Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2023-7
Investigating a multiple mediated-effects model of instructional leadership and teacher professional learning in the Malaysian School Context: A partial least squares analysis
The poor student performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment has urged the Malaysian authorities to upskill teachers’ professional learning. However, little is known about how instructional leadership contributes to teacher professional learning, especially in the Malaysian context. This study seeks to investigate the direct relationship between principal instructional leadership and teacher professional learning through the mediating effects of teachers’ trust in the principal and self-efficacy in a multiple mediated-effects model. Data were collected from 335 primary and secondary school teachers in Penang, Malaysia. A partial least squares structural equation modelling approach was used for data analysis. The results found that the relationship between principal instructional leadership and teacher professional learning is mediated by teachers’ trust in the principal and self-efficacy. Implications for theory and knowledge are presented.
AbdullahATSMohd ZainMZNairSGAbdullahRIsmailI (2016) Malaysia’s wake up call for a more balanced approach to educational delivery and attainment. In: ThienLMNordinARKeevesJPDarmawanIGN (eds) What Can PISA 2012 Data Tell us? Performance and Challenges in Five Participating Southeast Asian Countries. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense Publisher, pp. 1–17.
2.
AndersonJCGerbingDW (1988) Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin103(3): 411–423.
3.
BanduraA (1977) Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review84(2): 191–215.
4.
BellibaşMSGümüsS (2021) The effect of learning-centered leadership and teacher trust on teacher professional learning: Evidence from a centralised education system. Professional Development in Education1–13. DOI: 10.1080/19415257.2021.1879234.
5.
BellibaşMSPolatcanMKilinçAC (2020) Linking instructional leadership to teacher practices: The mediating effect of shared practice and agency in learning effectiveness. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. DOI: 10.1177/1741143220945706.
6.
BlaséJBlaseJ (2000) Effective instructional leadership: teachers’ perspectives on how principals promote teaching and learning in schools. Journal of Educational Administration38(2): 130–141.
7.
BlauP (1964) Exchange and Power in Social Life. New York, NY: Wiley.
8.
BushT (2014) Instructional leadership in centralized contexts: Rhetoric or reality?Educational Management Administration & Leadership42(1): 3–5.
9.
BrykASSchneiderB (2002) Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
10.
ChuaWCThienLMLimSYTanCSGuanTE (2020) Unveiling the practices and challenges of professional learning community in a Malaysian Chinese secondary school. Sage Open10(2): 1–11.
11.
CohenJ (1992) A power primer. Psychological Bulletin112(1): 155–159.
12.
CohenLManionLMorrisonK (2013) Research Methods in Education, 7th edn. London: Routledge.
13.
CreswellJW (2014) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
14.
DayCLeithwoodK (eds) (2007) Successful Principal Leadership in Times of Change: An International Perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.
15.
DouglasSPCraigCS (2007) Collaborative and iterative translation: An alternative approach to back translation. Journal of International Marketing15(1): 30–43.
16.
FrankeGSarstedtM (2019) Heuristics versus statistics in discriminant validity testing: A comparison of four procedures. Internet Research29(3): 430–447.
17.
GibsonSDemboMH (1984) Teacher efficacy: A construct validation. Journal of Educational Psychology76(4): 569–582.
18.
GillCMHDBerezinaE (2020) School performance in three South East Asia countries: Lessons in leadership, decision-making and training. European Journal of Training and DevelopmentDOI: 10.1108/EJTD-01-2020-0014.
19.
HairJFHultGTMRingleCMSarstedtM (2017) A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
20.
HairJFRisherJJSarstedtMRingleCM (2019) When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review31(1): 2–24.
21.
HaironSTanC (2017) Professional learning communities in Singapore and Shanghai: Implications for teacher collaboration. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education47(1): 91–104.
22.
HallingerP (2011) A review of three decades of doctoral studies using the principal instructional management rating scale: aA lens on methodological progress in educational leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly47(2): 271–306.
23.
HallingerPBryantDA (2013) Mapping the terrain of research on educational leadership and management in East Asia. Journal of Educational Administration51(5): 618–637.
24.
HallingerPKovačevićJ (2019) Science mapping the knowledge base in educational leadership and management: A longitudinal bibliometric analysis, 1960 to 2018. Educational Management Administration & Leadership49(1): 5–30.
25.
HallingerPLiuS (2016) Leadership and teacher learning in urban and rural schools in China: Meeting the dual challenges of equity and effectiveness. International Journal of Educational Development51: 163–173.
26.
HallingerPMurphyJ (1985) Assessing the instructional behavior of principals. The Elementary School Journal86(2): 217–247.
27.
HallingerPWangWC (2015) Assessing Instructional Leadership with the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale. Cham: Springer.
28.
HallingerPAdamsDHarrisAJonesM (2018a) Review of conceptual models and methodologies in research on principal instructional leadership in Malaysia: A case of knowledge construction in a developing society. Journal of Educational Administration56(1): 104–126.
29.
HallingerPHosseingholizadehRHashemiNKouhsariM (2018b) Do beliefs make a difference? Exploring how principal self-efficacy and instructional leadership impact teacher efficacy and commitment in Iran. Educational Management Administration & Leadership46(5): 800–819.
30.
HallingerPLeeMKoJ (2014) Exploring the impact of school principals on teacher professional communities in Hong Kong. Leadership and Policy in School13(3): 229–259.
31.
HallingerPLiuSPiyamanP (2019) Does principal leadership make a difference in teacher professional learning? A comparative study China and Thailand. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education49(3): 341–357.
32.
HallingerPPiyamanPViseshsiriP (2017a) Assessing the effects of learning-centered leadership on teacher professional learning in Thailand. Teaching and Teacher Education67: 464–476.
33.
HallingerPWalkerANguyenDTHTruongTNguyenTT (2017b) Perspectives on principal instructional leadership in Vietnam: A preliminary model. Journal of Educational Administration55(2): 222–239.
34.
HarrisAJonesMCheahKSLDevadasonEAdamsD (2017) Exploring principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia: Insights and implications. Journal of Educational Administration55(2): 207–221.
35.
HenselerJRingleCMSarstedtM (2015) A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science43: 115–135.
36.
HosseingholizadehRAmrahiAEl-FarrH (2020) Instructional leadership, and teacher’s collective efficacy, commitment, and professional learning in primary schools: a mediation model. Professional Development in EducationDOI: 10.1080/19415257.2020.1850510.
37.
HoyWKTschannen-MoranM (2003) The conceptualization and measurement o faculty trust in schools: The omnibus T-scale. In: HoyWKMisaelCG (eds) Studies in Leading and Organizing Schools. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing, pp. 181–208.
38.
HoyWKWoolfolkAE (1993) Teachers’ sense of efficacy and the organizational health of schools. The Elementary School Journal93(4): 355–372.
39.
KabilanMKVeratharajuK (2013) Professional development needs of primary school English-language teachers in Malaysia. Professional Development in Education39(3): 330–351.
40.
KaracabeyMFBellibaşMSAdamsD (2020) Principal leadership and teacher professional learning in Turkish schools: Examining the mediating effects of collective teacher efficacy and teacher trust. Educational StudiesDOI: 10.1080/03055698.2020.1749835.
41.
KockNHadayaP (2018) Minimum sample size estimation in PLS-SEM: the inverse square root and gamma-exponential methods. Information Systems Journal28(1): 227–261.
42.
LiLHallingerPWalkerA (2016) Exploring the mediating effects of trust on principal leadership and teacher professional learning in Hong Kong primary schools. Educational Management Administration & Leadership44(1): 20–42.
43.
LiuSHallingerP (2017) Leading teacher learning in China: A mixed methods study of successful school leadership. In: LeithwoodKSunJPollockK (eds) How School Leaders Contribute to Student Success: The Four Paths Framework. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 279–303.
44.
LiuSHallingerP (2018) Principal instructional leadership, teacher self-efficacy, and teacher professional learning in China: Testing a mediated-effects model. Educational Administration Quarterly54(4): 501–528.
45.
LiuSHallingerP (2020) Unpacking the effects of culture on school leadership and teacher learning in China. Educational Management Administration & Leadership49(2): 214–223.
46.
LiuSHallingerPFengD (2016) Supporting the professional learning of teachers in China: Does principal leadership make a difference?Teaching and Teacher Education59: 79–91.
47.
LloydMDavisJP (2018) Beyond performativity: A pragmatic model of teacher professional learning. Professional Development in Education44(1): 92–106.
48.
MaXMarionR (2021) Exploring how instructional leadership affects teacher efficacy: A multilevel analysis. Education Management Administration & Leadership49(1): 188–207.
49.
MarksHMPrintySM (2003) Principal leadership and school performance: An integration of transformational and instructional leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly39(3): 370–397.
50.
McCoachDBAdelsonJL (2010) Dealing with dependence (Part I): Understanding the effects of clustered data. Gifted Child Quarterly54(2): 152–155.
51.
MemonMATingHRamayahTChuahFCheahJ-H (2017) A review of the methodological misconceptions and guidelines related to the application of structural equation modelling: A Malaysian scenario. Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modelling1(1): i–xiii.
52.
Ministry of Education Malaysia (2013) Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025 (Preschool to Postsecondary Education). Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Education.
53.
NeumanWL (2005) Social Research Methods, 6th edn. London: Pearson.
54.
NgAYM (2017) School leadership preparation in Malaysia: aims. Content and impact. Educational Management Administration & Leadership45(6): 1002–1019.
55.
NitzlCRoldanJLCepedaG (2016) Mediation analysis in partial least squares path modelling: Helping researchers discuss more sophisticated models. Industrial Management & Data Systems116(9): 1849–1864.
56.
PiyamanPHallingerPViseshsiriP (2017) Addressing the achievement gap: Exploring principal leadership and teacher professional learning in urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. Journal of Educational Administration55(6): 717–734.
QianHWalkerAYangX (2017) Building and leading a learning culture among teachers: A case study of a Shanghai primary school. Educational Management Administration & Leadership45(1): 101–122.
RobinsonVMJLloydCARoweKJ (2008) The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly44(5): 635–674.
61.
SarstedtMHairJFCheahJ-HBeckerJ-MRingleCM (2019) How to specify, estimate, and validate higher-order construct in PLS-SEM. Australasian Marketing Journal27(3): 197–211.
62.
SkaalvikEMSkaalvikS (2007) Dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and relations with strain factors, perceived collective teacher efficacy, and teacher burnout. Journal of Educational Psychology99(3): 611–625.
63.
TayagJAyuyaoN (2020) Exploring the relationship between school leadership and teacher professional learning through structural equation modeling. International Journal of Educational Management34(8): 1237–1251.
64.
ThienLM (2016) Malaysian students’ mathematics literacy performance in PISA from gender and socioeconomic perspectives. Asia Pacific Education Researcher25: 657–666.
65.
ThienLM (2019) Distributive leadership functions, readiness for change and teachers’ affective commitment to change: A partial least squares analysis. Sage Open9(2): 1–15.
66.
ThienLM (2020a) Psychometric analysis of a Malay language version of principal instructional management rating scale. Educational Management Administration & LeadershipDOI: 10.1177/1741143220942514.
67.
ThienLM (2020b) Assessing a second-order quality of school life construct using partial least squares structural equation modelling approach. International Journal of Research & Method in Education43(3): 243–256.
68.
ThoonenEESleegersPJOortFJPeetsmaTT (2012) Building school-wide capacity for improvement: the role of leadership, school organizational conditions, and teacher factors. School Effectiveness and School Improvement23(4): 441–460.
69.
Tschannen-MoranM (2014) Trust Matters: Leadership for Successful Schools, 2nd edn. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
70.
Tschannen-MoranMHoyW (1998) Trust in schools: a conceptual and empirical analysis. Journal of Educational Administration36(4): 334–352.
71.
Tschannen-MoranMWoolfolk HoyA (2001) Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education17(7): 783–805.
72.
WangT (2016) School leadership and professional learning community: Case study of two senior high schools in Northeast China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education36(2): 202–216.
73.
WhitenerEMBrodtSEKorsgaardMAWernerJM (1998) Managers as initiators of trust: An exchange relationship framework for understanding managerial trustworthy behavior. Academy of Management Review23(3): 513–530.
