Teachers’ Preferred Leadership Styles of School Leaders

Leadership becomes one of the most significant highlighted skills and an essential aspect in determining the achievement and success of schools, or of teachers, and of students. It impacts all facets of education: teacher motivation, shaping the conditions and the environment in which teaching and learning occur, and interaction with the broader community. In schools, effective leadership styles are essential for the advancement and development of teachers. Leadership styles push every member of the school organization to be active, eager, and desirous to accomplish the assigned task with sincerity, loyalty and commitment to teaching work. The purpose of this study is to determine the teachers’ preferred leadership styles of school leaders. A quantitative research design utilizing Karl Pearsons’ correlation method was adopted in testing the relationship between the profile of the teachers and preferred leadership styles and in finding the significant difference between the leadership styles implemented by the school leaders and the teachers’ preferred leadership styles. Fifty teachers and six principals from six identified elementary schools located in the highway of the Municipality of Catmon were involved in the study. The profile of the respondents, the preferred and implemented leadership styles were gathered through a survey questionnaire. Results of the survey revealed that teachers preferred the five identified leadership styles of school leaders and school leaders implemented these five styles in managing teachers in schools. Significant relationship has been found in teachers’ gender and designation towards their preference of leadership styles but not found in age, grade level assigned, educational attainment, teaching experience and seminars/trainings attended. There’s no significant difference between the implemented leadership styles of school leaders and the preferred leadership styles of teachers. The results prove the claim that there is no “one specific leadership style” that fits to all subordinates but “a mix of it all”.