A Study of the Applied Psychology of Transformational Leadership in UK Primary Schools
Authors
Aiysha Siddika, Samir James Nedir
Share
Annotation
This article critically explores the conceptual distinction between leadership and management, tracing the theoretical evolution from transactional to transformational leadership and its implications for contemporary educational settings. Drawing on seminal frameworks by Burns (1978) and Bass (1985), the paper distinguishes transactional leadership as task- and exchange-oriented, maintaining organizational stability through contingent reward systems, while transformational leadership inspires followers toward higher levels of motivation, ethical engagement, and collective purpose. Integrating Goleman’s (2000) concept of emotional intelligence, it argues that effective leadership requires self-awareness, empathy, and social skills that foster collaborative school cultures.
Focusing on educational leadership, the study reviews empirical models by Hallinger (2003) and Leithwood and Jantzi (2006), showing how transformational leadership enhances school culture, teacher commitment, job satisfaction, and instructional practice. Transformational leaders empower teachers by cultivating shared vision, professional autonomy, and moral integrity, thereby generating both first- and second-order effects on learning and organizational change. The article also contrasts transformational and instructional (transactional) leadership models, noting that the latter’s top-down, directive nature is less conducive to sustained educational reform.
The paper concludes that while transformational leadership offers a compelling model for fostering empowerment, collaboration, and innovation in schools, it must be balanced with transactional mechanisms for accountability and structure. Ultimately, the integration of both approaches—anchored in ethical practice and emotional intelligence—produces the most effective leadership for school improvement, professional growth, and community cohesion.
Keywords
Authors
Aiysha Siddika, Samir James Nedir
Share
References:
Barling, J., Weber, T and Kelloway, E. K. (1996) ‘Effects of transformational leadership training on attitudinal and financial outcomes: a field experiment.’ Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 827-832
Barnett, K., McCormick, J. (2003) ‘Vision, relationship and teacher motivation: A case study.’ Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 55-73
Barth, James, R. (1990) Improving Schools from Within. San Francisco, CA. Jossey-Bass
Bass, B. M. (1985) Leadership and performance beyond expectations. New York: The Free Press
Bass, B. M. and Avolio, B. J. (1990). ‘The implications of transactional and transformational leadership for individual, team and organizational development.’ Research in Organisational Change and Development, Vol. 4, pp. 231-271
Bass, B. M., and Avolio, B. J. (1994) Improving organizational effectiveness through transformational leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Bass, B. M., and Steidlmeier, P. (1998) ‘Ethics, Character and Authentic Transformational Leadership.’, pp. 1-25 (printed). Http://cls.binghamton.edu.BassStead.html
Bogler, R. (2001) ‘The influence of leadership style on teacher job satisfaction.’ Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 662-683
Burns, J. McGregor (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper and Row
Cohen, E. and Miller, R. (1980) ‘Coordination and control of instruction in school.’ Pacific Sociological Review, Vol. 4, pp. 446-474
Day, C., Harris, A. and Hadfield, M. (2001) ‘Challenging the orthodoxy of effective school leadership.’ International Journal of leadership in Education, Vol. 4, no.1, pp39-56
Dinham, S., and Scott, C. (2000) ‘Moving into the third, outer domain of teacher satisfaction.’ Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 38, no. 4, pp. 379-396
Edmonds, R. (1979) ‘Effective schools for the urban poor.’ Educational Leadership, Vol. 37, no. 2, pp. 15-24
Fullan, M. (2002) ‘The change leader.’ Educational Leadership, Vol. 59, no. 8, pp. 16-20
Goleman, Daniel (1998) Working with emotional intelligence. NY: Bantam. In http://www.joe.org/joe/1999december/iw4.html
Goleman, Daniel (2000) Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review. In http://www.inneredgebook.com/download/LeadershipThatGetsResults-Goleman.pdf
Hallinger P, Heck R (1998) ‘Exploring the principal's contribution to school effectiveness: 1980-1995.’ School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Vol.9, no. 1, pp. 157-191.
Hallinger, P. (1992) ‘School leadership development: evaluating a decade of reform.’ Education and Urban Society, Vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 300-316
Hallinger, P. (2003) ‘Leading educational change: Reflections on the practice of instructional and transformational leadership.’ Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 329-351
Hallinger, P. and Murphy, J. (1985) ‘Assessing the instructional management behaviour of principal.’ Elementary School Journal, Vol. 86, pp. 217-247
Harris, A., Day, C., Hadfield, M. (2003) ‘Teachers’ Perspectives on Effective School Leadership.’ Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, Vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 67-77
Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., and Snyderman, B. (1959) The motivation to work, New York: John Willy and Sons
Hoy, W.K., & Brown, B.L. (1988) ‘Leadership behavior of principals and the zone of acceptance of elementary teachers.’ The Journal of Educational Administration, Vol.26, no.1, pp. 23-38.
Jackson, D. (2000) ‘The school improvement journey: perspectives on leadership.’ School Leadership and Management, Vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 61-78
Joiner Jr., C.W. (1987) Leadership for change. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger Publishing Company. In http://www.sedl.org/change/leadership/references.html
Lambert, L (2002) ‘A framework for shared leadership.’ Educational leadership, Vol. 58, no. 8, pp. 37-40
Law, S. and Glover, D. (2000) Educational Leadership and Learning: Practice, Policy and Research. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Leithwood, K and Jantzi, D. (2006) ‘Transformational school leadership for large-scale reform: Effects on students, teachers, and their classroom practices.’ School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 201-227
Leithwood, K. (1992) ‘The move towards transformational leadership.’ Educational Leadership, Vol. 49, no. 5, pp. 8-13
Leithwood, K. (1994) ‘Leadership for school restructuring.’ Educational Administration Quarterly, Vol. 30, no. 4, pp 498-518
Leithwood, Kenneth, A. and Montgomery, Deborah. J. (1986) Improving the effective: The principal profile. Toronto: Ontario Institute for studies in Education.
Leithwood, Kenneth. A., Jantzi, D. and Steinbach, R. (1999) Changing Leadership for Changing Times. Open University Press. Buckingham
Leithwood, K., Tomlinson, D. and Genge, M. (1996) Transformational school leadership. In K., Leithwood, C., Chapman, D., Corson, P., Hallinger, and A., Hard (Eds.), International Handbook of educational leadership and administration, pp. 785-840. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Liontos, L. B. (1992) ‘Transformational Leadership’, ERIC Digest, No. 72, In
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digest/ed347636.html
Locke, E. A. (1976) ‘The nature and causes of job satisfaction’. In M.D. Dunnette (Ed.), Handbook of industrial and organizational psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally, pp. 2193-1329
Maeroff, G. (1988). The Empowerment of Teachers. New York: Teachers College Press.
Mazzarella, J.A. & Grundy, T. (1989). Portrait of a leader. In S.C. Smith & P.K. Piele (Eds.), School leadership: Handbook for Excellence Second Edition. (pp. 9-27). Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Washington, DC: OERI contract OERI -R-86-0003. In http://www.sedl.org/change/leadership/references.html
Morris, J. H. and Sherman, J. D. (1981) ‘Generalizability of an organizational commitment model.’ Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 512-526
Murphy, J., Everston, C.M., & Radnofsky, M. L. (1991) ‘Restructuring schools: Fourteen elementary and secondary teachers' perspectives on reform.’ The Elementary School Journal, Vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 135-148.
Nguni, S., Sleeger, P., Deneesen, E. (2006) ‘Transformational and Transactional Leadership Effects on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction, Organisational Commitment and Organisational Citizenship Behaviour in Primary Schools: The Tanzanian case.’ School Effectiveness and School Improvement, Vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 145-177
Nickse, R.S. (1977) Teachers as change agents. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association. In http://www.sedl.org/change/leadership/references.html
Ostroff, C. (1992) ‘The relationship between satisfaction, attitudes and performance: An organizational level analysis.’ Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 77, no. 6, pp. 963-974
Porter, L. W., Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., and Boulian, P. V. (1974) ‘Organisational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover among psychiatric technicians.’ Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 59, no. 5, pp. 603-609
Sergiovanni, T.J. (1990) ‘Adding value to leadership gets extraordinary results.’ Educational Leadership, Vol. 47, no. 8, pp.23-27
Shackleton, V. J and Wales, P. Chmiel, N. (ed.) (2000) Introduction to work and organizational Psychology: A European Perspective, USA: Blackwell.
Shamir, B. (1991) ‘Meaning, self and motivation in organisations.’ Organisational Studies, Vol. 12, no. 13, pp. 405-424
Silins, H. C. (1994) ‘Leadership Characteristics and school improvement.’ Australian Journal of Education, Vol. 38, no. 3, pp.266-281
Smither, R. D. (1994). The psychology of work and human performance. 2nd ed., New York: Harper Collins.
Southworth, G. (2002) ‘Instructional leadership in schools: reflections and empirical evidence.’ School leadership and Management, Vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 73-92
Yukl, G. (1989) Leadership in organizations (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall
Other articles of the issue
