A Study of Leadership Styles of Administrators and its Perceived Impact on Morale of Elementary School Educators in Pakistan

* Fatima Saddique, MPhil Scholar (Corresponding Author)

** Dr. Bushra Inayat Raja

Abstract

This research investigated the influence of democratic leadership practices of elementary school

administrators on the morale of educators. It was also an attempt to explore how democratic

leadership style of administrators, develop high morale among elementary school educators in

Pakistan. For the purpose, 22 administrators and 20 school educators in federal government

educational institutes contributed to the study. Mixed methods research design was used to collect

quantitative and qualitative data that helped to answer the research questions. The Leadership styles

questionnaire developed by Northouse (2009) was used to collect quantitative information regarding

democratic, authoritarian, and laissez-fare leadership styles of the administrators. The interview

guide developed by Littleford (2007) was used to collect qualitative information of educators’ morale.

It helped to collect detailed information regarding the research variables. The educator’s personal

experiences were considered in one–on-one interview, The results indicated that out of 22 schools 16

were practicing democratic leadership style, 1 school was practicing authoritarian leadership style, 4

were practicing both democratic and authoritarian leadership style and 1 school administrator was

practicing laissez-fare leadership style. Themes induced from the qualitative data, using thematic

analysis approach of the educators’ interview indicated that administrators’ leadership styles

influenced moral of the educators. These findings showed that elementary educators' morale was high

due to democratic leadership style of the school administrators.

Keywords: Leadership Styles, School administrators, Educators, Morale, Elementary Schools.

Introduction