Leadership Style, Job Satisfaction and Commitment: A Case Study of Public

Primary Schools in Bomet County, Kenya

Reuben Kipkemoi Chirchir PhD Defense Presentation

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Leadership

17th October 2015

Presentation Outline

1) The Problem Statement2) Purpose of the Study3) Hypothesis/Research Questions4) Theoretical Framework5) Research Method & Data collection6) Findings/Results7) Discussions8) Recommendations

Problem Statement• The success of any establishment, schools included depends

on the Leadership, Commitment, and Satisfaction of employees among others

• The quality of education in Bomet County, Kenya has continued to gradually fall partly because of many reasons; poor leadership, poor infrustracture, poor systems, etc

• School’s performance is mainly dependent on the teachers and administrators of the school.

• Teachers are often promoted to head-teachers/principals without much formal preparation.

• Working environment is very poor in terms of facilities

Study Objectives The Broad objective of the study was to investigate the influence of perceived leadership style of head-teachers on job satisfaction and commitment of subordinate teaching staff. Specific Objectives

1) Determine the leadership styles adopted by head teachers2) Determine the level of job satisfaction of teachers3) Determine the level of commitment of teachers4) Determine the effect of leadership style on job satisfaction5) Determine the effect of leadership style on commitment6) Determine the relationship between job satisfaction and

commitment of teachers.7) Make recommendations on the appropriate leadership style for

primary schools in Bomet County

Conceptual Framework

Hypothesis of the StudyH01- There is no difference between the leadership styles of either genderH02- There is no significant difference between the level of commitment and genderH03- There is no significant difference between the level of Job Satisfaction and genderH04- Leadership style has no significant influence on job SatisfactionH05- Leadership style has no significant influence on organizational CommitmentH06- Demographic Factors have no significant influence on job satisfactionH07- Demographic Factors have no significant influence on commitmentH08- Job satisfaction has no significant influence on organizational commitmentH09- Demographic factors have no mediating effect on the relationship between Leadership style and Job satisfaction H010- Demographic factors have no mediating effect on the relationship between Leadership style and Organizational CommitmentH011- Job satisfaction has no mediating effect on the relationship between Leadership style and Organizational CommitmentH012- Organizational commitment has no mediating effect on the relationship between Leadership style and Job satisfaction

Research Method & Design

• A quantitative research design was adopted. The subjects of the study were head teachers and teachers in public schools five sub-counties

• Stratified Random Sampling Technique used to sample. Population divided into 5 strata. A minimum of 20 schools sampled in each sub-county; 5 to 9 respondents taken from each school.

• The questionnaire had four parts namely;– i) demographic questionnaire, – ii) a modified Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire – iii) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, and – iv) Job Satisfaction Survey Questionnaire.

• Data analysed using SPSS Version 20

• Descriptive and Inferential statistics used to explore trends and relationships

ResultsGeographical Distribution of Respondents

Sub-county (District) N PercentageSotik 216 25.5Chepalungu 189 22.3Bomet Central 213 25.1Bomet East 132 15.6Konoin 98 11.6Total 848 100.0

Variation in sample size per County is attributed to population, area and accessibility of schools

Frequency distribution: Marital Status

Marital Status N Percentage

Single 182 21.6

Married 644 76.3

Divorced/Separated 11 1.3

Widowed 7 0.8

Total 844 100.0

Over 76% teachers in public primary schools are married and therefore have family responsibilities.

Frequency distribution of Respondents by Age

Age Group N Percentage25-30 282 33.531-35 185 22.036-40 127 15.141-45 90 10.746-50 61 7.251-55 70 8.3>55 27 3.2Total 848 100.0Over 70% of teachers in public primary schools are below

40 years of age. This implies that public primary schools in Bomet County are managed by fairly young teachers.

Frequency Distribution based on Qualifications

Education Level N PercentageUntrained 84 10.0TTC Cert (P1) 364 43.4S1 39 4.7Diploma 233 27.8Bachelor’s degree 110 13.1Master’s degree 8 1.0Total 838 100.0

90% of respondents are professional teachers with requisite qualifications. Teachers in public primary schools are highly skilled

Distribution of Head-teachers by Gender

Gender of Head Teacher N Percent

Male 115 89.1

Female 14 10.9

Total 129 100.0

Majority of head teachers are male (89.1%) and a very small minority being women (10.9%).

Variable N Mean SdIdealized Influence (Attributed) (IIA) 848 4.3166 0.83743Idealized Influence (Behavioural) (IIB) 848 4.2541 0.86959Inspirational Motivation (IM) 848 4.4068 0.86518Intellectual Stimulation (IS) 848 4.0646 0.99706Individualized Consideration (IC) 845 4.0802 0.95787Conditional Reward (CR) 842 3.8967 1.01190Management by Exception (Active) MBEA 841 3.2048 1.19848Management by Exception (Passive) MBEP 841 1.9242 1.01204Laissez-Faire (LF) 843 1.8354 1.04051Transformational 848 4.2216 0.78047Transactional 845 2.9959 0.64911

Teachers Perception on head teachers’ leadership style

Comparison of results indicate that Transformational leadership style has higher mean score than transactional leadership style and Laissez-faire leadership style

Descriptive Statistics on Organizational Commitment

Construct N Mean Std. Deviation

Affective 846 2.9821 0.83148

Continuance 846 2.9773 0.82446

Normative 846 3.4789 0.76062

Org.

Commitment846 3.1461 0.61066

Normative is moderately high meaning teachers moderately believe in the teaching profession and the schools and feel obliged to continue teaching (Meyer and Allen, 1991). Generally teachers are ambivalent on commitment

Teachers perception on Job SatisfactionVariables N Mean Sd.Supervision 845 2.2501 1.02306Appreciation 846 2.7971 1.02663Working conditions 845 2.7625 0.87375Co-workers 837 4.1511 0.85535Communication 836 2.6188 0.70817Teaching 836 2.5786 0.75156Admin. Duties 837 3.1589 1.11662Job Satisfaction 847 2.8969 0.47714Teachers are satisfied with co-teachers. Suggesting they relate well among each other. However, in general, the overall job satisfaction was ambivalent

Relationship between demographic variables and commitment

  Affective Continuous Normative Organizational Commitment

Gender -.010 -.046 -.043 -.043Marital Status -.015 .037 .026 .021Age of Respondent

.009 .062 .022 .041

Education -.075* .022 .052 -.003Experience .017 .043 .018 .034Specialization -.025 -.030 -.010 -.029* Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)The results indicate an inverse significant relationship between

education level and affective commitment. This implies that teachers of higher qualifications have less emotional attachment to the school or teaching.

Correlation between demographic factors and job satisfaction variables

  Supervision Appreciation Working

conditions

Co-workers Comm-

unication

Teaching Admintrative

Duties

Job Satisfaction

Gender -.024 .000 -.022 .060 -.006 -.085* -.091** -.055

Marital Status -.008 .024 -.007 -.023 .025 .012 -.060 -.014Age of

Respondent .020 .074* .042 .012 .079* .171** -.020 .092**

Education .026 .042 -.008 .051 .047 .026 -.098** .011

Experience .031 .066 .033 .031 .055 .127** -.019 .081*

Department -.020 -.029 -.027 -.017 -.022 .024 .004 -.025

Overall, job satisfaction was positively correlated with the ‘age of respondent and ‘experience in teaching.

Correlation between leadership style and commitment

 Affective

Continuous

Normative

Organizational Commitment

Transformational .090** .174** .262** .228**

Transactional .097** .112** .077* .126**

Laissez-faire .013 -.096** -.188** -.115**

Generally there is a weak but significant correlation between all aspects of leadership and organizational commitment.

Correlation between Leadership style and Job Satisfaction

  Transformational Transactional Laissez-faireSupervision -.612** .013 .545**

Appreciation -.421** -.035 .345**

Working Conditions -.287** .116** .308**

Co-workers .256** .039 -.180**

Communication -.258** .067 .291**

Teaching -.173** .106** .225**

Administrative Duties .119** .092** -.074*

Job Satisfaction -.384** .104** .399**

Transactional leadership had a weak significant positive correlation with job satisfaction. This means that an increase of transactional leadership style will cause an increase in job satisfaction. Teachers are motivated by a social exchange systems where rewarded, appreciated is given for good work done.

Influence of Leadership Style and Job Satisfaction with Demographic Factors as Mediating Variables

Construct Model R R Square Adjusted R Square F Sig.

 Transformational Leadership style

1 .196a 0.038 0.037 31.968 .000

2 .214b 0.046 0.037 5.452 .000 Transactional Leadership Style

1 .105a 0.011 0.010 8.883 .003

2 .132b 0.018 0.009 2.024 .050 Laissez-faireLeadership Style

1 .261a 0.068 0.067 58.339 .000

2 .271b 0.073 0.065 8.923 .000The results indicate that the relationship between leadership style and job satisfaction was significantly increased by inclusion of demographic factors for all the three constructs. This implies that demographic factors have a mediating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment.

Influence of Leadership Style on Organizational Commitment with Demographic Factors as Mediating

Variables

  Model R R Square Adjusted R

Square

F Sig. 

Transformational

Leadership Style

1 .230a .053 .052 44.739 .000b  

2 .238b .057 .048 6.810 .000c  

Transactional

Leadership style

1 .113a .013 .012 10.326 .001b  

2 .119b .014 .005 1.628 .124c  

Laissez Faire

Leadership Style

1 .133a .018 .016 14.255 .000b

2 .141b .020 .011 2.281 .026cThe relationship between leadership style and commitment while small was significantly increased by inclusion of demographic factors for all the three constructs. Demographic factors have a mediating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment.

Influence of Leadership Style on Organizational Commitment with job satisfaction as the mediating variable

 Model R R

SquareAdjuste

d R Square

F Sig. 

Transformational Leadership style

1 .228 .052 .051 46.102 .000  

2 .252 .063 .061 28.541 .000  

Transactional Leadership

Style

1 .107 .012 .010 9.787 .002

2 .119 .014 .012 5.979 .003

Laissez-faireLeadership Style

1 .123 .015 .014 12.847 .000

2 .149 .022 .020 9.493 .0001 Predictors: (Constant), Transformational

2 Predictors: (Constant), Transformational, Job SatisfactionJob Satisfaction had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between leadership style and organizational commitment.

Influence of Leadership Style on job satisfaction with organizational commitment as the mediating variable

Construct Model R R Square Adjusted R Square

F Sig.

TransformationalLeadership Style

1 .117a .014 .012 25.436 .000b

2 .187b .035 .033 16.596 .000c

Transactional Leadership Style

1 .171a .029 .028 11.683 .001b

2 .195b .038 .036 15.181 .000c

Laissez-faire Leadership Style

1 .219a .048 .047 42.351 .000b

2 .251b .063 .061 28.114 .000c

It was established that organizational commitment has a mediating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and job satisfaction

Relationship between commitment and job satisfaction

  Affective Continuous Normative Commitment

Supervision -.038 -.110** -.254** -.172**

Appreciation -.073* -.058 -.169** -.130**

Working conditions -.042 -.021 -.142** -.087*

Co-workers .095** .133** .224** .196**

Communication .060 -.037 .002 .011

Teaching .030 .013 -.002 .019Administrative Duties .053 .104** .091** .109**

Job Satisfaction .009 -.002 -.092** -.035

Overall job satisfaction had no significant influence on organizational commitment. However, various factors had varying levels of influence

DiscussionsLeadership Style• head-teachers practice transformational leadership

approaches more than transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles in running their schools.

• all the attributes of transformational leadership are utilized in a balanced way. There is a balanced approach to transformational leadership by head teachers in the County.

• transactional leadership approaches also commonly used in school leadership.

• Conclusion: Teachers use transformational leadership approaches possibly because teaching requires a lot of motivation, mentoring and social exchange.

Job Satisfaction• teachers in public primary schools are

ambivalent with their job satisfaction.

Conclusion: • Ambivalence on job satisfaction is attributed to

other underlying factors such as poor working environment, lack of facilities among others.

• Teachers have possibly remained in teaching profession possibly because of limited options.

• teachers get along well with their co-teachers and are motivated by delegation of authority

Commitment• Cumulatively teachers commitment was neither

high nor low or teachers did not wish to disclose their status

• Moderate levels of normative commitment imply that teachers are fairly loyal to the school and/or teaching. Teachers may not be satisfied with what they are doing but hold on to their jobs as manifested by moderate normative commitment.

• The moderate levels of affective commitment imply that teachers are neither appreciative nor emotionally attached to the teaching or to the school

Influence of Leadership Style on Commitment• Head teachers’ practice more transformational leadership style

than other approaches. Head teachers who practice transformational leadership cause more commitment on subordinate teachers than those practicing either transactional or laissez-faire leadership approaches

• Transformational leadership is central for successful management of educational institutions because schools heavily rely on group dynamics, trust and corporate leadership

• An increase in laissez-faire leadership style leads to a decrease in the level of commitment. This finding implies that lack or failure to provide leadership (laissez-faire) make teachers feel not morally obligated to stay (normative commitment) and may want to leave the school or the teaching profession (continuance commitment).

Influence of leadership style on job satisfaction

• Results indicate that transformational leadership tends to lead to decreased job satisfaction which is in variance to findings reported in literature (Omidifar, 2013; Aydin et al, 2013)

• Results concur with findings in Malaysia, where it was found that individualized consideration is negatively related to job satisfaction, while inspiration motivation had no effect on job satisfaction (Hanaysha et al (2012)

• Conclusion: • While teachers acknowledge their head teachers as

transformative, their leadership had little impact on their job satisfaction

Conclusions• There is both strong and weak relationship between the leadership style, job satisfaction

and organizational commitment in public primary schools in Bomet

• teachers perceived their head teachers to practice transformational leadership more than transactional and laissez-faire leadership approaches.

• a combination of both transformational and transactional leadership attributes will bring out a positive influence on both job satisfaction and commitment among teachers in public primary schools.

• School leadership need to improve on in ways of supervision, systems of reward, ways of communication and working conditions

• High normative commitment arises due to teachers teach in schools within their homes and community, causing moral obligation to give back to their community

• poor teaching environment’ may adversely affect all the other elements of job satisfaction.

• The study contributes to the existing pool of knowledge on the dynamics of organizational leadership, job satisfaction and commitment in public primary schools in Kenya.

Recommendations• The findings of this study revealed substantial information;

however, further studies is recommended on the following;

– i) Comparative studies be done on public and private primary schools in order to generalize the finding

– ii) Similar studies incorporate head-teachers in a self-rating exercise of leadership style. This will enable comparative evaluation of the self-rating findings with ratings made by their subordinates

– iii) Correlations studies need further examination to elucidate how far the various components/constructs correlate.

– iv) Studies on the mediating and moderating effects of various variables of job satisfaction and commitment

Thank You