Relationship of School Leadership with School Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis Study

Abstract

Administration and governance of schools in Turkey have a complex structure and process. Within the centralized structure, the procedures in educational activities are managed by school principals. In the Turkish literature, there are studies showing leadership styles of school leaders based on the leadership theories borrowed from different contexts. Furthermore, these leadership styles are linked to school outcomes like academic achievement and teacher motivation. Thus, catching compatible sides of leadership theories may serve to improve this kind of school outcomes. In these respects, the current study aimed to investigate which leadership styles have more effect on academic achievement and teacher motivation. Exclusion and inclusion criteria were determined in order to identify the studies to be analyzed. A meta-analysis study including 21 studies in Turkish context was conducted to achieve the purpose of the study. The meta-analysis results showed that the leadership styles were highly related with the school outcomes. Overall, laissez-faire, transactional, instructional, and transformational leadership styles had a high and positive relation with the school outcomes. The laissez-faire and spiritual leadership styles showed more effect on the teacher motivation while the positive and transformational style had more effect on the academic achievement. Considering the conclusions of the study, it is recommended that future studies develop a leadership theory specific to the educational settings in Turkey.

The Asian Conference on Education 2022: Official Conference Proceedings

“…This led to them inspiring their teams (SMTs and teachers) to become more cohesive and motivated to teach, thus improving the school environment. This is also consistent with other literature that showed that transformational leadership styles are related to teacher motivation (Adhikari, 2019;Ertem, 2021;Wulandari, 2022).…”

“…The findings of this study support the notion that investing in principals is a catalytic endeavor as one principal impacts an entire community of teachers, learners and parents (Ertem, 2021;Hauseman et al, 2017).…”

“…Transformational leaders are changeorientated; form collaborations; build relationships; inspire others; foster mutual support; are good communicators and listeners; are considerate, supportive and participatory in their leadership; and have a high regard for teamwork (Day & Sammons, 2014;Ndiga et al, 2014). All of these are important for forming positive relationships with teachers, students and parents and achieving school improvement (Day & Sammons, 2014;Ertem, 2021;Hallinger & Heck, 2010;Lin, 2022;Sun & Leithwood, 2012;Yang, 2014). Day and Sammons (2014) suggest that transformational leadership is less likely to result in student learning achievements as it mainly focuses on teacher relationships.…”

“…The success of every school depends on effective management and leadership by school principals (Kirori & Dickinson, 2020). Effective leadership contributes to an improved education system, in which principals are key change agents (Acton, 2021;Ertem, 2021).…”

“…It is well-known that a capacitated and supported principal can lead positive change within a school and create an environment that supports quality teaching and learning (Ertem, 2021;Leithwood et al, 2020). Day and Sammons (2014) has shown that such an environment consists of teachers who are energised to engage with students, lead their own professional development and ensure that all students have the best opportunity to be successful.…”