Modelling of teachers leadership competencies and its relationships with principals developmental leadership behavior and teachers commitment to change

The main purpose of this study is to develop an empirically substantiated Teacher Leadership Competency Model (TLCM). The study also aspired to identify the relationship between Teachers’ Leadership Competencies (TLC) and Principals’ Developmental Leadership Behavior (PDLB), PDLB and Teachers’ Commitment to Change (TCC). Further, the study also intended to ascertain the relationships among TLC, PDLB and TCC. Structural Equation Modeling was applied to test the model. A total of 928 teachers from 58 High Performing Secondary Schools in Malaysia completed the survey. The analysis yielded a four-factor TLC Model, namely Fostering a Collaborative Culture; Facilitating Improvement and Establishing Standards for Student Behavior, Modelling Leadership Attributes and Skills; and Performing as Referral Leader. The finding shows that TLC Model will benefit school principals in developing effective teacher leadership among teachers in schools. Meanwhile, the TLC Scale with 16 items offers a promising new measure for examining TLC. The result of the study also shows that TLC is significantly related to PDLB. PDLB is also significantly related to TCC; and PDLB not only mediated the relationship between TLC and TCC, but indeed a partial mediator. As the findings confirmed that the quality of TLC matters in determining PDLB and TCC, it is a sine quo non for school teachers to equip themselves with adequate and sufficient TLC so as to implement school change successfully. Also as PDLB plays a critical role in governing the relationship between TLC and TCC, in-depth focus on PDLB is lthe most effective way to increase the likelihood of school principals to initiate school change. The finding encourage a fresh look at teacher leadership development and alter the traditional approach of teachers in implementing change.