Perception based principal leadership measurement: Does it work in Pakistan?

Adequacy of relevant knowledge and interpersonal skills, interalia, are vital contributors to a successful leadership. However, leadership is not a self-centered phenomenon but followers through their actions and views profess it. Extant literature suggests teachers' and principals' perceptions as a prominent tool for measuring school leadership. This study evaluated the applicability of this leadership measure in context of Pakistani schools. Study focused on analyzing the differences between views of school principals about their own leadership attributes and as viewed by the teachers under their sub-ordination. We adopted the questionnaire developed by Sharma (2010) and Sun et al. (2014) to collect the data on leadership attributes. Total of 178 teachers and 18 principals from Secondary Schools in Pakistan responded the questionnaire. We applied independent sample t-test to analyze the data. The results showed a significant difference between perceptions of principals about their own leadership attributes and that of views by the teachers working under them. The results of the study suggest that principals in the schools under study lack the leadership skills. Further analysis revealed that most of the principals considered them good leader but their sub-ordinates opinion negated this. It shows, the principals, under study, either lacked the interpersonal skills to motivate their sub-ordinates or failed to modify the opinion of their sub-ordinates.