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APPROVAL SHEET The Dissertation of NGUYEN KIM PHA Henry entitled PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLE AND INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOLS AT HAI PHONG CITY,

VARIABLES AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH

SCHOOLS AT HAI PHONG CITY, VIETNAM

A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School Southern Luzon State University, Lucban, Quezon, Philippines

in Collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Viet Nam

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy

in Educational Management

By

NGUYEN KIM PHA (Henry)

November 2013

APPROVAL SHEET

The Dissertation of

NGUYEN KIM PHA (Henry)

entitled

PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLE AND INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES

AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOLS

AT HAI PHONG CITY, VIETNAM

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management

In the Graduate School Southern Luzon State University, Republic of the Philippines

in collaboration with Thai Nguyen University, Socialist Republic of Vietnam

has been approved by the Committee

DR.TERESITA V DE LA CRUZ DR APOLONIA A ESPINOSA

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management

WALBERTO MACARANAN, Ed D

Vice President, Academic Affairs _

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher wishes to convey his gratitude to the following persons who wholeheartedly devoted and helped make this piece of work a reality:

DR TERESITA V DE LA CRUZ, her adviser for the guidance,supervision,

suggestions and precious time in enthusiastically reading and checking the manuscript, providing the researcher useful materials;

DR CECILIA N GASCON, President of the Southern Luzon State University in the

Republic of the Philippines, for her incomparable contribution and support to the development of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management program in Thai Nguyen University;

DR NGUYEN VAN BINH, Director of the International Training Center, Thai

Nguyen University of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, for his enormous pursuit

to provide Vietnamese people an opportunity to grow through education;

MEMBERS OF THE ORAL EXAMINATION COMMITTEE, for their

comments and suggestions that made this research possible;

HEADMASTERS of high schools at Hai Phong City, for their cooperation in the

conduct of the study;

The Director of Hai Phong City Education and Training Department, and the

Education Specialist, for the support during the conduct of the survey

Teachers-respondents, for their active involvement and participation for without

their cooperation, the result of this thesis might not be possible;

His family and friends, for the love and support in one way or another; and to all who

have contributed to make this study a success

NKP

This research is whole-heartedly dedicated to my family and to all my relatives, my colleagues and friends, and to all classmates, all headmasters and teachers of high schools of HaiPhong for giving the researcher the non-stop guidance and sources of everything

NKP

TITLE PAGE……….………… i

APPROVAL SHEET……… ……… ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT……… ……… … iii

DEDICATION……… ……… … iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS……… ……… v

LIST OF TABLES……… vii

FIGURE……… viii

ABSTRACT……… …… ix

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION………

Background of the Study……… ………

Objectives of the Study….….……….………

Hypothesis………

Significance of the Study ……… ………… ………

Scope and Limitation……… … …………

Definitions of Terms……….…….… ……

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES.…… ……

Leadership Styles …….………

Authoritative or Autocratic Style …….………

Democratic or Participative Style …….………

Delegative or Laissez Faire Style …….………

Instructional Variables …….………

Self-regulated learners …….………

Teacher Charateristics …….………

Technology and Learning …….………

Classroom Climate …….………

Motivation in Diversity …….………

School Performance …….………

Theoretical Framework…….………

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………

Research Design.……….………

Population and Sampling……… …

Research Instrumentation……….………

Data Gathering Procedures………

Statistical Treatment……….………

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION……….…

Leadership Styles of Principals ……….…

Instructional Variables that Influence High Schools’ Performance Leadership Style and Instructional Variables ………

Performance of High Schools in HaiPhong City, Viet Nam Instructional Variables and High Schools’ Performance Proposed Strategic Action Plan CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS… Summary ……….………

Findings………

Conclusions……….…….…

Recommendations……… ………

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APPENDICES……… ……

A Communication………

B Instrument ……… …………

CURRICULUM VITAE……… ………

81

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Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution on Headmasters’

Leadership Styles as to Authoritative Style………

Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution on Headmasters’

Leadership as to Democratic Style………

Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution on Headmasters’

Leadership as to Delegative Style………

Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of Instructional Variables as to

Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of Instructional Variables as to

Technology and Learning………

Frequency and Weighted Mean Distribution of Instructional Variables as to

Predictor of High Schools’ Performance as to Instructional Variables in

terms of Motivation in Diversity………

Predictor of High Schools’ Performance as to Instructional Variables in

terms of in terms of Classroom Climate………

Figure Page

1 Research Paradigm ……….…… 35

ABSTRACT

Title of Research :PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLES

AND INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOLS AT HAI PHONG CITY, VIETNAM

Researcher :NGUYEN KIM PHA (Henry)

Degree Conferred :Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Management Name/ Address :Southern Luzon State University

of Institution Lucban, Quezon

Adviser :DR TERESITA V DE LA CRUZ

classroom climate by up to 0.5% which indicates negligible correlation Hence, most headmasters practice shared decision-making, participative and permissive leadership The democratic and the delegative leadership styles are mostly related to some areas

of instructional variables However, it is still recommended that a balance of the authoritative, democratic and delegative leadership styles may be constantly practiced

by the headmasters, since each holds benefits to the organizations they serve Technology in learning may be improved by the department to further boost the performance of the high schools in Hai Phong City

INTRODUCTION

Education is counted on as the important aspect of the human life The ways how one translates it after receiving into the daily life is dependent largely upon the way the form of education gets passed on The topic of educational leadership has been taught for a number of years in the education management institutions to address long-standing concern of all educators, students and the entire society As the requirement to understand the style which would work best, in combination or alone,

it is imperative to understand all types individually regarding what these types offer and their methods

The purpose of utilizing different types of leadership styles in education is mainly to improve the quality of teaching, that of learning, and to create a unique and effective combination of both As the competitiveness in the world of education increases, implementation of these leadership styles becomes more and more important The role of every individual starting from principal, to the teachers, to the students is important and the ultimate goal remains the enhancement and upkeep of teaching-learning relationship The job of every individual in educational leadership,

is to create the necessary conditions for teachers to develop and execute their own teaching styles and methods, in a manner that is simple and most effective for students Also, the development of other aspects of educational framework, such as association with external groups that facilitate better teaching and learning, the care of infrastructure and others all come up under the purview of educational leadership With the eye for reformation, a great number of educators either have criticized or supported some of the education management leadership styles, however,

which style works and suits best is subjected to a matter of opinion The educational leadership styles are basically built on the understanding which contains characteristics like social interaction and/or physical energy play a part in the method the education is imparted The theory of effective leadership is all about adding the performance of all the education leaders, basically the educators, in order to improve the achievement of the students Hence, the effective leadership is very much important for both the students and the teachers to enhance the performance at highest level

As mentioned by Buckner (2006), the type of leadership style is one of the major factors that determine the performance of school besides others such as school traditions and policies This is because a principal might find that deviating from the traditional leadership style of the school might result in management crisis None can deny the fact that there is no single way to inspire and lead in the education field Every educator and the schools as well, view all the leadership strategies in different ways, as in some situations, actions and features seem much more favorable than the others at different times and levels In the broad ways, there are differet types of leadership styles that may be applied in educationl management To mention few, most popularly used in the field of education is Lewin’s leadership styles as to authoritative, democratic, and delegative.Others that are used in versatile combination

or individually are transformational, facilitative and hierarchical

Meanwhile, performance of schools may not only be attributed to the schoolheads’ leadership styles but may also be looked into another factor like the instructional variables There are studies citing that instructional variables like classroom climate, teacher characteristics, class structured self-regulated learners, and

educational technology could be factors in uplifting the school performance as a whole (Pierce,2006; Acikgoz, 2005;Liao,2009)

Considering leadership styles and instructional variables as a whole, school performance can be viewed in a clearer and more precise perspective Quality school performance requires competent and well-skilled teachers and administrators in reconstructing and implementing school plans, policies and rules to strengthen learning Based from the above premise, this study was conceived

Background of the Study

High schools functions are far different from the primary schools since the former are of relatively high independence Hence, the possible role of management is extremely important for principals School heads as leaders if they fulfill the necessary strength and run the rail track will definitely reach the target in all aspect of management professional groups

However, the quality of teaching staff of a school being still inadequate in terms of number of teachers, structural mismatches, professional capacity of teachers not timely responding to the increasing demands of the innovation education today.Before these shortcomings, the development of the teaching staff of the school have become urgent tasks that need solutions to fix right away to improve the quality

of teaching and learning to meet training needs of human resources for quality local country

Active professional groups in Hai Phong High School have still many problems that needed to be overcome For the objective reasons emerge still human mechanisms and programs, the content is not compatible with each other On the other hand, the supply conditions for the human needs and activities have too many contradictions especially the management team for many years has not been

mentioned in the argument, the head professional, the direct leadership of base unit in the school management training; should direct process practical observation

On the other hand, classroom climate is very important for high school students to develop their behavior to people who live around Twenty-first century is a century for technology, there are a lot of software to manage to work better so each person has to take the chance to use technology If not, then one is out of date Moreover, students in high school are improving their behavior, so they must be encouraged to study better Discussing the reality of student learning high school, besides the delight of students, passion for learning, there is also a small part of pupils feel school bored, caused by loss of interest in learning Lazy pupils increase which affect learning outcomes of students in particular and in the quality of high school education in general, especially that high school agers are preparing for biggest turning point in college, and the loss of interest in learning to make them lose motivation The lazy pupils say that many of them upon seeing the books feel headaches, dizziness, snapped just want to push them aside for free

The management of the center and the role of principals is huge If the principal does not renew, it is difficult to reform school Practice has proven that the most influential in the industry management system to learn results of school's students The style of principal work affects operating environment of the school In addition to capability to design programs and plans, principals must have thought of suggestive referendum and decide the goals to remedy the inconsistent management solutions, lack of scientific institutions from the direct innovation programs, teaching and learning methods, and the use of information technology to manage and improve teachers This prompted the researcher to conduct the study on the principals’

leadership style and the instructional variables affecting the performance of high schools at Hai Phong City in Vietnam

Objectives of the Study

This study determined the principals’ leadership styles and instructional variables affecting the performance of high schools and with an endview of developing a strategic action plan at Hai Phong City, Vietnam, for school year 2012-

2013

Specifically, it sought to attain the following objectives:

1 Determine the leadership styles of the respondent principals as to;

4 Determine the level of performance of the respondent high schools

5 Find out which of the instructional variables predict school performance

6 Develop a strategic action plan

Hypothesis

1 There is no significant relationship between the principals’ leadership styles and the instructional variables in high schools at Hai Phong City

2 None of the instructional variables predict the performance of high schools at Hai

Phong City

Significance of the Study

This research would help the school leaders, teachers, students, and future

researchers

School Leaders.This study would contribute to the school supervision among

school heads in the sense that they would be informed in the new dimension of modern leadership by knowing and understanding their own leadership styles They would understand how the types of leadership may influence to the overall school performance The output of this study which is the proposed strategic action plan may

be considered by school heads in their school year planning for further improvement

of their academic programs

Teachers.They would be benefited in this study since they play an important

role in the delivery of knowledge Knowing the different leadership styles of their immediate heads would give them time to adjust to the different situations in the school They would be informed as well on various variables that may affect students’ performance whereby they could plan and innovate interesting classroom activities The developed strategic action plan will guide them to know what would be their role

to raise the school performance

Students Since the heart of the teaching-learning process are the students, they would be benefited for they are the main concern of both the school heads and the teachers A school with conducive environment, flexible school heads with the

good leadership styles, and committed teachers would create better school

performance as a whole

Future Researchers.This study would give future references to those

researchers who wish to have a similar study and likewise develop a strategic plan Thus, knowledge on the leadership styles and important instructional variables could serve for their future reading resources

Scope and Limitations

This study was conducted in Hai Phong City focusing only in the types of leadership styles and the instructional variables that may affect the school performance.There were 14 high schools involved in this study with a total of 896 respondents comprising of headmasters and teachers

The types of leadership styles used in this study were based from Lewin’s authoritative, democratic and delegative styles On the other hand, instructional variables identified in this study were self-regulated learners, teacher characteristic, technology and learning, motivation in diversity, and classroom climate.A strategic action plan was developed based from the results of the study

To gather the data, the researcher used the validated questionnaire of Mentilla (2011) in determining the instructional variables that may affect the school performance It was composed of 50 statements that describe each variable The instrument to measure the leadership styles of respondents was based from leadership styles survey instrument used by Clark (2010) It was composed of 30 statements modified to suit to Vietnam High School setting

The time frame of this study was from October 2012 to August 2013

Definiton of Terms

For clarity and better understanding of this study, the following terms are

defined both conceptually and operationally:

Authoritative Style is a type of leadership where the leader makes decisions without consulting others (Lewin, 1939) The same definition was used in this study

Classroom climate is the combination of variables within a classroom that

work together to promote learning in comfortable environment (www.ehow.com/info_definition-classroom-climate.html) In the study, it refers to a place where students are secured to learn to develop their self-efficacy, competence,

self-determination and task comprehension

Delegative (or laissez-fair) is another leadership style used in this study in which leaders offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-making

up to the group members (Lewin, 1939)

Democractive (or Participative) Style refers to a type of leadership used in this study by which leaders offer guidance to group members, but they also participate

in the group and allow input from other group members (Lewin, 1939)

Instructional variables are one of the main variables in this study which comprise the self-regulated learners, classroom climate, motivation in diversity,

teacher characteristics, and technology and learning

Leadership styles are likewise a main variable in the study referring to the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating

people (Lewin, 1939; Clark, 2010)

Motivation in diversity in this study, it refers to the encouragement for the

students to participate in the classroom activities, and interact with their peers despite

their individual differences

Principal refers to the school headmaster who administers and supervises the whole academic programs in high schools

Performance of students refers to the average grades of the students in all

their subjets in a school semester

Self-regulated learning (SRL) emphasizes the autonomy and control by the

individual who monitors, directs, and regulates actions toward goals of the information acquisition, expanding expertise, and self-improvement (Paris & Paris 2001) In this study, it refers to students who can learn by themselves and work

without closed supervision by the teacher

Strategic Action Plan refers to sequence of steps that must be taken, or

activities that must be performed well for the strategy to succeed An action plan has

three major elements, viz: 1) specific tasks: what will be done; 2) time horizon: when will it be done; 3) resource allocation: what specific funds are available for specific activities (http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/action-plan.html) It is the

output developed based on the results of the study

Teacher characteristics form part of instructional variables whichrefer to the

teacher’s personal and professional qualities.Personal qualities deal with their attitudes and behavioral attributes while professional qualities deal with how they

deliver their teaching

Technology and learning refers to how technology is used by the teacher in

teaching-learning process, and how students interact with this mode of teaching

delivery

Chapter II REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents relevant readings and related literature which bear significance and similarities to this study This also includes the conceptual/theoretical framework and paradigm that could help the readers fully understand the context of the study

Leadership Styles

Managers and leaders in any organization are expected to influence the actions

of their employees through the several channels Some of these include communicating with staff members, stimulating subordinates to work hard and ensuring that all the resources within the company are allocated well Numerous researchers felt a need to come up with theories that govern successful leadership

One of these is known as the contingency theory

Fielder (2004) came up with this approach to leadership after realizing that leaders can function well if they changed their styles to suit the situation at hand This

is where the name contingency originates Fielder conducted several studies of effective and ineffective leaders Thereafter he concluded that the most successful approach would be to match organizational settings with leadership styles These two parameters form the basis of contingency theory of leadership

According to him, leadership style may be defned as the way leaders and employees interact with one another One cannot claim that a manager’s leadership style changes from time to time The leader's ability to lead is contingent upon various situational factors, including the leader's preferred style, capabilities and behaviors of followers and various situational factors

He further stated that contingency theories are a class of behavioral theory that contend that there is no one best way of leading and that is effective in some situations which may not be successful in others An effect of this is that leaders who are very effective at one place and time may become unsuccessful either when transplanted to another situation or when the factors around them change This helps

to explain how some leaders who seem for a while to have the 'Midas touch' suddenly appear to go off the boil and make very unsuccessful decisions

According to Gardner (n.d.), in On Leadership, "Leadership is the process of

persuasion or example by which an individual (or leadership team) induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader or shared by the leader and his or her followers."

If we accept that definition, then leadership style is the way in which that process is carried out (http://ctb.ku.edu/en/main_1122.aspx.)

Leaders' styles encompass how they relate to others within and outside the organization, how they view themselves and their position, and - to a very large extent

- whether or not they are successful as leaders A task needs to be accomplished, how does a particular leader set out to get it done Much of the material in this section looks at individual leaders, but leadership can be invested in team, or in several teams,

or in different people at different times Many - perhaps most - organizations have several levels of leadership, and thus many leaders Regardless of the actual form of

leadership, however, leadership style is an issue Whether you're the leader of a large

organization or a member of a small group that practices collective leadership, the way that leadership plays out will have a great deal to do with the effectiveness and influence of your work.The style of an organization's leadership is reflected in both the nature of that organization and its relationships with the community If a leader is suspicious and jealous of his power, others in the organization are likely to behave

similarly, in dealing with both colleagues and the community If a leader is collaborative and open, she is likely to encourage the similar attitudes among staff members, and work collaboratively with other groups (http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx)

Meanwhile, Antoine (n.d.) cited that the managerial leadership has influenced organizational activities in many ways These influences include motivating subordinates, budgeting scarce resources, and serving as a source of communication Over the years, researchers have emphasized influences of leadership on the activities

of the subordinates These emphases by the researchers led to theories about leadership The first and perhaps the most popular, situational theory to be advanced

was the Contingency Theory of Leadership Effectiveness developed by Fred E Fiedler

(Bedeian&Glueck, 2000) This theory explains that group performance is a result of interaction of two factors These factors are known as the leadership styles Contingency theories state that no leadership style is suited for all situations Its success depends on situational factors, including the leadership style and the abilities and behavior of the followers

According to Murray (2013), leadership is less about one’s needs, and more about the needs of people and the leader’s organization The leadership styles are not something to be tried on like so many suits, to see which fits Rather, they should be adapted to the particular demands of the situation, the particular requirements of the people involved and the particular challenges facing the organization He further stated that in developing one’s leadership style, the idea of Drucker (2007) may be

considered based from his creation of “modern study of management.” Drucker

divided manager’s job into five basic tasks: 1) sets objectives,2) organizes,3) motivates and communicates,4) measures, and 5) develops people All leadership

styles can become part of the leader's repertoire In many, or perhaps most organizations, more than one of these conceptions may define leadership Each implies particular ways of leading, and leaders may use a number of different methods

Leadership is the process of motivating a group of people to act towards accomplishing a common task There are number of recognized versions, or styles, of leadership, some of which have been shown to be more effective than others In 1939,

a group of researchers led by the German-American psychologist Kurt Lewin

identified three major leadership styles: authoritarian; participative or democratic; and delegative or laissez faire Good leaders may well adopt some element of all of

the styles of leadership

Authoritative or Autocratic Style

Lewin (1939) as one of the main proponent of the leadership style describes autocratic leaders who seek to have the most authority in decision-making and provide the rest of the group with clear expectations regarding what needs to be done and how it should be done They try to make as many decisions as possible and consultation is minimal This leadership style is effective on short-term projects or in environments where employees are poorly motivated or need to perform low-skilled tasks

This leadership style offers some benefits to managers who use it It reduces their stress levels as they know they have full control and it also improves the working speed of poorly motivated employees, who know they are being watched by

a leader One of the main disadvantages of this style is that by making all the decisions, the leader doesn't give the other members of the group the opportunity to start their leadership development By taking all responsibility, the leader works at full

capacity, which can lead to health problems and poor working relationships with colleagues

Autocratic leadership allows quick decision-making, and eliminates arguments over how and why things get done At the same time, however, it may reduce the likelihood of getting a range of different ideas from different people, and can treat people badly, or as if they don't matter If, as is often true, the leader is concerned with his own power and status, he will be looking over his shoulder, and moving to squelch any opposition to him or his ideas and decisions They are leaders who insist on doing

it all themselves They have all the power, make all the decisions, and don't often tell anyone else about what they're doing If you work for an autocratic leader, your job is usually to do what you are told An autocratic leader often maintains his authority by force, intimidation, threats, reward and punishment, or position Although he may/may not have a clear vision, and may/may not be steering the organization in the right direction, he is not concerned with whether anyone else agrees with what he is doing or not (http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx)

Democratic or Participative Style

A democratic leader understands that there is no organization without its people He looks at his and others' positions in terms of responsibilities rather than status, and often consults in decision-making While he solicits, values, and takes into account others' opinions, however, he sees the ultimate responsibility for decision-making as his own He accepts that authority also means buck stops with him Although he sees organization as a cooperative venture, he knows that he ultimately

alone(http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/main_1122.aspx)

As to Lewin (1939), it is generally seen to be the most effective The democratic leaders offer guidance to group members and participate in the group Democratic leadership promotes sharing of responsibility and continual consultation This leader delegates tasks to each member of the group and gives full control over them The democratic leaders encourage others to get involved in leadership development

He further described leadership style has many benefits Employees that are given responsibility tend to become more enthusiastic about their work and are involved more in the accomplishment of their task Consulting the other members of the group and giving and receiving feedback results in better decision-making and creative thinking but consulting over a decision can be time-consuming and can cause opportunities to be missed

Democratic leadership invites the participation of staff members and others, not only in decision-making, but in shaping the organization's vision It allows everyone to express opinions about how things should be done, and where the organization should go By bringing in everyone's ideas, it enriches the organization's possibilities But it still leaves the final decisions about what to do with those ideas in

(http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx)

Effects on the organization Democratic leadership, with its emphasis on equal

status, can encourage friendships and good relationships throughout an organization

In the more hierarchical organizations, clerical staff and administrators are unlikely to socialize, for instance; in a democratically-led organization, such socialization often happens It helps people feel valued when their opinions are solicited, and even more

so if those opinions are incorporated into a final decision or policy

Furher, democratic leadership doesn't necessarily do - although it can - is establish staff ownership of the organization and its goals Although everyone may be asked for ideas or opinions, not all of those are used or incorporated in the workings

of the organization If there is no real discussion of ideas, with a resulting general agreement, a sense of ownership is unlikely Thus, democratic leadership may have some of the drawbacks of autocratic leadership - a lack ofbuy-in - without advantages

of quick and clear decision-making that comes with the elimination of consultation

The democratic and collaborative styles are both better possibilities for transformational leadership Both allow for input from everyone, and both encourage participation in the realization of long-term goals It can be difficult for highly motivated, charismatic leader to operate in the collaborative mode, but it can also be tremendously satisfying There is an argument to be made that, because of high degree

of ownership of the vision in a collaboratively-run organization, collaborative style could be most successful for transformational leadership As noted, Chrislip and Larson (n.d.) actually see collaborative and transformational leadership as essentially the same (http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table contents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx)

Delegative or Laissez Faire Style

Lewin(1939) described delegative leadership style as one that gives little or no guidance to group members, but allows them to make the decisions This style can be effective in situations where group members are highly qualified or when the leader trusts them However, it can lead to poorly defined roles within the group and a lack

of motivation

Bass and Bass (2008) explained delegative leaders who offer little or no guidance to group members and leave decision-making up to the group members While this style can be effective in situations where group members are highly

qualified in an area of expertise, it often leads to poorly defined roles and lack of motivation.They further stated thatdelegative leadership style is also known as the laissez-fair style of leadership It is not among the most effective types of leadership styles Delegative leadership is somewhat hands off approach in which the leader places great responsibility on lower level managers and employees Thus, laissez faire (or lais·ser faire), which is French for the noninterference in the affairs of others Employees who have the skills to analyze situations, and the confidence to implement decision may thrive to this type of leadership style Many followers, are uncomfortable with having leadership responsibility delegated in this manner This leadership style often leads to poorly defined roles and lack of motivation This is one

of the styles of leadership that has value in specific situations and also has to be used wisely A leader who uses this leadership style to shift blame or avoid responsibility is mis-using their leadership

Clark (2010) cited that delegative leadership style is used by managers who want or need to allow employees to make the final decision However, the manager

"is still responsible for the decisions that are made" A good manager will realize that there are times when he or she can not or should not spend the time necessary to do the research needed in order to make a decision, particularly when there are knowledgeable and perfectly capable employees who could be given that task This style shows employees that the manager trusts them, which will improve morale.The effective manager will use the delegative leadership style when the situation is right, but will not use this style excessively Over use of the delegative style can make it appear that the manager is lazy, and can cause high stress levels in the employees who are making all the decisions.Delegative leadership, on the other hand, is a useful way

for a leader to prioritize tasks and show their followers that they trust their abilities to lead initiatives (http://www.nwlink.com/don_clark/html)

Sasheeka Karunanayake (2012) investigated the leadership styles of school principals in selected schools in the Sri Jayewardenepura Educational Zone (SJEZ) in Sri Lanka A descriptive survey design was employed to a sample of 12 principals and

225 teachers was randomly selected from 94 schools and data was collected from the sample through a questionnaire and interview Simple descriptive statistical techniques were used to analyze the data Findings showed that most principals’ practised democratic leadership style in most instances Principals tend to show autocratic leadership in the process of school administration However, teachers expect principals to act as democratic leaders with regard to school activities and teacher motivation Meanwhile, Mentilla (2011) correlated leadership styles of principlas to the instructional variables The leadership styles had been described as to authoritative, delegative and democratic while instructional variables identified were the self-regulated learners, teacher characteristics, classroom climte, technology anad learning and motivation in diversity The study used the descriptive correlational design and surey questionnaire to gather the data The findings revealed that the principlas practice all the three types of the leadership styles such as authoritative, democratic, and delegative The use of leadership styles vary with situations and existing conditions Instructional variables that influenced the performance of schools are classroom climate, teacher characteristics, technology and learning, and motivation in diversity

The study of Karori et al (2013) investigated the effects of the headteachers’ leadership styles on the students’ performance in Kenya Certificate of Primary Education in public primary schools in Kikuyu district The study adopted ex-post

facto survey research design All teachers and headteachers in all the public primary schools in Kikuyu district were targeted Twenty seven (27) headteachers and 154 teachers were randomly sampled from 27 primary schools Responses were obtained using questionnaires Findings revealed there was a significant relationship between headteachers’ leadership styles and students’ academic performance There was no relationship between the headteachers’ gender, age, teaching experience and marital status and their leadership styles The teachers perceived their headteachers as autocratic Recommendations were that headteachers should enhance their leadership skills and use the most appropriate leadership style for a conducive teaching and learning environment

Oyetunji (2006) focused her research on the improvement of climate in Botswana secondary schools through the headteacher’s appropriate use of leadership styles in different situations with a view to answer the different leadership styles are employed by school headteachers; the different types of climates in schools; the leadership styles of school headteachers responsible for the climate that exists in their schools The findings revealed that the type of climate that exists in schools is related

to headteachers’ leadership style It emerged that organisational climates vary in schools and that the participating leadership style promotes an open organisational climate Implications for school performance and for the nation’s vision (Vision 2016) were given

Instructional Variables

Pearson (2010) as cited by Mentilla (2011) opined that the instructional variables are tantamount to developing interest in learning Thus, paramount to any educational milieu revolves instructional variables which affect schools proceed on operation The instructional variables are not limited to at least few factors but are

more or less could be delineated into distinct interrelated aspects In this study, the following instructional variables were reviewed that has bearing for the development

of the research framework They are the self-regulated learners, teacher characteristics, classroom climate, technology and learning, and motivation in diversity

Self-regulated learners

Self-regulation is an integrated learning process, consisting of the development of set of constructive behaviors that affect one's learning These processes are planned and adapted to support the pursuit of personal goals in changing learning environments.The self-regulated learning is a fairly new construct in research

on student performance and achievement in classroom settings A common set of

self-regulation strategies exists and individual set of skills that each student must develop

personally to be successful in school and life These self-regulation skills can be

(http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/selfregulation/section2.html)

Self-regulation is not a mental ability or an academic performance skill; rather

it is the self-directive process by which learners transform their mental abilities into academic skills That definition is offered by Zimmerman (2002), one of the foremost researchers on self-regulated learning Three research findings are highlighted First,

“self-regulation of learning involves more than detailed knowledge of a skill; it involves the self-awareness, self-motivation, and behavioral skill to implement that knowledge appropriately Second, self-regulation is not a trait that some students have and others do not Rather, “it involves the selective use of specific processes that must

be personally adapted to each learning task.” It’s about setting goals, selecting strategies to attain those goals, monitoring progress, restructuring if the goals are not

being met, using time efficiently, self-evaluating the methods selected, and adapting future methods based on what was learned this time through Finally, there is a relationship between self-regulation and “perceived efficacy and intrinsic interest.” Learners have to believe they can learn, whatever the task before them, and they need

to be motivated “With such diverse skills as chess, sports, and music, the quantity of

an individual’s studying and practicing is a strong predictor of his or her level of expertise.” One notable finding from research: the actual process of self-regulating can be a source of motivation, even for those tasks that may not be motivating themselves

Self-regulation refers to the use of processes that activate and sustain thoughts, behaviors, and affects to attain goals (Schunk& Zimmerman, 2007) In other words, it refers to taking charge of our own learning by coordinating the thinking skills Self-regulation has three (3) components, to wit: 1) self-observation– deliberate attention

to specific aspects of one's own behaviors; 2) self-judgment– comparing one's current progress toward a goal with the standard; and c) self-reaction – making evaluative responses to judgments of one's own performance

That is, learners regulate their own learning by observing what they are able to

do, then comparing this to what they have observed to a standard of some kind and making judgments about the quality of this performance, and finally making plans

(http://education.purduecal.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy7.htm)

Teacher Charateristics

Many people have had some type of education, whether it was grade school, high school, college, tutoring, formal or informal People remember a special teacher because of how s/he presented him/herself to the students Anyone can be a teacher,

but a good teacher displays certain characteristics that are found both in and outside the classroom (http://voices.yahoo.com/characteristics-good-teacher.html)

The characteristics of a good teacher are:

A good teacher is a consumer of knowledge He knows the subject material

and is always searching for the new methods and ideas to use He shares his knowledge with his students and colleagues A good teacher is also looking for ideas

to develop himself professionally and personally

A good teacher is prepared She prepares her lessons and materials in advance

She follows a regular routing, is organized and has activities readily available She is also prepared for lessons that do not go as planned She has backup plans and is

willing to change her plans if needed

A good teacher listens She listens to her students engage in the conversations

with one another and encourages her students to engage in conversation with her as well She is tuned in when a student is having difficulty understanding subject material or when a student is having personal issues She knows when to step in and

when to back off

A good teacher motivates He motivates his students to learn and to take on

projects independently He has an enthusiasm that is contagious to his students and

colleagues

A good teacher is fair She gives all her students a chance to succeed in her

classroom even when the conditions at home are not favorable for the student She

allows students to do their best and recognizes those that try

A good teacher has a sense of humor He knows when to laugh at himself and

when to laugh with class Humor within the classroom can ease any frustration that

the teacher and/or student may be experiencing at that moment

A good teacher has a passion for teaching Teaching is her number one

priority She talks, writes, and breathes teaching She wants to make a difference in the lives of her students even if it is just one and gives her best in her classroom.Anyone can be a teacher, but only few can become good teachers The development of a good teacher is a slow, ongoing process It requires dedication and

discipline to the profession

Classroom Climate

Classroom climate sometimes is referred to as learning environment, as well

as by terms such as atmosphere, ambience, ecology, and millieu The impact of classroom climate on students and staff can be beneficial for or a barrier to learning According to Conway (2012), classroom climate is the combination of variables within a classroom that work together to promote learning in comfortable environment There are many variables that influence classroom's climate, which is why a classroom is unique There are elements, however, that are required to establish

a successful learning environment like:

Learning locale A classroom's function is first and foremost to cultivate

learning Students should sense a classroom's academic atmosphere from the moment they enter it Part of definition of classroom climate, therefore, centers on atmosphere that promotes learning Every item in the classroom needs to emphasize learning in some fashion Desks should be organized in a way that complements teacher's instruction style Teachers should hang posters or student work that pertains to

teacher's content area Objectives and assignments should be listed on the board in a

visible location

Respectful Room.For students to learn properly, a classroom climate has to

include respect Students all enter the classroom with a past, and they can often bring their problems into the class with them However, a class climate can not function properly if students are bickering or disrespecting one another The teacher can help define his classroom climate by emphasizing the importance of respect on the very first day of class and dealing with outbursts accordingly Respect is not limited to the students; teachers have to respect the students as much as they want their students to respect them

Safe Space.Respect is only one of the classroom climate variables that

promotes learning It does not guarantee that classroom is a safe space, which is equally important for a classroom atmosphere A safe space means that students are free to express themselves without the fear of being teased, harassed or bullied Teachers create a safe space by using a zero-tolerance policy for any hateful or discriminatory behavior Teachers can also model the behavior they wish their

students to emulate to help define their class climate

Teacher Tact A teacher's behavior has great impact on his classroom climate

Teachers often spend time on how they want their classrooms to look or their students

to behave that they neglect to focus on attuning themselves to their classroom climate Teachers are a central variable in defining a classroom climate because they set the

tone for their students to follow

Student Synergy Once teachers organize classes to promote learning, establish

a climate of respect and safety and behave in a way they wish their students to follow,

it is up to the students to create the classroom climate that is specific to their

personalities Every classroom climate is different because it relies so heavily on variables within it Students make up the most populous of these variables and, when they feel they are in a safe and respectful environment, they will express themselves freely Students' personalities are integral in a unique and successful classroom climate

Amborse et al (2010) defined classroom climate as “the intellectual, social,

emotional, and physical environments in which students learn Climate is determined

by a constellation of interacting factors that include faculty-student interaction, the tone instructors set, the instances of stereotyping, the course demographics (relative size of racial and other social groups enrolled in the course), student-student interaction, and the range of perspectives represented in the course content and materials.” The classroom climate is affected not only by blatant instances of inequality directed towards a person or group of people, but also by smaller, more subtle"micro-inequities" that can accumulate to have significant negative impacts on learning (Hall, 2002) Incivilities that are not addressed properly not only negatively impact learning within the course in which it is experienced, but may also negatively influence student's success at an institution (Hirschy& Braxton, 2004)

Ekpo et al (2009) examined the “classroom climate and its relationship with students’ academic achievement in Social Studies.” Ex post facto design was adopted The population of the study comprised 14,297 JSS III students and the sample was 1,200 JSS III students selected through stratified random technique from the three Educational Zones in the State Secondary Education Board, Cross River State The instrument used was structured six-point Likert scale questionnaire, the reliability estimate of which ranged from 0.7 to 0.8 and achievement test adapted from the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination, Ministry of Education, Cross River

State (2004) were used to collect information used in the study The data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Based on the findings, it was concludedthat all the independent variables mentioned

in this study jointly contribute to the variance in students’ academic achievement in Social Studies It was recommended that the Social Studies teachers should be trained

to improve their skills on encouraging the classroom climate for students’ confidence

and initiative through many seminars, conferences and in-service programs

Technology and Learning

Through the use of the advanced computing and telecommunications technology, learning can also be qualitatively different The process of the learning in the classroom can become significantly richer as students have access to new and different types of information, can manipulate it on the computer through graphic displays or controlled experiments in ways never before possible, and can communicate their results and conclusions in a variety of media to their teacher, students in the next classroom, or students around the world For example, using technology, students can collect and graph the real-time weather, environmental, and populations data from their community, use that data to create color maps and graphs, and then compare these maps to others created by students in other communities Similarly, instead of reading about the human circulatory system and seeing textbook pictures depicting bloodflow, students can use technology to see blood moving through veins and arteries, watch the process of oxygen entering the bloodstream, and experiment to understand the effects of increased pulse or cholesterol-filled arteries on blood flow" (http://www.nsba.org/toolkit.html)

Introducing technology into the learning environment can encourage the cooperative learning and the student collaboration If they are allowed to converse,

most students like to talk about their computer work and share their strategies The classroom activities that are structured so that the computers encourage collaboration build on learners' desire to communicate and share their understanding It takes planning and intervention to build successful cooperative groups with or without computers, but groups that use computers as teamwork tools have a better start toward collaborative work.Beyond the classroom, computer networking allows the students

to communicate and collaborate with content experts and with fellow students around the globe Communication tools like e-mail, listservs, bulletin boards, and chat groups allow teachers to exchange lesson plans and teaching strategies and create a professional community (http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/cnc.html)

The use of the real world tools, relevant experiences, and meaningful data inject a sense of purpose to classroom activity Part of the mission of the educational institutions is to produce workforce-ready graduates who can, among other things, manipulate and analyze raw data, critically evaluate information, and operate hardware and software This technological literacy imparts a very important set of vocational skills that will serve students well in working world.Technology has allowed schools to provide greater assistance to traditionally underserved populations Assistive technology such as voice recognition systems, dynamic Braille displays, speech synthesizers, and the talking books provide learning and communication alternatives for those who have developmental or physical disability Computer-mediated communication can ease social isolation that may be experienced by those with disabilities Computers have proved successful in increasing academic motivation and lessening anxiety among low ability students and learning disabled students, many simply learn in manner different from that practice in traditional, non-technological classroom(http://www.sedl.org/tec26/cnc.html)

Motivation in Diversity

There are three (3) general indices of motivation: choice, effort, and persistence: Recognize students' needs for self-determination and autonomy, and provide opportunities for choice and control Understand that students may be intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to learn While it may be ideal to have a room full of intrinsically motivated students, it is understandable that students are also driven by the desire for grades, approval and other rewards Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation exist not a single continuum, but on two separate ones, and students may often have multiple goals for the same course Students usually direct their behavior toward activities that they value and in which they have expectancy of success (http://www.uww.edu/learn/motivating_students.php)

According to Wlodkowski(2003), learning is a naturally active and normally volitional process of constructing meaning from information and experience (McCombs & Lambert, 2001) The motivation is a natural human capacity to direct energy in the pursuit of a goal Although lifeis marked by a continuous flow of activity within an infinite variety of overt actions, there is a purpose to be learned, and motivation to learn it Energy is directed through the processes of attention, concentration, and imagination, to name only few, to make sense of the world Until about a decade ago, the individualistic understanding of motivation dominated the field of psychology Personal motives, thoughts, expectancies, and goals were concepts that had a strong influence on psychological approaches to facilitate student motivation and learning Currently, socio-constructivism is a rapidly growing theoretical force in understanding ways to improve learning in schools and colleges (Hickey, 2000) Critical to this view is the realization that people learn through their interaction with and support from other people and objects in the world We are more

aware that to help person learn may require understanding person’s thinking and emotions as inseparable from social context in which the activity takes place (http://ahea.org/files/pro1999wlodkowski.pdf)

Beaman (2005) observed educators across America face enormous and growing challenge: motivating a diverse student population The growing trend toward inclusion increases diversity by including special-needs students in the same classroom with regular education students The increase in the number of students who do not speak English puts a huge responsibility on teachers The requirements of

No Child Left Behind expect that all children will succeed Educators must motivate the at-risk population as well: students labeled as the gray area, difficult-to-motivate, slow learners, and children with untapped potential In this article, the author shares some of the strategies he recommends for motivating students to put forth an honest effort to reach their potential He suggests that teachers see themselves as facilitators, teach by expression, change the pace frequently, provide compelling and stimulating problems, make learning fun, and build and maintain a classroom community By following these recommendations, teachers can stand behind children, see how they learn, and then support the process, rather than simply standing before the class and dispensing learning

Toshalis and Nakkula (2012) figured out what motivates the individual students and engages them in school is as essential as it is challenging Indeed, it is the prerequisite for implementing student-centered approaches to learning Today’s teachers—confronting large class size, fast-paced academic calendars, and standardized assessments—face particular pressures to lump all students together and

“teach to the middle.” To help educators understand how to engage and motivate individual in large, diverse group of teenagers