Leadership Styles and School Management Effectiveness: Insights from Primary School Administrators in Klang, Selangor

In primary schools, academic performance, collaboration with principals, and teachers' job satisfaction are among the top priorities for achieving effective school management. However, school administrators often face challenges in determining which of these priorities should take precedence. This study investigates the relationship between leadership styles and priorities in effective school management among primary school administrators in Klang, Selangor. It focuses on three key priorities: collaboration with principals, academic performance, and teachers' job satisfaction. The research employs a quantitative methodology, with the survey design tailored to capture detailed data on leadership styles and their relationship with effective school management. Stratified random sampling was applied to select 144 respondents from 54 public primary schools in Klang. The questionnaire assessed demographics, leadership styles (servant, transformational, transactional), and management priorities, with responses measured on a five-point Likert scale. Results reveal significant relationships between leadership styles and priorities in effective school management (r = 0.78, p < 0.05). Specifically, collaboration with principals (mean = 4.32, SD = 0.78) is the top priority among administrators, followed by teachers' job satisfaction (mean = 4.11, SD = 0.82) and academic performance (mean = 3.97, SD = 0.88). Servant leadership is the most applied leadership style, with a high mean score of 4.45 (SD = 0.76). The correlation analysis shows that transformational leadership is strongly associated with collaboration (r = 0.77, p < 0.01), servant leadership with both collaboration (r = 0.86, p < 0.01) and academic performance (r = 0.48, p < 0.01), and transactional leadership with teacher satisfaction (r = 0.67, p < 0.01). Additionally, years of experience correlate weakly but significantly with collaboration and teacher satisfaction. The study concludes that a balanced leadership approach is crucial for effective school management. Transformational and servant leadership enhance collaboration and academic performance, while transactional leadership improves teacher satisfaction. These findings underscore the need for targeted professional development and policy initiatives to train school leaders in diverse leadership styles, considering demographic factors to optimize educational outcomes in Klang, Selangor.