The Effect of School Bureaucracy on the Relationship between Principals’ Leadership Practices and Teacher Commitment in Malaysia Secondary Schools

Abstract

The main aim of this research paper was to ascertain the relationship between principal leadership practices and teacher commitment. The study was conducted using quantitative survey questionnaire to 384 secondary school teachers, ranging from band 1 to band 6 in Malaysia using multi stage stratified cluster random sampling. This study was using SPSS nonparametric analysis and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The study found that teacher commitment was high, especially in commitment in teaching work. The study also identified three significant predictors of principal leadership practices that could enhanced teacher commitment. Findings from this study can be used to tailor for the pre-service and in-service professional leadership programs for school principals. Principal leadership practices such as continuous improvement of instruction, cooperation and collaboration and school climate that impacting teacher commitment should be given more emphases in those programs. School bureaucracy, though it is highly centralized, was another matter of important with regard to teacher commitment.