Abstract

 The research was focused on the  “Leadership Behavior of Principals and Attitudes of Teachers as related to the Academic Environment in Private Secondary Schools of District Dera Ismail Khan”. The study was quantitative and data were collected using a  survey. The population was 147 heads and 1470 teachers who were working in private secondary schools of the District, Dera Ismail Khan. A sample of324 was selected for gathering data. The correlation, t-test, and regression were statistical analysis techniques. The results depicted that better academic environment is the result of positive attitude of teachers. The relationship between attitude and leadership behavior was highly positive. No differences were found between rural and urban on attitude scale, leadership behavior scale and environment scale.

Introduction

Leadership is the entirety of numerous attributes of a leader. The leader in the instructive environment is the individual which cooperates for creating a conducive environment, the pioneer mends the institute condition, makes the school atmosphere target situated, directs and controls the school faculty in the manner that they contribute viably in the general instructive procedure. (Grift and Houtveen, 1999). 

The principal as a pioneer assumes a significant job for the improvement of the school. The principal as a leader mends the environment favorable for the taught so that the scholarly accomplishment of the taught could be possible. The principal of the day has the extraordinary duty of enhancing the students learning and to streamline the instructive procedure which is as per the necessities and requests of the students. 

The word attitude has been characterized as the inclination which might be in support or against somebody (Remmers, Gage, and Rummel, 1960). The Thurstone (1946), narrated the attitude as the sentiments which may be negative or positive towards someone. The attitude of the teacher implies the sentiment of the teachers towards the institution, the taught and the overall working conditions. The working environment depends majorly on the attitude which the teachers possess. As indicated by Richardson (2003) the education is the most significant and productive action of any country, which reinforces the national roots. In, a similar way the leadership is a significant aspect that improves the school condition and productive for the students (Kelley, Thornton, and Daughtery, 2005). Leadership is the entirety of numerous qualities of a pioneer. The individual role is pivotal in the learning condition; the pioneer mends the general state of the school, making it target achieving, directs and controls the school faculty in the manner that they contribute successfully in the general educational procedure (Grift and Houtveen, 1999). 

The head as a leader assumes a significant job for the betterment of the institution. The school principal maintains such an atmosphere in which grooming is established for the individual and the progressive attainment of targets is the pivotal focus. The leader of the day has the extraordinary obligation of enhancing the attainment of the goals and streamline the procedure which ultimately focusses the requirements and requests of the students.

As indicated by Maehr (1991) the school milieu is of numerous natures, among them is the " psychological environment " which extraordinarily influences the general learning process. 

Numerous others additionally characterized the environment as the collaborative action which leads towards the best consequences of the students. As indicated by specialists in the field the leader can assume a significant job for the improvement of the school environment. A leader can make self-managed learning conceivable. The leadership style of the leader likewise influences, generally speaking, organizational goals (Collins, 2001). There are numerous perspectives and theories about leadership. Some consider it as the behavior or the characteristic while others accept it as the levelheaded perspective while others accept it as conceded (Northouse, 2010). Numerous analysts examined the leadership in an alternate manner. The present investigation in accordance with the distinctive different specialists of the world investigates the Leadership behavior of Principals and attitudes of Teachers toward teaching as related to the academic environment in Private secondary schools of district Dera Ismail Khan 




Aims and Objectives 

1. To look into the effect of the leadership behavior on the achievement of students 

2. To look into the effect of the teacher’s attitude on the achievement of students 

3. To identify the relationship between leadership behavior and attitudes of teachers

Key Words

Teachers’ Attitude, Leadership Behavior, Academic Environment, Private Secondary Schools

Literature Review

Representatives or laborers of any organization or association are consistently needing an individual increasingly learned, talented and experienced; to whom they can allude to if there should be an occurrence of any need or in critical need of a managing hand. Regardless of what the style and procedure of a pioneer are, his essence is urgent for the survival of the organization. In spite of the fact that the characteristic shift from individual to individual, yet all of them share one shared objective of lifting up the association (Abgoli, 2009). Also, leaders submit to a similar arrangement of principles and shared objectives. The leadership is doing things right (Day & Sammons, 2014). The leaders provide guidance and vision for the schools. The school leaders help nature of the schools up to its most extreme. They are consistently in a battle to fortify the school and reduce the weaknesses. The school leadership is the key factor for the teachers work frame of mind (Dedrick, Blasé & Strathe, 2016)

Attitude can be termed as the reflection of human personality. As per Hogg and Vaughan (2005) the attitude is to some degree solid collection of convictions, sentiments, and behavioral patterns toward the objects, groups or events. The Teaching profession as expected in the administration of humankind requires progressively positive and ideal attitude. This is the main reason that makes the profession of teaching more respectable and noble (VineethaSiroji, 2004). In any case, these days, the vast majority of the general population gets into this profession, not by their enthusiasm or their point, yet by chance or by luck. This involves genuine concern in light of the fact that such teachers can't render their administrations to mankind as required by this profession. Regardless of how hard they attempt, they can't change their attitude towards their profession and they simply view it as a burden. This is the reason they can't legitimize their job and to add something positive to their organization (Viswanathappa, 2005). Today the teacher is in worry. His heart and psyche are brimming with dread, a fear of lack of regard with respect to both the students and their parents. May there be a little misstep on his part, he turns into the feature of the news and challenge walk are set against him. He is frightful constant and he can't take any step, any choice for his students. He feels like a manikin constantly. Sudhakar and Dayakara Reddy (2017) are of the view that teachers ought to be furnished with deference as much as any specialist, designer, legal counselor or some other government officer. The attitude of the teacher is affected by the school condition in which they are working (Popham, 2005)

According to Genn and Amee (2001), the environment incorporates the framework of the school building, for example, study halls, washrooms, staff rooms, furniture, office, limit divider, and different offices, for example, drinking water, composing boards, PC labs, stationery, and so forth. To keep away from any sort of unsettling influence, violence or get out of hand with respect to both the staff and the students and to make a quiet, free from any potential harm condition; appropriate principles and guidelines ought to be set. An environment ought to be advanced which is free of any sort of separation, regardless of whether social, religious; sex, and students should be provided with due care, attention, and affection, consideration, and love. For a good, healthy and free environment which could fulfill the needs and demands of the teachers and the taught, the quality education is the necessity

Blatt (2002) analyzed the association between Transformational leadership, Laizzez-faire leadership and school environment as observed by teachers. The model was 345 instructors in Ohio auxiliary joint professional schools. A Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and CFK Ltd., School Climate Profile were the tools used.  The analyst found a negative and enormous association between Laissez-faire leadership and the school environment. The examination exhibited no  association between Value-based leadership and school environment

Research Methodology

Research Design

The nature of the study was quantitative. For the purpose of data collection, the survey method was adopted. The questionnaire was used in this survey to gather the data from the respondents.




Population and Sampling

The population of the study consisted of 147 heads of the schools and the 1470 teachers working in these schools. A representative sample 324 (20% of 1617) participant was selected for the purpose of data gathering.  




Research Tool

Three research tools were developed by the researcher and validated through the experts. The reliability of these instruments was checked through the SPSS software, which was 0.84 for the academic environment questionnaire, the 0.79 for the leadership behavior questionnaire and the 0.78 for the attitude questionnaire.

Results and Interpretation

Table 1. Impact of Principals’ Leadership on Academic Environment in Private Schools

Predictor	Dependent variable	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	F	T	Un-stand- ?	Sig.
Leadership of Principals	Academic Environment	.412	.112	.112	132.64	9.76	.213	.000

Table 1 depicted the result of data analysis using regression, this result illustrated that for the better academic environment, the effective principals’ leadership is compulsory. The value of p= 0.000 < 0.05 (level of significance). Also, the value of R² is 0.112, at p=0.000 which illustrated that the variation in the dependent variable caused by the dependent variable is 11%.

 Table 2. Impact of Teacher’s Attitude on Academic Environment in Private Schools

Predictor	Dependent variable	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	F	T	Un-stand- ?	Sig.
Attitude of Teachers	Academic Environment	.439a	.194	.187	249.765	14.798	.389	.000

Table 2 depicted the result of data analysis using regression, this result illustrated that for a better academic environment, the attitude of teachers must be positive. The value of p= 0.000 < 0.05 (level of significance). Also, the value of R² is 0.194, at p=0.000 which illustrated that the variation in the dependent variable caused by the dependent variable is 19%.

Table 3. Pearson’s Correlation Principals Leadership Behavior and Teachers Attitude

Correlations
Variables                                       Tests		Leadership behavior of principals	The attitude of Teacher towards Teaching
Leadership behavior of principals	Pearson Correlation	1	.659**
	Sig. (2-tailed)		.000
	Sum of Squares and Cross-products	692.558	422.158
	Covariance	.670	.409
	N	1034	1034
The attitude of Teacher towards Teaching	Pearson Correlation	.659**	1
	Sig. (2-tailed)	.000
	Sum of Squares and Cross-products	422.158	592.291
	Covariance	.409	.573
	N	1034	1034
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

The table above depicted the analysis of the relationship between the two variables, the teachers’ attitude, and the principals’ leadership behavior. The analysis results illustrated that r² = .659 (66%) , at p=0.000. These results depicted that the relationship between the two variables is highly positive.



Table 4. Mean Difference between the Urban and Rural Respondents on Environment Scale

Testing Variables	Locality	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	df	t	Sig.
Classroom Environment	Rural	577	3.5099	1.26117	1032	-.313	.754
	Urban	457	3.5345	1.24854
Organizational Environment	Rural	577	3.6728	.88397	1032	-.900	.369
	Urban	457	3.7224	.87622
Disciplinary Environment	Rural	577	3.7133	.73561	1032	-.822	.411
	Urban	457	3.7514	.74465
Social Environment	Rural	577	3.8549	.93097	1032	-.210	.833
	Urban	457	3.8673	.96974
Academic Environment	Rural	577	3.6877	.79338	1032	-.624	.533
	Urban	457	3.7189	.80589

The Table 4 depicted no difference between Rural and Urban on the all sub-parts of the academic environment questionnaire. The analysis illustrated that for the classroom environment (p=0.754 > 0.05), for the organizational environment (p=0.369 > 0.05), for the disciplinary environment (p=0.411 > 0.05) for the social environment (p=0.833 > 0.05) and for the academic environment (p=0.533 > 0.05). The overall results indicate no difference between rural and urban on the environment.

Table 5. Mean Difference between the Urban and Rural Respondents in Teacher Attitude Scale

Testing Variables	Locality	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	df	t	Sig.
Teaching as profession	Rural	577	3.6931	.68622	1032	-.572	.567
	Urban	457	3.7177	.68154
Human Relations	Rural	577	3.0227	1.25344	1032	-2.226	.026
	Urban	457	3.1956	1.22215
Classroom Management	Rural	577	3.3672	.93075	1032	.050	.960
	Urban	457	3.3643	.91875
Attitude of Teacher towards Teaching	Rural	577	3.3610	.77545	1032	-1.367	.172
	Urban	457	3.4259	.73278

 

The Table 5 shows no difference between Rural and Urban on the teaching as a profession (p=0.567 > 0.05), significant difference in Human relations (p=0.02 < 0.05), no difference in classroom management (p=0.060 > 0.05) and also no difference in attitude of teachers (p=0.172 > 0.05). The overall results depicted no difference in Rural and Urban on attitude scale.

Table 6. T-Test Showing the Difference between Rural and Urban Respondents in Leadership Behavior of Principals

Testing Variable	Locality	N	Mean	Std. Deviation	df	t	Sig.
Leadership behavior of principals	Rural	577	3.4500	.82843	1032	-.332	.740
	Urban	457	3.4670	.80728

The Table 6 depicted no significant difference between Rural and Urban on Leadership behavior scale. The value of t= -.332 (p=0.740 > 0.05). This result depicted no difference in Rural and Urban on Leadership behavior scale.

Discussion and Conclusions

The results of the study illustrated that principal leadership behavior affects the academic environment in private schools. Also, the result illustrated that for the better academic environment, the attitude of teachers must be positive. The analysis of the relationship between the two variables (teachers’ attitude and the principals’ leadership behavior) is highly positive.The analysis depicted no difference between Rural and Urban on the all sub-parts of the academic environment questionnaire. The analysis illustrated that for the classroom environment (p=0.754 > 0.05), for the organizational environment (p=0.369 > 0.05), for the disciplinary environment (p=0.411 > 0.05) for the social environment (p=0.833 > 0.05) and for the academic environment (p=0.533 > 0.05). The overall results indicate no difference between rural and urban on the environment. The results also show no difference between Rural and Urban on the teaching as a profession (p=0.567 > 0.05), significant difference in Human relations (p=0.02 < 0.05), no difference in classroom management (p=0.060 > 0.05) and also no difference in attitude of teachers (p=0.172 > 0.05). The overall results depicted no difference in Rural and Urban on attitude scale. The results also depicted no significant difference between Rural and Urban on Leadership behavior scale. The value of t= -.332 (p=0.740 > 0.05). This result depicted no difference in Rural and Urban on Leadership behavior scale. The results of the present study when compared with the national and international studies in this area, the results are supported by the study of Rejas, Emilio, Juan (2006). The results of the current study are also in line with the results of Lai, Luen, Chai, and Ling (2014) who led an investigation of the impacts of principals? leadership styles on instructor attitude towards teaching. These results are backed by Dedrick, Blasé, and Strathe ( 2016). The study of Viswanathappa (2005), also highlighted the similar results in this particular area of research.   

Recommendations

The current study results depicted that principal effective leadership behavior leads towards the better academic environment, on the basis of this finding, it can be recommended that to strengthen the academics of the schools, strengthening of heads is compulsory. The results are also in favor that the attitude of the teacher is also another factor for maintaining the better academic environment, therefore it is recommended for policymakers that the attitude scale should be given to the teachers during their appointment and those teachers should be appointed at the school level who have a positive attitude.

References

• Abgoli. A.R. (2009). A Study of the Leadership Styles of Head Teachers in relation to School Effectiveness at the Secondary Stage in India and Iran. Ph. D. Department of Education. RIE, Mysore.
• Blatt, D. A. (2002). A study to determine the relationship between the leadership styles of career technical directors and school climate as perceived by teachers. Ed. D. West Virginia University
• Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
• Dedrick. C., Blasé. J., Strathe. M. ( 2016) Leadership Behavior of School Principals in Relation to Teacher, Stress, Satisfaction, and Performance, The Journal of humanistic education and development , 24(4):159-171
• Genn J. Amee. (2001). Medical Education Guide no. 23 (Part-1): Curriculum, Environment, Climate, Quality and Change in the Medical Education-a Unifying Perspective. Med Teach, 2001. 337-44.
• Grift, W. V & Houtveen, A. A. M. (1999). Educational leadership and pupil achievement in primary education. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 10 (4), 373-389.
• Hogg, M., & Vaughan, G. (2005). Social psychology (4th ed.). London, UK: Prentice Hall.
• Kelley, R. C., Thornton, B & Daughtery, R (2005). Relationship between measures of leadership and school climate, Education Vol. 126 No. 1: Department of Educational Leadership /283 College of Education Reno, Nevada