Leadership Competencies and Participatory Decision-Making Effects on Teachers' Retention at Secondary Education in Pakistan

Author(s) : Muhammad Amir Saeed , Sadia Saba , & Saeed Ahmad

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of institutional leadership competencies and the opportunities of participatory decision making on the attrition / retention rate of teachers at the secondary level of education in Pakistan. A semi structured questionnaire was used to achieve the purpose of this study. Researchers collected dara with 398 questionnaires distributed in person and through postal service. In addition to this , the researchers use the reflective open-ended responses and the follow up interviews with the teachers and  identified themes through Nvivo 11 software. The responses were evaluated on the basis of three selected variables: teachers' views on the institutional leadership competencies (independent variable), professional and administrative collaboration in the participatory decision-making process (independent variable), and the teachers' retention / attrition (dependent variable), and four indictors were tested, i.e. gender, age, level of education, and the type of institution. Various themes were identified in the data that addressed the selected variables for this study. The study indicated that the leadership competencies and the participatory decision-making opportunities exert many implications on the teachers' retention / attrition, although statistically it was found insignificant on three indicators in both streams: (1) gender, level of education and the type of institutions in the stream namely the effect of leadership competencies on teachers' retention / attrition; and (2) gender, age, and the type of institution in the second stream namely participative decision making and teachers' retention / attrition. The study concluded that positive institutional culture under competent leadership and the opportunities in the administrative and professional participatory decision making may lead to achieve high quality professional standards for the teachers.

Key Words: Leadership competencies, Participatory Decision making, Teachers' retention/attrition, Secondary Education Pakistan