The Impact of Educational Leadership Style on Instructors’ Retention Rate in Higher Education Institutions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64612/ijiv.v1i4.25Keywords:
education, teaching, leadershipAbstract
This study explored how different leadership styles influenced the decision of instructors to stay at Davao de Oro State College. Faculty turnover had become a growing concern for the institution, raising questions about what leadership approaches might encourage long-term commitment among educators. Guided by Bass’s Transformational Leadership Theory, the research focused on three leadership styles: transformational, transactional, and instructional. Using a quantitative, descriptive-correlational ex post facto design, the researcher gathered data from 28 instructors who had served for at least five years across four campuses. Survey tools adapted from previous studies helped capture how faculty perceived the leadership behaviors of their academic heads. The findings showed that while transformational leadership was not commonly observed, it still had a positive connection to instructor retention. Transactional leadership had a moderate influence, but instructional leadership stood out with the strongest correlation, especially because of its emphasis on professional growth and direct support for teachers. The study concluded that leadership plays a vital role in shaping a work environment where instructors feel valued and motivated to stay. Strengthening instructional and transformational leadership practices may therefore help reduce turnover and build a more stable academic community.
References
Al-Ali, N., & Al-Qudah, M. (2020). The impact of leadership styles on faculty retention in higher education institutions: Evidence from Jordan. International Journal of Educational Management, 34(3), 429-445.
Andersen, L. B., Bjørnholt, B., Bro, L. L., & Holm-Petersen, C. (2017). Achieving high quality through transformational leadership: A qualitative multilevel analysis of transformational leadership and perceived professional quality. Public Personnel Management, 47(1), 51–72.
Anderson, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in education: A review of existing literature. International Social Science Review, 93(1), 1-12.
Asencio, H., & Mujkic, E. (2016). Leadership behaviors and trust in leaders: Evidence from the U.S. Federal Government. Public Administration Quarterly, 40(1), 156-179.
Baker, V. L. (2014). Work-life balance in academia: The role of leadership. Journal of Higher Education Management.
Banks, G.C., McCauley, K. D., Gardner, W. L., & Guler, C. E. (2017) A meta-analytic review of authentic and transformational leadership: A test for redundancy. The Leadership Quarterly, 27(4), 634-65
Barnett, D. (2017). Leadership and job satisfaction: Adjunct faculty at a for-profit university. Journal of Psychology and Educational Studies, 4(3), 53-63.
Bass, B. M., & Bass, R. (2009). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications. Simon and Schuster.
Bass, M. B. & Riggio, R. E. (2006). Transformational leadership. Psychology Press.
Boies, K., Fiset, J., & Gill, H. (2015). Communication and trust are key: Unlocking the relationship between leadership and team performance and creativity. The Leadership Quarterly, 26, 1080–1094.
Carleton, E. L., Barling, J., & Trivisonno, M. (2018). Leaders’ trait mindfulness and transformational leadership: The mediating roles of leaders’ positive affect and leadership self-efficacy. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science 50(3), 185-194.
Carvalho, A., Alves, H., & Leitão, J. (2022). What research tells us about leadership styles, digital transformation and performance in state higher education? International Journal of Educational Management, 36(2), 218–232.
Chen, C. Y., et al. (2021). The impact of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and retention in higher education. Educational Management Administration & Leadership.
Curtis, G. J. (2017). Reexamining the relationship between thinking styles and transformational leadership: What is the contribution of imagination and emotionality? Journal of Leadership Studies, 11(2), 8-21.
Daniels, E., Hondeghem, A., & Dochy, F. (2019). A review on leadership and leadership development in educational settings. Educational Research Review, 27, 110-125.
Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute.
Dhar, R. L. (2015). Service quality and the training of employees: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Tourism Management, 46, 419–430.
Farrukh, M., Lee, J. W. C., & Shahzad, I. A. (2019). Intrapreneurial behavior in higher education institutes of Pakistan: The role of leadership styles and psychological empowerment. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 11(2), 273–294.
Fries, A., Kammerlander, N., & Leitterstorf, M. (2021). Leadership styles and leadership behaviors in family firms: A systematic literature review. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 12(1), 100374.
Gandolfi, F., & Stone, S. (2018). Leadership, leadership styles, and servant leadership. Journal of Management Research, 18(4), 261–269.
Gillet, N., & Vandenberghe, C. (2014). Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: The mediating role of job characteristics. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 25, 321–347.
Gonaim, F. A. (2019). Leadership in higher education in Saudi Arabia: Benefits, constraints, and challenges of adopting servant leadership model by department chairs. International Journal of Education and Practice, 7(2), 101–111.
Gunter, H. M. (2016). Distributed leadership: The role of the school leader. Educational Management Administration & Leadership.
Harris, A. (2004). Distributed leadership and school improvement: Leading or misleading? Educational Management Administration & Leadership.
He, P., Guo, F., & Abazie, G. A. (2024). School principals’ instructional leadership as a predictor of teacher’s professional development. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 9(63).
Henker, N., Sonnentag, S., & Unger, D. (2015). Transformational leadership and employee creativity: The mediating role of promotion focus and creative process engagement. Journal of Business and Psychology, 30, 235–247.
Hesbol, K. (2019). Principal self-efficacy and learning organizations: Influencing school improvement. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 14, 33-51.
Holstad, T. J., Korek, S., Rigotti, T., & Mohr, G. (2014). The relation between transformational leadership and follower emotional strain: The moderating role of professional ambition. Leadership, 10, 269–288.
Houghton, J. D., & Yoho, S. J. (2005). Toward a contingency model of leadership and entrepreneurship. The Leadership Quarterly, 16(3), 297-321.
Jenkins, T. (2013). Reflections on Kenneth E. Boulding’s the image: Glimpsing the roots of peace education pedagogy. Journal of Peace Education and Social Justice.
Johnson, C. E. (2017). Meeting the ethical challenges of leadership. Sage Publications.
Johnson, W. B. (2007). On Being a Mentor: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty. Routledge.
Jyoti, J., & Bhau, S. (2015). Impact of transformational leadership on job performance: Mediating role of leader–member exchange and relational identification. SAGE Open, 5(4), 1–13
Locke, E. A. (1976). The nature and causes of job satisfaction. In M. D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.
Magboo, J. A., Velasco, C. Q., & Luis, L. F. (2023). School heads’ instructional leadership behavior and teachers’ work engagement in public elementary schools. International Journal of Social Science, Humanities and Management Research, 2(6).
McCaffery, P. (2018). The higher education manager’s handbook: Effective leadership and management in universities and colleges. Routledge.
Miller, S. (2016). Transformational leadership and faculty retention: Evidence from higher education. Journal of Educational Administration.
Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice. Sage Publications.
Petersen, T., & O'Reilly, F. (2020). Leadership in Higher Education and the Impact on Faculty Satisfaction and Retention.
Tinto, V. (1993). Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition. University of Chicago Press.
Schermuly, C. C., & Meyer, B. (2020). Transformational leadership, psychological empowerment, and flow at work. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1-13.
Specchia, M. L., Cozzolino, M. R., Carini, E., Di Pilla, A., Galletti, C., Ricciardi, W., & Damiani G. (2021). Leadership styles and nurses’ job satisfaction. Results of a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(4), 1552.
Thomas, L., Tuytens, M., Devos, G., Kelchtermans, G., & Vanderlinde, R. (2020). Transformational school leadership is a key factor for teachers’ job attitudes during their first year in the profession. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 48(1), 106-132.
Vilkinas, T., Murray, D. W., & Chua, S. M. Y. (2020). Effective leadership: Considering the confluence of the leader’s motivations, behaviours and their reflective ability. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 1–12.
Welbeck, D. N. O., Amponsah-Bediako, K., Quarcoo, J. O., Quayson, A., Aazagreyi, P., & Abubakar, J. U. (2024). Transactional Leadership Style and Job Performance: The Moderating Role of Stress Management. Asian Journal of Applied Science and Technology (AJAST), 8(3), 89-103.
Wirawan, H., Tamar, M., & Bellani, E. (2019). Principals’ leadership styles: The role of emotional intelligence and achievement motivation. International Journal of Educational Management, 33(5), 1094-1105.
Zwingmann, I., Wegge, J., Wolf, S., Rudolf, M., Schmidt, M., & Richter, P. (2014). Is transformational leadership healthy for employees? A multilevel analysis in 16 nations. German Journal of Research in Human Resource Management, 28(1–2), 24–51.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jayrick Gin Pedro, Elizabeth D. Dioso
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
