The Impact of Tutors’ Perceptions of their Principals’ Transformational Leadership Practices on their Self-Efficacy Beliefs: A Study of the Colleges of Education in Ghana.

Abstract

Research studies in educational leadership indicate that principal transformational leadership practices impact directly on school effectiveness and teacher performance. Studies also show that teachers’ self-efficacy belief is a strong predictor of teacher performance. Teacher selfefficacy belief asserts that teachers may have the necessary professional knowledge to teach, but their self-efficacy beliefs regulate their ability to plan instructional materials and achieve instructional outcomes. Since principals’ transformational leadership practices directly impact on schools and teachers, research studies have identified this model of principal leadership as a viable means to enhancing teacher performance through their self-efficacy beliefs. In the many studies on the relationships between transformational leadership and teacher self-efficacy beliefs, results indicate positive statistically significant relationships between them. However, what is less studied and very much less researched is the extent to which tutors’ perceptions of their principals’ transformational leadership practices impact on their sense of efficacies in tertiary institutions. Consequently, this current study investigated the relationship between tutors’ perceptions of their principals’ transformational leadership practices and their self-efficacy beliefs. It also examined how these perceptions account for the variations in tutors’ sense of efficacies in student engagement, in instructional strategies and in classroom management. The TSES and PLQ instruments were used for the garnering of data in 15 colleges of education in Ghana. Valid responses from 434 tutors were analysed using inferential statistics such as t-test, ANOVA, correlational and multiple regression analyses in response to the following areas: (1) Tutors’ assessments of their self-efficacy beliefs: the impact of gender, academic qualification and experience on variations of tutors’ self-efficacy beliefs. (2) The extent to which tutors considered the leadership practices of their college principals to be transformational: the extent to which gender, experience and years of work with current principals influence these perceptions. (3) The statistical relationships between tutors’ perceptions of the transformational leadership practices of their college principals and their self-efficacy beliefs. (4) The extent to which tutors’ perceptions of their principals’ transformational leadership practices impact on their self-efficacy beliefs. First of all, findings from t-test results indicated that the self-efficacy beliefs of male tutors were relatively higher than those of female tutors. However, results of the ANOVA indicated that demographic factors such as academic qualification and experience did not account for the variances in tutors’ sense of efficacy. Secondly, there the t-test and ANOVA revealed no statistically significant differences in tutors’ perceptions of the transformational leadership practices of their college principals following their gender, academic qualification and years of experience. However, tutors’ years of work with current principals accounted for variations in their perceptions of leadership. Thirdly, the results of the correlational analyses indicated strong positive statistically significant relationships between tutors’ sense of efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies and classroom management and most of the six factors measuring tutors’ perceptions of their principals’ transformational leadership practices. These included transformational leadership practices such as provides vision, fosters commitment, provides individual support, intellectual stimulation and holds high performance expectations. The transformational leadership practice of modelling best behaviour displayed weak positive but statistically nonsignificant relationship with all three factors of tutors’ sense of efficacy. These findings were consistent with findings of earlier studies in the area (Ryan, 2007); Shumate, 201; Ling et al., 2015; Mehdinezhad and Mansouri, 2016; Gkolia et al., 2018). Fourthly, following results of the multiple regression analyses, while the transformational leadership practice of providing vision impacted strongly on tutors’ sense of efficacy in student engagement, the leadership practice of holding high performance expectations produced the most effect on tutors’ sense of efficacy in instructional strategies. Furthermore, principals’ transformational leadership practice of providing vision and setting directions produced the most impact on tutors’ sense of efficacy in classroom management. While only few studies in the area conducted multiple regression analysis ( Espinoza, 2013; Ling et al., 2015 and Gkolia et al., 2018) to index the specific transformational leadership practices which significant impact on teachers’ sense of efficacy in all three factors, results of this current study were consistent with findings of the above studies. In this way, principals who seek to enhance their tutors’ performance efficacy through their leadership practices can find helpful guidance in the findings of this study. Keywords: Principal Leadership, transformational leadership, teacher performance, teacher self-efficacy belief.