Examination of leadership practices of principals identified as servant leaders

TLDR

The study examined the leadership practices of principals identified as servant leaders. Using Kouzes and Posner’s leadership practices framework, the authors performed multivariate tests to assess demographic influences on self‑assessed ratings and ANOVA to identify which practices were employed. Results showed no demographic variables predicted overall servant‑leadership ratings, but teachers rated these principals significantly higher on five leadership areas, underscoring important implications for leadership preparation programs.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the leadership practices of principals identified as servant leaders. The conceptual framework used to access the leadership behaviours was the leadership practices advocated by Kouzes and Posner. Statistical analysis included a multivariate test to determine if the demographic variables were significantly related to the overall self‐assessed rating and a univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) to determine which practices the servant leaders were utilising. The research findings revealed that no demographic variable was significantly related to the overall self‐assessment of servant leadership rating. The findings also revealed that public school principals identified as servant leaders were rated significantly higher by their teachers in the five leadership areas highlighted by the Leadership Practices Inventory. The implications for leadership preparatory programmes are significant.