THE EFFECT OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: A STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING APPROACH

This study examines the effect of the principal's instructional leadership on teacher commitment in Sarawak schools. Instructional leadership has three dimensions which are defining the school's mission, managing the instructional program and promoting a positive school climate. A total of 899 primary school teachers were involved in this study. Data is collected online through Google Forms. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) questionnaire by Philip Hallinger (2000) was used to measure the head teacher's instructional leadership, while the Three Component Model Employee Commitment Survey (TCM-ECS) questionnaire by Meyer and Allen (2004) was used to assess teacher commitment. This study uses quantitative methods, with descriptive analysis using IBM Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences 2.7 (SPSS) and inferential analysis using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings of this study show that the level of instructional leadership is high for all dimensions. The findings also found that there is a significant effect between the head teacher's instructional leadership and the teacher's organizational commitment. Overall, this study produced a model to show the contribution of the head teacher's instructional leadership to the teacher's organizational commitment. In terms of its implications, this study contributes to the development of knowledge, the improvement of practice, and the formation of policies. It is recommended that further studies be conducted in other states in Malaysia to assess the effectiveness of this relationship comprehensively.