustainable leadership is of paramount importance.
Job satisfaction plays an important role in ensuring good performance in learning
institutions (Abayomi, 2020). It can help develop creativity and improve the job
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experience and organizational outcomes of teachers (Abidakun & Ganiyu, 2020). The
presence of job satisfaction increases personal efforts, improves communication skills and
teachers’ abilities, and increases teachers’ retention, thus, contributing to the growth of the
school (Ali et al., 2018). Many factors can either promote satisfaction or dissatisfaction in
international schools, and one such factor is inappropriate leadership style. Many
educational institutions have ineffective leaders who lack knowledge on how to motivate
their employees (Andrzej, Marzena, & Aleksandra, 2019). Hence, lack of attention to the
motivation issue has led to some negative outcomes such as employee turnover,
absenteeism, dissatisfaction, and inappropriate behaviors when interacting with other
personnel in the organization (Barasa & Kariuki, 2020). Furthermore, job satisfaction can
also be linked to many other external factors such as leadership styles, which can affect
the perceptions and attitudes of the employees about their work (Batugal & Tindowen,
2019).
According to Lopes and Oliveira (2020), leadership is critical for an organization's
development, although leadership styles differ between businesses and establishments.
Leadership style is different depending on the situation. Many leaders tailor their
leadership style to the institute's mission and working environment. In the education
sector, for example, teachers who have worked with the same leader for a long time are
more likely to be capable of working closely with that leader. Teachers get satisfied with
their heads and their leadership style, and this long-standing partnership may improve
the teachers' and head teachers' levels of satisfaction (Budiasih et al., 2020).
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Additionally, Adams and Velarde (2020) investigated the leadership styles of international
school leaders in Malaysia's heterogeneous cultural setting. This provided an opposing
viewpoint to what was discovered by Budiasih et al. (2020). They used a qualitative
approach involving interviews with four school administrators to find viewpoints on ethnic
diversity. They also used field notes from observation and studied documentaries from
three different foreign schools. The authors observed a situation in which the relationship
between the head's leadership style and the teacher's job satisfaction was not as important
in a school setting. Teachers were the least satisfied with the financial aspect of tutoring
and the most satisfied with their colleagues in specific situations. However, this study only
looked at four school leaders, which was a tiny sample size. More leaders, as well as other
people who operate in that atmosphere, such as instructors, should have been included in
the study. They also used the observation method, which meant that each observer's
perspective of what they saw was unique. They should have coupled their investigation
with different data-gathering strategies. Finally, they looked at the documentaries
produced by the three schools. All schools will produce a documentary that only shows
the positive aspects of the institution, so other negative aspects may go unnoticed. White
and McCallum (2020), on the other hand, found no evidence that job satisfaction was
linked to the head's leadership style. Rather, teachers' job satisfaction was linked to the
teachers' general approachability, cordiality, support, and understanding. Job satisfaction
was also influenced by the personality traits of the followers. This is in line with Torres
(2019), who claims that leadership theory should be based on circumstances and follower
individuality rather than a general style.
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The study looked at the impact of leadership style on teacher job satisfaction in learning
institutions and was piloted in China (Poole, 2018). In China, structural equation modeling
(SEM) was used to show the link between headmasters' leadership style and teacher job
satisfaction in secondary and primary schools. Questionnaires were distributed to teachers
at 180 elementary schools, 172 secondary schools, and 187 high schools in the Chinese
province of Xinjiang. According to research by Poole (2018), there was a significant
positive association between leaders' leadership style, teacher job satisfaction, and
decision-making style. As a result, the most important finding of this study is that the
connection between leadership style and teacher job satisfaction is prompted by an
engaging decision-making style. To be capable of promoting teacher job satisfaction in the
learning institution, a leadership style should be supplemented by a decision-making style,
whereas in old-style management simulations, writers typically blended the leadership
styles and decision-making into a single style, overlooking the significant part of decision
making as an autonomous procedure (Poole, 2018).
Furthermore, Anastasiou and Garametsi (2020), conducted another study at secondary
schools in Greece's northwestern region. They looked at the teachers' perspectives on the
priorities for good school management in terms of age and job experience. It involved
public and private secondary schools in Loannina, the prefecture's capital, and largest
city. More than 300 questionnaires were issued to 32 schools, with around 165 being
returned, or 54.99 percent. The teachers' job satisfaction, teamwork, and collaboration
with the principal were all assessed using the Likert five-point scale. Collaboration with
the principal and teamwork were highlighted as priorities in good school management by
the teachers. When comparing public and private schools, it was discovered that private
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schools placed more emphasis on job satisfaction, teamwork, and collaboration with the
head of school. Teachers expect school administrators to promote a positive working
atmosphere, according to the research (Anastasiou & Garametsi, 2020).
In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Thuy, Thi, Van, and Ngoc (2020) investigated the
influence of transformational leadership and employee job satisfaction in changing
employees' commitment to an enterprise. They concentrated on post-merger businesses
in the retail and pharmaceutical industries. A linear regression model was used to
analyze a survey sample of 381 employees. Recruits were not included in the poll. The
survey was to be completed by employees during their working hours. The findings
suggested that transformational leadership was linked to both commitment and job
satisfaction. Thuy et al. (2020) discovered that businesses must continue to use the
transformational leadership approach. As a result, employees' job satisfaction and job
commitment to organizational transformation improve.
Additional research was conducted by Cubay (2020) on the leadership style of public
secondary school administrators, power bases, and employee job satisfaction in the
Philippines. It was carried out in the province of Bohol's First Congregational District. To
acquire data, the researchers used descriptive correlation analysis and questionnaires.
Respondents were 35 administrators from public secondary schools and 214 teachers. The
data revealed that the administrators' leadership style and the teachers' job satisfaction had a
substantial link. Furthermore, the researcher discovered that the administrators' perceptions
of their leadership styles differ significantly from the teachers' perceptions of
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the administrators' leadership styles. As a result, it was established that instructors were
content with their jobs independent of the administrators' leadership style (Cubay, 2020).
A study was conducted by Mefi and Asoba (2020) in the Eastern Cape Province of South
Africa. They looked at leadership and job satisfaction in knowledge-based institutions, with
a particular focus on heads of departments at universities. In the qualitative research, the
case study design was adopted, which entails the use of a typical unit, entity, organization,
or community. The study focused on Higher Education Institutions (HEI) that were not
among South Africa's top ten institutions. The HEI was chosen at random. The academic
personnel at these HEIs were all targeted. The academic staff's contact information was
acquired from the internal telephone directory through the Human Resource department. The
sampling method utilized was non-probability, and all 80 members were included in the
sample. A Likert-type questionnaire was used to collect data for the study. The findings
revealed that the relationship between leadership and job satisfaction was non-linear in the
sense that it could only be understood in the context of a systematic approach that took
various aspects into account. The respondents' tendency to align with the choice of neutral
response, indicating that other considerations triumphed, demonstrated this. Other
characteristics that appeared to be important in defining the sort of leadership-employee
employment connection include autonomy to use innovative work approaches,
acknowledgment and praise, colleague interactions, job security, and the leader's
relationship with the support staff. As a result, the relationship between leadership styles and
job satisfaction is convoluted and can only be understood in the context of a system of other
complex elements, rather than being fully stated in linear terms.
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Ineffective leadership practice exists regionally due to a lack of leadership support and the
evolving roles of school managers, administrators, and leaders, which is a major reason
for teachers' lack of motivation and job satisfaction (Tshidi, 2020). According to research
conducted in Botswana by Tshidi (2020), several issues are being faced because of
advancements in the education system. This is due to a variety of obstacles posed by
technical improvements, political issues, and socioeconomic shifts. As a result, the
government has been obliged to reconsider the leadership, management, and
administration systems used in schools. Not only were the leaders given increased
responsibilities in terms of planning, but also in terms of recruiting and mentoring the
personnel. As a result, the leader must apply various solutions to various challenges,
forcing them to strike a balance between management, leadership, and administration.
Employee unhappiness can be caused by a lack of correct balance (Tshidi, 2020).
According to Albugami (2020), teacher dissatisfaction has an impact on the effectiveness
of classroom teaching, which leads to student achievement. Teachers' connections with
school administration are a key component in work discontent and a major driver of
teacher turnover, which is a result of ineffective leadership, posing serious issues to an
educational system already facing a teacher shortage.
The study was undertaken by Mwesigwa, Tusiime, and Ssekiziyivu (2020) among academic
employees at Uganda's state universities. Their goal was to investigate the link between
leadership styles, and organizational commitment as mediated by job satisfaction. They
employed a quantitative methodology and a cross-sectional approach. Correlation and
regression were used to evaluate the hypothesis. A total of 353 academic employees from
Uganda's five public universities were surveyed, with a 66 percent response rate. The
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leadership style and organizational commitment are partially mediated by job satisfaction,
according to the findings. It was suggested that to increase academic staff commitment at
Ugandan public universities, managers should use a combination of leadership styles that
lead to job satisfaction (Mwesigwa et. al, 2020). However, only one research approach
was used to collect data in this study. To triangulate, further methods, such as the
utilization of interviews, should have been used.
Another study was conducted by Tallam and Henry (2020) that investigated the
relationship between supervision techniques and job satisfaction among teachers in
secondary public schools in Nakuru County's west sub-county. 326 instructors from nine
public secondary schools were surveyed. To obtain a sample size of 150 respondents,
stratified random sampling was used. The study used a correlation research design. The
data were collected using structured questionnaires, and the data was analyzed using
inferential and descriptive statistical methods. Many supervisors were not available to
provide consultation services, and peer-to-peer supervision was a rare practice in their
institutions, according to the data. Their leaders failed to set goals and expectations for
the teachers, and they failed to follow through on the assignments that were provided.
Their leaders did not supervise their teaching, classroom management, or follow up on
how the advice and counseling sessions were conducted. Only their arrival times were
checked by the supervisors. The supervisors' actions had an impact on the job
satisfaction of secondary school teachers in this area. Job satisfaction in this region could
be raised by improving supervision techniques (Tallam & Henry, 2020).
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At Strathmore University, Maina (2020) investigated how management and leadership
style, as well as coworker support and staff development, influence job satisfaction for
administrative personnel. To examine the workability of the variables tested and achieve
the study objectives, the descriptive study design was used. The 225 administrative staff
members of Strathmore University made up the study population. This population yielded
a sample size of 112. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data, which were then
distributed to Strathmore University administrative staff via Google Docs. Between
leadership style and job satisfaction, there was a positive correlation. As a result of this
research, Strathmore's management should be particularly focused on adopting leadership
styles that are beneficial to the institution and current workforce to increase the employees'
job satisfaction and the university's competitiveness. Maina's (2020) study, on the other
hand, was solely focused on the administrative personnel. Lecturers are also affected by
leadership style at the universities. Before coming to such a judgment, the focus should
have been on the instructional staff. Apart from Strathmore, the survey should have
included another private university as well as a public university to acquire a variety of
perspectives on leadership style and job satisfaction.
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