Adapting and validating the Distributed Leadership Readiness Scale for Malaysian schools: evidence from content validity, face validity and qualitative feedback

Purpose This paper validates an adapted Distributed Leadership Readiness Scale (DLRS) for Malaysian secondary schools, addressing the lack of culturally grounded measures of distributed leadership in a centralised system. Design/methodology/approach A seven-step expert validation procedure was implemented, including conceptual and contextual review, forward–backward translation, and structured review by six experts in educational leadership and school management. Experts rated item relevance and clarity on four-point scales. Item- and scale-level Content Validity Index (CVI) and Face Validity Index (FVI) were computed alongside analysis of narrative comments. Findings All 40 original items met the recommended CVI and FVI thresholds; I-CVI and I-FVI values were 1.00 for every item and both S-CVI/Ave and S-FVI/Ave were 1.00. Qualitative feedback led to splitting one double-barrelled item, merging overlapping items, removing one redundant item, refining seven items linguistically, and renaming one dimension from “Vision, Mission and Goals” to “Shared Vision, Mission and Goals.” The final scale comprises 39 items across four dimensions: Shared Vision, Mission and Goals, School Culture, Shared Responsibility and Leadership Practices. Research limitations/implications Validation was limited to expert judgement; further studies should examine factor structure, reliability, and predictive validity in large-scale teacher samples. Practical implications The adapted DLRS offers principals, policymakers, and researchers a context-sensitive tool to diagnose distributed leadership readiness and inform leadership development and school improvement initiatives. Originality/value This study provides one of the first systematically documented adaptations and expert validations of the Distributed Leadership Readiness Scale for Malaysian schools, illustrating a mixed-evidence approach that integrates CVI, FVI, and qualitative refinement.