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Effective transformational and transactional qualities of 7-8 intermediate school principals who create and sustain change in an urban school setting

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Effective transformational and transactional qualities of 7-8 intermediate school principals who create and sustain change in an urban school setting

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Content Running head: TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 1
EFFECTIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES OF 7–8
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL PRINCIPALS WHO CREATE AND SUSTAIN CHANGE IN AN
URBAN SCHOOL SETTING
By
Ivy Trac
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
August 2020
Copyright 2020 Ivy Trac
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 2
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to my mother, Twee Trac, father, Phuong Trac, and sister,
Amy Trac. Their continued support in furthering my education has allowed me to grow as a
leader, lifelong learner, and further represent our family as first generation refugees who believe
in the power of education. I also want to dedicate this to my husband, Joe Ho, for his patience,
constant encouragement, and knowing that this experience can show the strength and persistence
of the female spirit for our daughter, Eleanor Ho. Finally, I also want to dedicate this dissertation
to my paternal and maternal grandparents, aunts, and uncles who have shown me love and that
one is not meant to only survive in life, but to thrive.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Rudy Castruita
(dissertation chair), Dr. David Cash, and Dr. John Roach for their mentoring and guidance
throughout the entire dissertation process. I also want to thank the late Dr. Pedro Garcia who
shared with us his experience as an educator, learner, risk taker, and inspired us to be advocates
for our communities.
I would also like to thank my colleagues at USC for their invaluable support, advice, and
encouragement as we journeyed our courses and dissertations together. May we continue to be
the “beacons of light” for all children, families, and communities.
My day to day support during this journey came from a very special administrative team
at my school site; I want to give a special thanks to my Principal, Todd Nirk, and fellow assistant
principals, Dr. Jared Fulton and Holly Jefferson for their neverending support. Finally, I want to
thank the leaders, administrators, and teachers of Garden Grove Unified School District who
have raised me to be a teacher, support provider, and administrator. Thank you to Dr. Gabriela
Mafi, Kelly McAmis, and Dr. Lila Jenkins for your inspiration and leadership.
Lastly, I wanted to thank each and every school principal who dedicated their time,
experience, and expertise in school leadership, creating, and sustaining change at a school site.
Each one of these principals continue to strive for greatness and are examples of how to lead
during times of constant change in the 21st Century.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication 2
Acknowledgements 3
List of Tables 6
Chapter One: Introduction 7
Background of Problem 14
Statement of the Problem 15
Purpose of the Study 17
Research Questions 18
Significance of Study 18
Organization of Study 18
Chapter Two: Literature Review 20
Defining Transformational Leadership 21
The Argument for Transformational Leadership 22
Charisma and Personality 23
Intellectual Stimulation 24
Allocating Tasks for Individual Growth 26
Inspirational Motivation 29
Transformational Leadership and Instructional Leadership 31
Transactional Leadership 33
Transactional Leadership: The Less Glamorous Leadership Skill 35
Two Other Characteristics of Transactional Leadership to Note 36
The Argument for Transactional Leadership 37
Transactional Leadership Versus Transformational Leadership 39
Chapter Three: Methodology 40
Statement of the Problem 40
Purpose of the Study 41
Research Questions 41
Selection of the Population 42
Design Summary 43
Methodology 44
Mixed Methods 44
Instruments and Protocols 45
Qualitative Instrument 45
Quantitative Instrument 45
Data Collection 46
Data Analysis 47
Validity and Reliability 48
Summary 49
Chapter Four: Results 50
Purpose of Study 50
Presentation of Findings 52
Criteria for Selection 53
Demographics 54
Design Summary 55
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 5
Research Question One 56
Theme: Building Good Relationships 57
Theme: Strong Work Ethic 59
Research Question Two 60
Theme: Charisma, Personality, and Authenticity 61
Theme: Intellectual Stimulation and Building Trust 63
Theme: Leading the Way with Transformational Leadership Skills 64
Research Question Three 64
Theme: Management By Exception and Accountability 66
Theme: Contingent Reward and Less Than Rewarding Results 68
Research Question Four 69
Theme: Transformational Leadership and Long-Term Positive Effects 72
Theme: Transactional Leadership and Lack of Effectiveness 74
Summary 76
Chapter Five: Conclusions and Implications 78
Purpose of Study 78
Research Questions 79
Methodology 79
Results and Findings 79
Research Question One 80
Research Question Two 80
Research Question Three 81
Research Question Four 81
Implications of the Study 82
Administrative Credential Curriculum and Support for Upcoming Principals 82
Administrative Support Network and Professional Learning Communities 83
Recommendations for Future Research 84
Concluding Remarks 84
References 87
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 6
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Participants’ Years of Service 54
Table 2: Interviewees’ Years of Service 55
Table 3: Themes 57
Table 4: Leadership Qualities 61
Table 5: Transactional Leadership Skills 65
Table 6: Utilization of Leadership Characteristics 70
Table 7: Utilization of Leadership Characteristics 71
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 7
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
School districts hiring 7–8 intermediate school principals look for specific qualities:
extensive exposure to education and leadership roles such as a teacher, counselor, and/or
educator, post-graduate degree(s) in teaching and/or education, an administrative credential,
qualities of a leader like strong emotional intelligence, ability to remain calm in stressful
situations, and budgetary intelligence (Stronge, Richard, & Catano, 2008). School principals are
considered to be the second most influential, just behind classroom teachers, on student
achievement and impact on students (Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004).
Research on the role of the school principal is just as important as research on the impact of
schoolteachers. Although personal work experience and attaining a credential/degree can help
build the foundation to be effective at creating change at a school site, which of these qualities
are said to be the most effective in creating and sustaining that positive change?
Organizational leadership researchers have varied views on the types of leadership styles
in that some state leaders who have “moral purpose and relationships have organizational
success” (Fullan, 2001, 23) and others find that leaders who have multi-frame thinking,
“structural, human resource, political, and symbolic frames and concepts of leadership” (Bolman
& Deal, 2013, 47), are key in implementing a sustainable system in an organization. School
leaders should have both transactional and transformational leadership skills to provide for
managerial school support and people skills (Bolman & Deal, 2013). Transformational
leadership is the ability to move workers towards higher work performance by modeling these
behaviors and encouraging participation (Burns, 2003). The appeal to the emotion is a core area
of transformational leadership in that staff members understand their own moral imperative of
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 8
being a teacher as the motivator for performing at high levels in the classroom and providing
quality instruction to students.
Qualities of transformational leadership include being a visionary for the organization
(Bennis & Nanus, 1985) and a pioneer who can bring about change (Kouzes & Posner, 2009). A
school principal with strong transformational leadership skills can change the beliefs at a school
to match the perceptions of the site (Leithwood, 1992). In this case, transformational leadership
does not necessarily mean a principal steps into the role and demands change. On the contrary,
transformational leadership means the principal listens to the needs of the staff and responds with
an understanding of their positions to move all staff towards the common goal while giving
adherence to the staff’s needs. Transformational leadership is a collaborative effort with the staff
to sustain this change. Transformational leaders try to motivate a group or organization to move
towards change by working together (Himelhoch, 2014), and this style of leadership has only
been recently become the subject of empirical examinations in schools (Leithwood & Jantzi,
2005).
Transformational leadership has shown positive correlations relative to commitment,
organizational conditions, and learning culture (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2005). This style of
leadership can affect attitudes and emotions, as those who utilize this style of leadership are
shown to improve their staff members’ emotional exhaustion (Niessen, Mäder, Stride, &
Jimmieson, 2017). Understanding this about transformational leadership allows principals to
better support their staff emotionally, preventing issues such as teacher burnout, teacher
complacency, low work productivity, and stalled professional growth. Considering the negative
strains on teachers due to workload, using transformational leadership can better support teachers
in thriving in their role as school leaders (Niessen et al., 2017). Transformational leadership also
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 9
supports actions such as coaching, peer to peer collaboration, encouragement, support, and
building relationships (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The root of transformational leadership is that one
is developing and transforming people (DuBrin, 2010).
Although transformational leadership is considered to be the most popular leadership
style for schools (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2001), transactional leadership skills are some of the
longest utilized leadership practices (Oterkiil, & Ertesvåg, 2014). This is not to say that one type
of leadership is necessarily better than the other. It should be noted that arguments can be made
for both leadership styles. This study does recognize there are qualities of both transformational
and transactional leadership that would be beneficial for sustaining change on an intermediate
school campus.
Transactional leadership involves “practical, give and take exchanges, such as pay for
performance” (Burns, 2003). A transactional style of leadership involves managing, controlling,
and influencing a work environment, a common administrative style that was supported in the
1990s (Mette & Scribner, 2014). Using sanctions and rewards to control teachers or students’
behavior, targeting areas of growth, and rewarding compliance are also considered qualities of
transactional leadership (Mette & Scribner, 2014). This type of style could also be defined as
“contingent reward” where staff members are rewarded as long as they do what is instructed by
leadership (Devine & Alger, 2011).
Another part of transactional leadership is management by exception where principals
look for actions that deviate from the goal and immediately correct errors and mistakes (Devine
& Alger, 2011). Transactional leadership allows for the terms to be set by the leader, and
individuals can be recognized for their efforts through rewards (Bass & Avolio, 2004). However,
under transactional leadership, the leader can set terms and can punish staff for not being in
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 10
compliance with the rules (Bass & Avolio, 2004). In some cases, transactional leadership can be
seen as authoritative, delegative, and participatory in that standards are set and constituents are to
respond (Bass & Bass, 2008).
Although both transactional and transformational leadership qualities are valued in the
school setting, there needs to be further research to determine what specific aspects of each
leadership style would be most needed to establish and sustain change in an urban school setting.
Further research is also needed on the middle school system and its principals, as these principals
hold a complex role that requires them to support students’ academic success while providing
opportunities for them to grow emotionally through exploratory courses (Clark & Clark, 2006).
Further understanding specific transactional and transformational leadership skills needed in the
middle school setting will aid in better supporting current and future middle school students’
learning in an environment that allows them to explore areas of interest, develop academic skills
for high school, and home in on their emotional and social learning skills for college and career
readiness. The purpose of this study was to provide qualitative insight into the leadership
qualities of effective 7–8 intermediate school principals.
Two types of leadership skills referenced in education are transactional and
transformational (Bolman & Deal, 2013). Further understanding the leadership styles and
qualities of 7–8 intermediate school administrators will allow us to better prepare future school
administrators to bring change to schools, provide deeper and effective professional development
for administrators, and establish methods to evaluate school administrators. Research on the
leadership styles of task-oriented leaders (transactional leaders) and people-oriented leaders
(transformational leaders) started as far back as Burns (1978). Various studies have continued the
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 11
research on those styles but looks specifically at which qualities of the two leadership styles are
most needed to bring change to a school.
It should be noted that there is an additional leadership style called “passive leadership,”
which is leadership by avoidance and allowing staff members to perform as they want. This is
also defined as the leader waiting passively for mistakes to occur instead of taking action ahead
of time (Devine & Alger, 2011). Although this is a recognized leadership trait, this study did not
examine the passive leadership style as a method because it has been shown in research to not be
effective in comparison to transformational and transaction leadership (Devine & Alger, 2011;
Harold & Holtz, 2015; Kelloway, Mullen, & Francis, 2006).
While we look at leadership qualities as a method of predicting the effectiveness of 7–8
intermediate school principals, one must also consider the fact that current administrators are
working during a time of change of “great rapidity and nonlinearity on the one hand and equally
great potential for creative breakthroughs on the other” (Fullan, 2001, 43). Administrators must
prepare for change in multiple arenas in education. These types of changes will vary as
educational policies, district vision and goals, and change in personnel take place. With
principals as consistent leaders on school campuses, there is a need for them to be equipped with
the skills to bring about and sustain change. Currently, these changes are due to the
implementation of Common Core standards, use of instructional technology tools, construction
of teacher leadership opportunities, and the development of professional learning communities
(PLCs).
In 2010, the Common Core standards were introduced and implemented in most states,
requiring many schools to change their curriculum, methods, instruction, and classroom focus
(Peery, 2013). The Common Core State Standards call for students to be taught to provide
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 12
textual evidence and analyze text through close reading (National Governors Association, 2010).
In mathematics, students are to learn through discovery learning and are required to learn
multiple ways to find the answer to a math problem (National Governors Association, 2010). As
a source of accountability for teaching the Common Core standards, the Smarter Balanced Test
was introduced for students to show mastery on the new standards (Peery, 2013). With the
changes to curriculum, instruction, and testing, current and new administrators are required to
use their leadership skills to initiate change at their school sites, provide support to sustain those
changes, and respond to questions, possible resistance, and concerns about the changes made due
to Common Core standards and testing.
Building the capacity of teacher leadership has received more attention due to the
changes in standards and high-stakes testing (Clark & Clark, 2006). Research has also shown
that the concept of the principal as the lone leader is no longer (Lambert, 2002). With principals
as collaborative learners alongside teachers, parents, students, and staff members, understanding
the specific transactional and transformational leadership qualities they should have would help
in garnering these collaborative working relationships. One principal cannot serve as the
instructional leader for the whole school, as the principal’s vision, inquiry, collaboration, and
reflection are required to support teachers’ efforts to become instructional leaders (Lambert,
2002). To put the principal’s vision, mission, thoughts on inquiry and collaboration to practice,
the principal should have specific transactional and transformational skills that can uphold these
actions.
As we enter the 21st century, the classroom will change as schools integrate digital
technology and use instructional strategies with technology (Kidd & Keengwe, 2010). One of the
main challenges that administrators and teachers will face is integrating technology to help
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 13
students learn well and to participate in the learning (Bauer & Kenton, 2005). Using instructional
technology provides opportunities for students to be engaged in the learning process, publish
materials online, have access to a wide range of information beyond their textbooks, and allows
for collaboration through a digital interface (Kidd & Keengwe, 2010). With the implementation
of instructional technology comes the need for access to technology and professional
development for teachers to learn to teach with the technology. In a time of change, current and
new administrators must be equipped with the leadership skills to provide support for teachers
who may hesitate to use technology in the classroom, provide professional development to staff
on instructional technology opportunities, and provide consistent access to technology in all
classrooms.
Professional learning communities (PLCs) were introduced to schools as a method for
teachers to reflect on their practice, provide insight and input on learning and effective teaching,
and build camaraderie (Fullan, 2001). Schools have often been a place of privacy, where teachers
stay in their classrooms, teach their students, and lesson plan on their own. With the
implementation of PLCs and having teachers build relationships with each other and
communicate, the transformation can be considered to be extremely difficult (Stoll & Louis,
2007). Building relationships between teachers and having teachers be open and reflective about
their teaching requires administrators use their leadership skills in helping build and maintain
interpersonal relationships between teachers, ensure that voices are heard, and provide
opportunities for sharing among all members of the team. With such changes introduced over the
past 10 years, administrators will use both transformational and transactional leadership skills to
support, maintain, and sustain changes on campus.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 14
An additional purpose of understanding the leadership qualities of 7–8 intermediate
school principals is that there is not enough research on school administration (Hauserman &
Stick, 2013). Like many other principals in the K–12 setting, 7–8 intermediate school principals
are often seen as public figures who maintain relationships with their teachers, students, and
community, manage the budget and school expenditures, resolve conflicts on campus, and set
instructional goals and expectations for the faculty. To be successful and bring positive change to
a school, we must further understand the skills that 7–8 intermediate school principals needs to
start and maintain these changes.
Background of Problem
The types of interactions, leadership skills, and behavior of the 7–8 intermediate school
principal are important to a school organization and can help predict multiple issues like teacher
burnout, quality of instruction, and school climate (Kim, 2016). Little is known about school
principals’ roles in general or about their behaviors’ effect on a school, so further research is
needed in these areas (Kim, 2016). Research has also stated that school principals are only
effective if they can bring about school-wide results in instruction and culture (Masitsa, 2005).
Accountability for middle school principals has varied and changed due to expanding
knowledge, frequent changes at the middle school level, and further understanding of young
adults to prepare students for high school (Clark & Clark, 2006). Successful middle school
principals are those who have a wide knowledge of middle level practices and view team
advisory courses, intramural activities, exploratory programs, and cocurricular activities as
having high priority in their goals for the school (Clark & Clark, 2006). Successful principals
know they are accountable in many ways, including professional, personal, and political
responsibilities with the school (Petzko et al., 2002). This study aimed to examine the
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 15
transactional and transformational qualities that middle school principals should have to better
support them in holding themselves accountable. Understanding the types of transactional and
transformational qualities that a middle school principal should have will allow us to provide
further support, professional development, and guidance for current and future middle school
principals.
A school principal’s role as a manager and instructional leader makes them the person to
blame if something is not done or if there are poor results at a school, often because the school
principal is held accountable for these issues (Masitsa, 2005). In addition, they may be pressured
to leave their role due to lack of progress at the school, pressure placed on them by staff, faculty,
district personnel, or the union, leading to school principal turnover being a common
phenomenon nationwide (Miller, 2016). Due to the high stakes role that 7–8 intermediate school
principals hold as instructional leaders, managers, visionaries, communicators and their required
maintenance of positive relationships with teachers, students, parents, and the community,
additional research is needed to find out the specific skills that 7–8 intermediate school principals
will need to better support their campus and school needs.
Statement of the Problem
During the last five years, school districts faced a number of changes, such as the
implementation of Common Core and new standards, implementation of instructional
technology, further collaboration and establishment of PLCs, and restorative practices, so school
principals are supporting their schools in a time of constant change (Pyhältö, Pietarinen, & Soini,
2012). During these times of change, the school’s success is highly dependent on the principal’s
leadership skills and ability to support the school through change (Spillane, Halverson, &
Diamond, 2004). School administrators exhibit both transformational and transactional aspects of
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 16
leadership; however, in a state of change and future change for schools, administrators need to
know and understand what aspects of transformational and transactional leadership qualities are
needed for create and sustain change. Transformational leadership is described as the ability to
appeal to emotions and moral imperative to create change (Burns, 2003). Transactional
leadership is described as managing, controlling, and using an exchange of favors to create
change and manage the work environment (Mette & Scribner, 2014).
Prior to becoming an administrator, one can receive training by taking on leadership roles
at a school site, taking classes for the administrative credential, or taking on teacher leadership
roles such as an instructional coach or teacher on special assignment. After attaining a role as an
administrator, a 7–8 intermediate school principal can receive additional support if the district
office assigns an experienced 7–8 intermediate school principal who can provide insight and
support or the assistant superintendent meets bi-weekly or monthly with the new 7–8
intermediate school principal to answer questions and provide help. When taking courses in
leadership, 7–8 intermediate school principals will come across the terms “transactional
leadership” and “transformational leadership” where transactional leadership is using a give-one-
get-one relationship to create change while transformational leadership involves appealing to the
values, vision, and emotions of the organization (Bolman & Deal, 2013). While school
administrators learn about leadership methods and styles, school principals are often left to learn
about leadership styles through trial and error, on-the-job training, and well-intentioned but ill-
conceived mentorship (Miller, 2013).
In years past, school principals were often seen to be in a managerial role where
paperwork and budgets were the main concern; however, current expectations are that they will
also be leaders in improving the learning environment for teachers and students while creating a
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 17
vision for the organization (Ediger, 2014). With the current expectations for 7–8 intermediate
school principals to take on a managerial and visionary roles and the limited time of 180 days per
year to make that effective change, the researcher sought to determine the specific traits of
transactional and transformational leadership skills that are effective in the interest of time and
workload.
As we move into the 21st century, administrators will face changes to their school and
community: the implementation of Common Core standards, use of instructional technology in
the classroom, building the capacity of teacher leadership, and promoting a collaborative
environment through PLCs. This type of change could require the faculty and staff to change
their mindset, practices, and traditional classroom norms. Administrators should be equipped
with specific leadership skills and attain or hone on leadership qualities that can best create and
sustain change at the school site.
Purpose of the Study
Principal leadership is crucial under school accountability policies in that principals are
responsible for communicating goals to staff, facilitating school improvement, and interpreting
policies (Elmore, 2001). These responsibilities require specific leadership skills. To narrow down
these leadership skills, this study specifically examined transformational and transactional
leadership skills that intermediate principals will need to execute these actions. This study sought
to provide a detailed report on the specific transformational and transactional leadership skills
that 7–8 principals should utilize for sustainable change at their schools. A study on the
leadership skills of middle school principals furthers understanding of the efficacy of the middle
school model and whether it meets students’ academic and socio-emotional needs (Brown,
2004). The middle school principal has a complex role with numerous demands for which they
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 18
must use leadership skills to support instructional growth and engage in collaborative decision
making (Petzko et al., 2002).
Research Questions
1. What are the school environmental predictors of a 7–8 intermediate school principal who
has utilized both transactional and transformational leadership skills?
2. What qualities of transformational and transactional leadership are present in a 7–8
intermediate school principal who brings change to a school?
3. What qualities of transactional leadership are present in a 7–8 intermediate school
principal who brings change to a school?
4. How does a 7–8 intermediate school principal balance both transformational and
transactional leadership qualities to bring and maintain change to a school?
Significance of Study
The significance of this study lies in providing research to support current and future 7–8
intermediate school principals in understanding the types of transactional and transformational
leadership skills needed to create sustainable change. Since the 7–8 intermediate school principal
has the role of establishing a learning culture (Masitsa, 2005), understanding which managerial
and visionary skills are necessary can support future 7–8 intermediate schools in narrowing
down the actions needed to best support their sites. These principals will need an understanding
the types of leadership skills that they will need to create change at their schools.
Organization of Study
This study is organized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the introduction,
purpose of the research, background information, research questions, significance of the study,
and organization of the study. Chapter One also explains why there needs to be further research
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 19
on the topic. The second chapter is the literature review for the study and includes recent articles
that address the topic and research questions. The third chapter states the purpose of the study,
restates the research questions, and explains the methodology of the study and why the study is
classified as a qualitative study. The fourth chapter presents the results of the analysis conducted
on data collected via surveys and interviews. The fifth chapter provides a discussion on the
findings, implications, and recommendations for future research on the topic of transactional and
transformational leadership.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 20
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
Being a school principal requires one to be engaged in a variety of roles, including being
a visionary in steering the school to a specific set of goals, being an instructional leader for
teachers, building, maintaining, and sustaining relationships with all staff and community
members, and overseeing school facilities and maintenance. Studies have shown that no other
person in the school has the largest combination of authority and potential for influencing
teachers, staff members, classified members, and students than the principal (McCarley, Peters,
& Decman, 2016). Principals have a strong influence on the school environment and culture,
teacher and staff attitudes, student learning, and academic achievement (Bogler, 2005; Waters,
2013). Additional research has shown that the principal’s leadership style does have an impact
on students’ academic performance (Hood, Poulson, Mason, Walker, & Dixon, 2009). These
leadership skills can be used in conjunction with one another, in specific situations, and/or with
one leadership skill being more dominant than the others.
This study focused on transformational and transactional leadership and how principals
can use characteristics of these styles to support and sustain change on a school campus. In the
discussion on creating and sustaining change, the principal can play multiple roles. To create
change in an organization, a transition has to take place, as old assumptions and expectations
have to be relinquished, and a new vision has to be established (Bridges & Bridges, 2016). The
role of the principal in creating and sustaining change is to help faculty and staff understand what
the change is going to look like and why it is important for the staff to begin this journey. When
managing a transition on this scale, the principal has to be charismatic and inspiring, manage
staff behaviors and feelings, and provide reassurance and stability. The leadership style matters
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 21
when the principal beings the journey with staff, and the principal will need both
transformational and transactional leadership skills to support this change.
The leadership style of the principal has a direct impact on the school’s culture and
morale as well as on student achievement (Bogler, 2005; Hood et al., 2009). Research to provide
evidence of specific leadership skills that principals can utilize to create and sustain effective
change can further support current and future administrators in their practice as leaders. The
principal plays a key role in making decisions that can shift the direction of the school and can
sustain that change if staff and faculty believe in the decisions being made. Using
transformational and transactional leadership characteristics aids in gaining buy-in from faculty
and staff members for the principal’s decisions. Since the principal’s role is central in the
school’s success moving forward, there should be additional research to understand how
leadership styles can affect a school’s environment and overall student academic achievement.
According to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (Woodward,
2009), understanding leadership styles can support leadership and school outcomes to prevent
issues with academic disparity, poor school environment, and/or disparity between social and
ethnic groups on campus. The two leadership concepts this study specifically focused on were
Avolio and Bass (1995) and Bass and Avolio’s (2000) concepts of transformational and
transactional leadership and which skills in each of these styles will affect the school
environment.
Defining Transformational Leadership
The principal is no longer the lone leader at the school site, as the principal is required to
work with the members of the community to create change (Clark & Clark, 2006). Bass and
Riggio (2006) stated that transformational leadership is the most successful of all leadership
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 22
concepts to support a school campus during challenging circumstances. Transformational
leadership is defined as addressing the cultural components of the environment into which the
leader steps and appealing to the emotions and moral imperative of the members of the
community (Burns, 1978). Bass and Avolio (1994) define transformational leadership as a multi-
dimensional construct that requires four main areas: charisma and inspirational motivation,
intellectual stimulation, individual consideration for the growth of the employee, and
inspirational motivation such that individuals increase their commitment to the organization.
Multiple studies have shown that transformational leadership skills have a positive effect
on a school environment (Chin, 2010), school culture (Boyne, 2004; Sahin & Samiha, 2004),
organizational improvement and effectiveness (Boyne, 2004), student engagement (Leithwood &
Jantzi, 2005), belief in change, and leading change (Boyne, 2004). Transformational leadership
is said to increase teacher commitment, capacity, and engagement to meet the school goals
(Moolenaar, Daly, & Sleegers, 2010). Bass and Riggio (2006) have continually argued in their
research that transformational leadership is an effective approach for school principals because it
creates a shared expectation of all members of the school community for high performance.
There is a strong positive correlation between transformational leadership factors and supportive
principal behavior in terms of influencing teacher performance (Eshbach & Henderson, 2010;
Mooney, 2003).
The Argument for Transformational Leadership
Bass and Avolio (1994) defined transformational leadership’s four main factors: charisma
and inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individual growth and considering, and
inspirational motivation. These concepts were used frame specific aspects of transformational
leadership qualities that have an impact on sustaining change at a school.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 23
Charisma and Personality
Avolio and Bass (2002) define the transformational leadership quality of charisma and
personality as building up admiration, conviction, and esteem among followers through
empowerment, autonomy, and trust. Transformational leaders should carry charisma (Sarros &
Santora, 2001) and build an environment that allows for raising the morale and performance of
the followers and offer different inspirational strategies to members of the organization
(Odumeru & Ifeanyi, 2013). A principal with an open and appealing personality allows the
faculty to perceive the principal as authentic, supportive, and non-restrictive (O’Connor, 2001).
Perception is key in influencing the staff, as the more transformational a principal is perceived to
be, the more responsibilities and roles that members in the school will take on, which will allow
for effective delegation (McCarley et al., 2016). Studies have shown that principals who have
transformational leadership skills and personal identification with followers allow for further
buy-in from the staff and faculty (Kark, Shamir, & Chen, 2003).
Principals should understand how to act in a situation and how to convince faculty
members to believe in the decisions made for the campus. In transformational leadership, an
administrator’s power does not come from their positional power as the principal; rather, the
power stems from the principal’s ability to use their personality and talking to faculty members
to find common ground. This ability to build autonomy, empowerment, and trust with faculty is
key in creating change on a campus through transformational leadership (Avolio & Bass, 2002).
Having charisma and personality also allows the principal to create a school environment based
on cooperation among all members of the organization (Feinberg, Ostroff, & Burke, 2005).
Using one’s ability to appeal to the masses allows for transformational leaders to develop a
shared vision, foster acceptance of group goals, and communicate high expectations with the
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 24
members of the school (Leithwood & Sun, 2012). When appealing to the masses, the principal
has to use charisma and personality to build trust with the staff; when there is no trust, the
transition and change is less likely to occur (Bridges & Bridges, 2016). This type of trust
building starts with the principal connecting with the staff, using wit and sense of humor to
appeal to people, creating connections and talking about topics that matter to the staff members,
and providing a safe environment for staff members to share their feelings. When sustaining
change, these types of interpersonal practices need to be consistent during the principal’s time
with staff members to maintain a healthy level of trust.
Intellectual Stimulation
Intellectual stimulation is one of the most prominent behaviors of transformational
leadership, as the leader challenges the status quo by encouraging teachers and staff members to
think and problem solve using creativity and innovation (Bass & Avolio, 1994). When problem
solving, a transformational leader utilizes intellectual stimulation to seek varied perspectives,
attack problems from various angles, and suggest new ways to complete an assignment (Bass &
Avolio, 2004). These types of leaders encourage individuals to become leaders in their area of
expertise (Pounder, 2008) and allow individuals to develop new ideas and new ways of
completing tasks (Nguni, Sleegers, & Denessen, 2006).
Transformational leadership is a method for those who want to develop their constituents
and use intellectual stimulation to encourage teachers to rethink the ways things have been done
and focus on new behaviors for successful change (Pounder, 2008). Not only do transformational
leaders allow for individual ideas of problem solving, but they also raise awareness among their
followers to develop solutions using their collective interests to produce strong outcomes (Hoy &
Miskel, 2008).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 25
The principal’s ability to raise staff and faculty morale by encouraging them to problem
solve is effective in the realm of transformational leadership and is effective in a managerial
sense. If the faculty and staff rely on the principal to solve all issues and problems in the
classroom, with the department, and with students, the principal would not have enough time to
work on the school’s vision, large scale projects, or supporting classrooms instructionally.
Applying different inspirational strategies for staff members to solve problems on their own
increases staff morale and performance and saves time for administrators to work on overall
school growth (Odumeru & Ifeanyi, 2013). While referencing morale, intellectual stimulation
and transformational leadership allow principals to engage in a culture of trust because the
principal trusts the staff to make their own decisions through their own problem solving methods
(Odumeru & Ifeanyi, 2013). Building a sense of trust through intellectual stimulation allows for
the staff to become more a close knit community, trust in the higher order changes, and work
towards a common vision.
Not only does the leader encourage others to problem solve using creativity and
innovation, but they also model these same behaviors and values with the organization
(Leithwood & Sun, 2012). As transformational role models and gaining followers through
confidence, leaders use intellectual stimulation to empower and raise the potential of employees
and staff (Eagly, Eagly, & Carli, 2007). Raising the potential of employees and staff is easier
said than done. When creating and sustaining change, staff members may be reluctant to change
due to self-protective motivations, lack of confidence in their own ability, not seeing purpose to
put in additional effort for change, and/or lack of understanding of how bringing about change
can make a positive impact on the organization (Keegan & Lahey, 2009). Although this can
easily bring a halt to a principal’s plans of moving the school in a more positive direction,
[GGM1]: Add to the list of refs
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 26
intellectual insights can be a powerful tool in helping make this desire necessary. When a
principal provides structure to help channel their aspirations, such as through PLCs, builds in
collaboration time to talk about professional growth, and gains from their experiences and
opportunities, staff members are more likely to change (Keegan & Lahey, 2009). When applying
intellectual stimulation to create change, a principal can create protected time for teachers to
discuss their professional experiences with lessons and then provide structured opportunities for
staff members to observe each other in their classrooms to apply what they discussed.
Allocating Tasks for Individual Growth
Allocating tasks for individual growth is explained as leaders understanding and
rationalizing the needs of the organization through the lens of providing mentoring for the
employees and raising their self-image (Bass & Avolio, 1994). These individual tasks provided
to employees by the leader allow employees to grow as professionals (Bass & Avolio, 1994). In
some studies, allocating tasks for individual growth is also referred to as individual consideration
and is considered to be the second-most important form of transformational leadership (Bass &
Avolio, 1994). The principal is key in using praise to recognize individuals and encourage
individual growth. This type of relationship building between the administrator and staff plays a
significant role in motivating staff to grow and further develop their skills as educators. The
principal can utilize praise to recognize staff members on what they do well in the classroom,
encourage well-developed staff members to apply for higher level positions, give leadership
opportunities to staff members who exemplify their leadership ability on campus, and recognize
staff members during faculty meetings (Bryant, 2003).
Principals can also use mentoring to encourage individual growth by selecting teachers
who are leads on campus and working with them on building their communication and
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 27
instructional leadership skills and allocating specific tasks for individual growth (Bass & Avolio,
1994). This recognition of staff members pushes staff to grow as professionals and individuals
under the guidance of the principal. The principal is looking out for their own personal growth,
and recognizes the need to have a vision that can support teachers and staff members’
professional growth (Leithwood, Leonard, & Sharratt, 1998). These types of visions include the
pathways that teachers can take to gain more leadership opportunities, to become involved with
the school campus, and/or to elevate teachers’ self-perception (Stordeur, D’hoore, &
Vandenberghe, 2001). Principals who possess these types of transformational leadership skills
will take the extra step in challenging their teachers and staff members to examine their own
perceptions, thinking, assumptions about their work, expectations in the classroom and pedagogy
(Leithwood, Jantzi, & Steinbach, 1998).
There are various ways a principal can provide individual growth opportunities for their
teachers. Research has shown that leaders who are successful in providing individual growth for
their staff members tend to provide consistent personal attention to their employees, provide
mentoring opportunities for their employees, engage in coaching, and have open access to
leadership and professional development opportunities (Stewart, 2006). The leader provides
opportunities and can identify staff members’ specific needs, additional supports for growth, and
goals. Utilizing team teaching and coaching, treating all employees as individuals, and
understanding the abilities, needs, and specific goals of staff members are also skills of a
transformational leader who supports staff members’ professional growth (Bass & Avolio,
2004). When these teacher needs and desires are recognized by the principal, teachers have a
higher chance of reaching those levels of potential in personal and professional growth (Bass &
Avolio, 2004).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 28
A principal with transformational leadership skills uses these individual learning
opportunities to allow staff members to grow individually and to grow the staff as a whole group.
Transformational leaders are seen to be different from transactional leaders in that they do not
just recognize the need to have followers, but they also see the need to raise and elevate the
needs of those followers to higher levels of development and maturity (Nguni et al., 2006).
During a time of change and needed school improvement, teachers and students need a leader
who can let them see things differently, encourage them to try new ideas and take risks, attempt
methods that have not been typically tried, and support the teachers during this risk-taking period
(Mascall, 2007).
When a principal feels there is a need to take risks for a school to progress and create
change, the principal needs to have the understanding and agreement of the staff. One of the
methods to create change while providing opportunities for individual growth is through
collective group discussions between the principal and staff members titled as Learning Leader
Chats. These chats, inspired by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats from the early
to mid-twentieth century, occur when the principal has multiple rounds of open forum
conversations with the staff members regarding the school vision and mission (Safir, 2017).
During these chats, the principal reiterates that he/she is there to listen and address issues that
can be solved immediately and will work on more systematic issues as a long-term plan. Those
who participate in the Learning Leader Chats learn about key areas affecting the school and
become more knowledgeable about school events, procedures, and plans. These multiple rounds
of talks with the principal allow for trust and consistent dialogue to build between the principal
and staff members. These types of opportunities for individual growth and whole staff growth
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 29
allow for internal change that begins with the principal as one who provides access and continues
to encourage and support teachers in this endeavor.
Inspirational Motivation
Inspirational motivation is a combination of the first characteristic of transformational
leadership qualities as stated by Bass and Avolio (1994), charismatic behavior, and includes
using that charismatic behavior to increase staff members’ motivation and commitment to the
school (Conger, 1999). A principal who uses charisma to provide meaning towards a school
vision and to encourage teachers to reach a higher and broader objective is utilizing their
transformational leadership skills to support intrinsic motivation (Bryant, 2003).
The principal who inspires motivation shows teachers that the process for improvement is
grounded in the whole groups’ values, goals, and beliefs. For example, s/he may use the moral
imperative as one of the main reasons teachers do what they do on campus and encourage
teachers to continue analyzing their instructional goals to best support their students (Leithwood
& Sun, 2012). Creating high expectations also requires the principal to use their charisma to
motivate parents, the community, and students toward additional support for the school (Stewart,
2006). Appealing to school and community values and long-term goals allows principals to
increase teacher and student motivation, thus allowing for transformation to take place (Muijs,
Harris, Lumby, Morrison, & Sood, 2006).
One of the areas of discussion in utilizing inspirational motivation to better support staff
members and teachers using transformational leadership skills to prevent teachers from feeling
complacent, unmotivated, uninspired, and negative about their work in the classroom. There
should be a consideration of the stress and strain put on teachers and what principals and leaders
should be doing to relieve that strain (Niessen et al., 2017). Using transformational leadership to
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 30
better support the overall emotional health of the staff leads to more positive effects on campus
(Cemaloğlu, 2011; Korkmaz, 2004). Due to the various stressors that come with being a
classroom teacher, research has been conducted to better understand the causes of and ways to
prevent teacher burnout. Transformational leadership and utilizing a leader’s inspirational
motivation can help prevent teacher burnout, as the principal provides emotional stability and
increases proactiveness with teachers (Niessen et al., 2017).
One of the challenges of creating and sustaining change while wanting to be aware of the
well-being of the staff is understanding the human capacity to adjust to new and higher levels of
change (Bridges & Bridges, 2016). The pace of change and the acceleration of that change can
be difficult to manage, especially if the staff is having trouble assimilating to change that is
happening too fast. A leader who has the emotional intelligence to understand the feelings and
climate of the staff during a time of change will be able to use inspirational motivation to support
staff during stressful times of change. A part of transformational leadership and sustaining
change is to postpone any extra changes to prevent burnout (Bridges & Bridges, 2016). This type
of extra change can be changes not related to the overall goal and vision of the school or changes
that may be too large to compensate for the changes that have already been made.
Transformational leadership is associated with supporting teachers in thriving, which is
defined as teachers having more proactivity in their work, a lower level of emotional exhaustion,
a more positive attitude towards themselves, colleagues, and students, and being creative in their
craft (Niessen et al., 2017). Principals are leaders focused on the vision of the school and on
encouraging their staff and faculty to work and grow as professionals, and they are also
cognizant of teacher burnout. They work to prevent teachers and staff members from spreading
themselves too thin across multiple projects and are understanding when teachers need to take
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 31
care of their own health and their own families (Niessen et al., 2017). Principals who overwork
faculty and staff and are not understanding of teachers’ personal needs and self-care tend to
come across teacher burnout, resentment towards administration, apathy towards the schools’
goals and vision, and may even lose faculty and staff. Allowing teachers and staff members to
thrive requires transformational leadership skills to motivate teachers and staff by having an
understanding that faculty and staff need time to rest as well. If a staff or faculty member is not
feeling mentally or physically well, they cannot perform professionally or teach effectively. The
concept of thriving allows for us to better understand the need for transformational leadership on
the school site to maintain a positive school attitude on campus.
Transformational Leadership and Instructional Leadership
Although instructional leadership was not specified by Bass and Avolio (1994) as a
criteria for transformational leadership, there is much research supporting how principals can
utilize transformational leadership skills through the lens of instructional leadership to bring and
sustain change in a school (Elmore, 2001; Hallinger, 2011; Leithwood & Sun, 2012; Robinson,
Lloyd, & Rowe, 2008). Instructional leadership is defined as administrators and teachers
working together as learning leaders to improve instructional pedagogy for the benefit of
students (Hattie, 2012). Instructional leadership allows for transformational leadership to occur
because instruction in the classroom is what directly impacts the culture of the school and overall
achievement (Finnigan, 2012). Principals who were once teachers understand the types of
expectations, strategies, classroom management skills, and structure needed to teach effectively
and with purpose. Principals can use their own experiences and understanding of instructional
skills to motivate and support teachers in reflecting on their own practice and providing
opportunities for continual growth in a teachers’ instructional capacity. Using transformational
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 32
leadership skills in the sense of a principals’ charisma, providing motivation, opportunities for
individual growth, and opportunities to reflect upon their work can support a school during a
time of change and sustaining the mentality of consistent and pedagogical growth (Hattie, 2012).
Principals have to also understand that they are learning leaders (Hattie, 2012) in that they are
learning instructional skills from the classroom teachers.
Instructional and transformational leadership are the two dominant concepts of
educational leadership because of their relationship with improving student learning, teacher
collaboration, and implementing a school vision (Hallinger, 2003, 2011; Robinson et al., 2008).
Transformational leadership skills allow the instructional leader to affirm the principal’s role in
introducing and inspiring innovation while shaping organizational culture (Conley & Goldman,
1994; Leithwood, 1994). The principal using his or her role to inspire motivation aligns to the
skills and characteristics listed under transformational leadership. Transformational leadership
relies on the principal using charisma and personality, providing opportunities for individual
growth, individual stimulation, and inspiration motivation to move their team towards change.
Instructional leadership can apply to all four of the characteristics. Principals can use their
personalities to sway staff into understanding the purpose of their vision, speak to key
instructional teacher leaders on campus to provide individual stimulation and inspiration, provide
opportunities for teachers to observe each other for key instructional strategies, and use precise
praise and recognition of teachers to further support the use of those instructional strategies.
Focusing on improving teaching and learning, principals’ instructional leadership enables them
to share their direction with staff to focus on improvement (Bush, 2014; Bush & Glover, 2014).
Although transformational leadership and instructional leadership are often defined as
two separate entities, researchers have argued they go hand in hand. Since instructional
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 33
leadership lacks a uniform conceptual model and is considered a broad and subjective
understanding of philosophy, transformational leadership has been proposed as an ideal form of
leadership for school principals to better support their instructional goals (Leithwood & Jantzi,
2006; Murphy, Hallinger, & Mitman, 1983). The theory behind this is that the school principal
will work simultaneously on both transformational and instructional leadership tasks (Marks &
Printy, 2003). The principal will use transformational leadership skills to elicit higher levels of
commitment from school personnel and to provide capacity for teachers to bring school
improvement while also taking the role of an instructional leader in collaborating with teachers
to accomplish goals for teaching and learning (Marks & Printy, 2003). In a sense, both
instructional and transformational leadership require improving instructional programs,
understanding staffing and individual needs, providing instructional support to teachers in
individual growth, monitoring school activities, and inspiring motivation among staff members
(Leithwood & Sun, 2012).
Transactional Leadership
Defining transactional leadership. According to Bass and Riggio (2006), transactional
leadership means a person leads through contingent reward and management by exception.
Contingent rewards requires teachers to reach a certain level of performance to receive a specific
reward while management by exception requires the administrator to intervene in a situation
whenever standards are not met (Bass & Riggio, 2006; Stordeur et al., 2001). Burns (1978)
emphasized that transactional leadership mainly focuses on maintaining the efficiency of the
organization and that there is a greater emphasis on the task at hand, the completion of the task,
and task-oriented goals. The leadership organization is regarded as highly mechanistic and as not
accepting deviation from the operating system and procedures (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Although
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 34
mechanistic may be portrayed as a negative style of leadership, one must understand that the role
of the principal is to ensure that the school is fully functioning and efficient in getting tasks
completed and deadlines met. If the principal were not to recognize the importance of managing
the school and providing systems for the school to work as a whole, the school would not support
the staff, faculty, students, and community in ensuring that decisions are being followed through
on. Not having aspects of transactional leadership can lead to tasks not being completed and for
students, staff, faculty, and community to lose trust in the school (Mooney, 2003). From a
managerial standpoint, researchers have argued that school leaders have to employ transactional
leadership skills because of the role of the administrator requires an understanding and
enforcement of policy, making transactional leadership unavoidable (Sun & Leithwood, 2012).
Transactional leadership motivates followers by going after their own self-interests and is
based on an exchange relationship between (Nguni et al., 2006). Principals use their position of
power to ensure that all staff and faculty members are performing their duties, as using
transactional leadership is the principal performing an exchange of power. The principal will
provide a reward if the staff or faculty member performs a specific action that the principal wants
the staff member to perform. This exchange in power creates a clear understanding between the
principal and the staff member of the expectations and results. Having this type of black-and-
white understanding of expectations between the principal and the staff member can be helpful in
certain situations, there are no questions and/or misunderstandings of what the task is at hand,
there is reassurance that the staff or faculty member will receive a known reward if the task is
completed, and the principal receives reassurance that the staff or faculty member understands
exactly what is expected of him/her. Management is a key part of creating and sustaining change
at school, provides the principal with the opportunity to have all of their systems in place, and
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 35
explains how the change is going to occur. When presenting the reasons for change to the staff,
staff members will initially want to have concrete information, data to support the
administration’s decision making, the benefits of following through on the idea, and the potential
setbacks if the staff were not on board. Having a clear understanding of ones’ expectations can
be useful in helping the faculty and staff work towards a specific goal.
Using contingent reward from transactional leadership creates the culture of receiving a
reward if one does what is required and the exchange value of things would be just enough to
produce minimum organizational production (Nguni et al., 2006). While the principal mainly
uses power to influence staff and stakeholder to create change, it is mainly focused on an
exchange of power, and the principal recognizes that teachers also hold power (Kezar & Eckel,
2008). This type of exchange of power is an acknowledgement that the principal holds power
where both the principal and staff each hold certain power. This recognition of power can be
helpful for supporting a school in a time of change where the principal and the teachers
understand that they all play a significant role as a team. While school principals are always
responsible for improving the organization and staff, there is an unrelenting demand on school
principals to both transform the school and be efficient at it because there are demands by the
community, stakeholders, and district personnel, leading to the need for transactional leadership
because it provides for that type of efficiency (Sun & Leithwood, 2012).
Transactional Leadership: The Less Glamorous Leadership Skill
Researchers have argued that the theory of transactional leadership gave the way to the
development of transformational leadership (Hoy & Miskel, 2008). When comparing
transactional and transformational leadership, transactional leadership has been cited as the less
important and less impactful type pf leadership when it comes to creating and sustaining change
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 36
on a school campus (Boyne, 2004; Moolenaar et al., 2010; Mooney, 2003). While there is less
literature on transactional leadership, there is some literature that supports transactional
leadership as useful on the school site.
Those who are new to administration, assistant principalship, or principalship spend their
first few years learning about their leadership style and often rely on transactional leadership
styles because transactional leadership is seen to be more clear-cut with defined rules and actions
(Smith & Bell, 2011). Transactional leadership provides a clear set of rules that are easy to
follow, and, as administrators grow with experience and more wisdom in their role, they will
become more transformational over time (Smith & Bell, 2011). Principals who may be in their
role for the first time as a whole school leader are still learning the role that they are playing and
the culture of the school, the principal may be more reliant on transactional leadership skills and
understanding how to manage the school because transactional leadership has less of a “grey
area” in the decisions made. Transactional leadership decision making skills a new principal
may need to face include writing evaluations, ensuring that all paperwork is turned in my staff
and faculty members, submitting budgetary items, and providing safety and security on campus.
According to Smith and Bell (2011), research has shown that external and political
pressures from the district office, community, and parents can cause administrators to
concentrate more on transactional leadership to complete tasks or manipulate the perception that
strong action is being taken. Transactional leadership actions are often used as a way to show
that something is being done by leadership to satisfy the staff, district office, and/or public.
Two Other Characteristics of Transactional Leadership to Note
Transactional leadership also notes that there is a style called passive leadership. Passive
leadership is the extent to which leaders are not aware of problems until they are informed by
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 37
others and generally fail to intervene until serious problems occur (Bass & Avolio, 1985). This
type of laissez-faire leadership style is defined as leaders failing to make decisions, being absent
when needed, and/or fail to follow up on requests that are made (Bass & Avolio, 1985). While t
passive leadership does exist in schools, studies have shown that passive leadership styles are not
effective in supporting a school in times of change (Bass & Avolio, 1985). The study did not
focus on laissez-faire and/or passive leadership styles, although is a third leadership style
recognized and defined by literature along with transactional and transformational leadership.
The Argument for Transactional Leadership
Contingent reward. Contingent reward is a conditional dimension of transactional
leadership where the leader determines the specific tasks and targets for staff to complete and
communicates with the employees that, if this task is completed, then they will be granted
specific rewards w (Okçu, 2014). Studies have shown that a positive to moderate relationship
between all dimensions of transactional leadership and contingent reward use in administrative
practices (Okçu, 2014). Transactional leadership implements a managerial approach that
monitors for weaknesses and offers rewards for compliance (Barnett & McCormick, 2004). This
type of managerial style allows principals to clearly indicate expectations and establish
appropriate rewards to meet those expectations (Shatzer, Caldarella, Hallam, & Brown, 2014).
Having clear expectations for the staff and allowing for opportunities to be recognized can
support staff in moving forward in creating change. Rewards and incentives to change behavior
and create change have been shown to be effective in specific areas of principalship and school-
wide change. Research has demonstrated that high student achievement, attaining a set of goals
on campus, and effective change can be achieved if leaders provide incentives for learning,
provide incentives for teachers, and make rewards contingent for staff and students (Shatzer et
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 38
al., 2014). Managing rewards and creating a rewards system can be useful when creating change
by having the staff focus less on the threats and more on potential positive outcomes (Safir,
2017). When presenting contingent rewards for change, what matters is how the principal
presents the information to the staff members. Principals can show staff the positive outcomes
they can benefit from if they were to attend professional development opportunities after school:
additional pay, being part of the instructional leadership team, recognition during a staff meeting,
and/or additional preparation time for classes. Presentation of the potential rewards means staff
members are focused on the potential positive outcomes rather than on what the negative
outcomes could be if they were not to perform those duties. These types of incentives can help
with motivation and create a positive effect on campus (Elenkov & Manev, 2005).
Management by exception. Principals should use varying methods to motivate staff,
whether instructional leadership, supporting a vision or mission, increasing student achievement,
or leading parents and community in supporting the school. Transactional leadership and its
characteristics place greater emphasis on the tasks at hand, the completion of the task, and
specific task-oriented goals (McCarley et al., 2016). Management by exception involves the
principals’ involvement and intervention to monitor specific actions of their staff members and
rectify the situation if a staff member diverges from the task at hand (Vaccaro, Jansen, Van Den
Bosch, & Volberda, 2012). The purpose of transactional leadership is to create improvement in
the schools and a principal should be using various methods to ensure that change is being made
(McCarley et al., 2016). Transactional leadership and management by exception methods are
generally sufficient for maintaining the status quo and sustaining change taking place on the
school campus (Bass & Avolio, 1985; Hater & Bass, 1988).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 39
Transactional Leadership Versus Transformational Leadership
Bass (1985) stated that transformational and transactional leadership carry the
characteristics of a new paradigm, as the two models were not created to substitute one for the
other, as have been needed and utilized in schools. Transactional leadership and transformational
leadership presents a policy paradox where there is an equal need for both policies and
leadership styles for a well-functioning organization or school (Smith & Bell, 2011). In another
study, surveyed teachers valued transactional and transformational leadership evenly, stating that
a strong person understands their vision, ability to convince others, and is strong due to a
position and authority (Mazurkiewicz, Korenstein, Fallar, & Ripp, 2012). Additionally,
respondents shared that a useful skill of a principal is to u negotiate, arrange or manipulate others
in the realm of rewards and punishments (Mazurkiewicz et al., 2012).
Principals often do not fully display a true profile of fully transformational or
transactional leadership qualities (Bryman, 1992). Principals tends to display both types of
characteristics and do not necessarily associate themselves with one leadership style
continuously, as they may utilize either qualities depending on the situation, environment, time,
and event (Bass, 1985; Bryman, 1992). Transactional leadership is often seen as maintaining the
status quo while transformational leadership is used to define the purpose of change (Bass, 1985;
Bass & Avolio, 1990; Hater & Bass, 1988). Transactional and transformational leadership both
influence outcome variables, but they also differ in the magnitude of change and the outcome of
variables (Nguni et al., 2006).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 40
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
Intermediate school principals are required to have multiple experiences and credentials
to be considered effective leaders at their school sites. These requirements may include having
an administrative credential, experience in leadership roles, being an instructional leader on
campus, experience in holding meetings with parents, and having emotional intelligence to
respond to different situations (Stronge et al., 2008). Intermediate school principals and new
administrators often face the challenge of learning to be effective change agents and
administrators through experience and trial and error (Fullan, 2008). The purpose of the study
was to narrow down the specific qualities of transformational and transactional leadership skills
that can support an intermediate school principal in sustaining change at the school site.
The purpose of the methodology section is to outline the procedures and parameters for
the study. The section will first explain the statement of the problem, how the population was
selected, and the purpose behind the design of the study. Next, the methodology section will
explain the purpose of a mixed-methods study, qualitative instruments, and quantitative
instruments as well as procedures for data collection and analysis. Finally, the last two sections
will detail the efforts taken to ensure the study was valid and present a summary of the methods.
Statement of the Problem
During the past five years, intermediate schools have been supporting and leading staff
and faculty through various stages of change, including the Common Core State Standards,
implementation of instructional technology and pedagogy, organizing PLCs to build
collaborative relationships and professional development opportunities for faculty, and
spearheading restorative practices to manage and support student behaviors. A school’s success
in managing and supporting these changes is highly dependent on the principal’s strategic use of
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 41
leadership skills (Spillane et al., 2004). The leadership skills school principals exhibit when
leading staff and faculty are transformational and/or transactional leadership skills (Bass &
Avolio, 1994). In a time of constant change, intermediate school principals need to understand
and know what aspects of transformational and transactional leadership skills are needed to
support and sustain change at their schools.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to understand the specific skills and aspects of
transformational and transactional leadership that an intermediate school principal would need to
exhibit to sustain change at their school site. The principal’s leadership style o has a direct
impact on the school’s culture, staff morale, and student achievement (Hood et al., 2009). Thus,
understanding the principal’s leadership style is key in understanding how administrators can
maintain a positive and growing impact on a school. The two leadership styles of focus are
transformational leadership and transactional. Transformational leadership occurs when the
principal addresses the cultural components of the school environment and appeals to the
emotions and moral imperative of the staff and faculty in creating and sustaining change (Burns,
1978). Transactional leadership occurs when the leader focuses on maintaining the efficiency of
the organization with greater emphasis on the task, completing a goal, and receiving rewards
(Burns, 1978). The following are the research questions that guided the study.
Research Questions
1. What are the predictors of a 7–8 intermediate school principal who has utilized both
transactional and transformational leadership skills?
2. What qualities of transformational and transactional leadership are present in a 7–8
intermediate school principal who brings change to a school?
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 42
3. What qualities of transactional leadership are present in a 7–8 intermediate school
principal who brings change to a school?
4. How does a 7–8 intermediate school principal balance both transformational and
transactional leadership qualities to bring and maintain change to a school?
Selection of the Population
The researcher interviewed and surveyed intermediate school principals on the topics of
transformational and transactional leadership skills, specifically skills they used when sustaining
change at their school sites. Attaining knowledge of specific transformational and transactional
leadership skills used by intermediate school principals will help current and future school
leaders in supporting their school site in sustaining change.
Intermediate school principals were specifically used in this study because they hold a
complex role requiring them to support students’ academic success as well as emotional and
exploratory growth before high school (Clark & Clark, 2006). Unlike high school principals who
may delegate their tasks to a team of administrators, intermediate school principals are more
involved with most school activities and tasks on campus since they tend to be the only or one of
two administrators on campus. Further research needs to be done on intermediate school
principals due to a lack of studies on this population.
The participants were 30 intermediate school principals in California during the 2018–
2019 school year. A combination of male and female intermediate school administrators were
surveyed and interviewed. The range of school administrative experience for all of the
participants was from 2 years to 20 years, and all served in the public school system.
To conduct this study, the researcher used a combination of network sampling and
purposeful sampling. Network sampling focuses on allowing the researcher to find participants
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 43
who easily meet the criteria and ask participants to refer other participants (Merriam & Tisdell,
2016). Using network sampling allows the researcher to find additional reliable participants who
fit the criteria and accumulate more participants. The researcher wanted to make the sampling
purposeful and contacted multiple school districts for maximum variation in the number of
participants surveyed and interviewed.
Design Summary
It was important for the researcher to use mixed-methods research integrating both
qualitative and quantitative forms of research and the mixing and integration of both approaches
during data collection and data analysis (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Using qualitative research
methods through interviews allowed the researcher to understand specific experiences,
narratives, and details of instance when intermediate school principals used transformational and
transactional leadership skills at their school sites. These person-to-person encounters between
the researcher and participants yielded conversations with purpose to obtain specific information
that cannot be typically be found through a survey (Patton, 2015). Surveying participants through
a Likert scale produces a numeric description of their trends and opinions (Creswell & Creswell,
2018). The generalization of the quantitative information allowed for broad interpretation of the
transformational and transactional leadership skills used by participants.
The study was framed on Merriam (2009) and Creswell’s (2009) steps for conducting a
study. The first chapter focuses on the statement of the problem, purpose of the study, and
research questions considered. The second chapter provides a literature review on transactional
and transformational leadership. The third chapter is focused on the design of the study,
methodology, and validity of the study, followed by Chapter Four with data analysis and Chapter
Five with the summary, conclusion, and implications of the study.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 44
Methodology
The methodology of the study included qualitative data that came from interviews with
intermediate school principals. The interviews were semi-structured in that the questions were
flexibly worded and the interviews were a mix or more- and less-structured questions to elicit
specific data from the respondents (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). To place a numerical and broad
understanding of the transformational and transactional leadership skills utilized by intermediate
school principals, a survey was conducted with 25 intermediate school principals. The
participants were surveyed and interviews were conducted to compare both sets of data side by
side (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). All four research questions were addressed in the survey and
interview questions to ensure the data would tie into the overall purpose of the study and respond
to the statement of the problem.
Mixed Methods
The mixed-methods design of convergent design was utilized to analyze qualitative and
quantitative data on transformational and transactional leadership skills. Convergent mixed
methods involve merging or converging quantitative and qualitative data to provide an analysis
to the problem (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The qualitative and quantitative data were collected
at the same time and integrated for overall results. Due to the fact that the study contained both
qualitative and quantitative data, the researcher triangulated data so that the data sources built a
coherent justification of the themes as based on social capital theory (Creswell & Creswell,
2018).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 45
Instruments and Protocols
Qualitative Instrument
The qualitative data for this study were collected through five separate semi-structured
interviews consisting of 10 questions constructed to answer the research questions (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). The first question asked about background and demographics, so the participants
could share their relevance to the study. The next nine questions focused on the participants’
experiences, behaviors, actions, values, and opinions (Patton, 2015) pertaining to
transformational and transactional leadership skills they utilized at their sites. Asking questions
on opinions, values, experience, and behavior allows a researcher to elicit information and
opinion from participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Quantitative Instrument
Quantitative data were collected through a survey via Google Forms. Fifty surveys
consisting of 12 questions in four different categories were sent to intermediate school principals
via email. Prior to sending the survey, the researcher piloted the survey with participants who
were not involved in the study nor related to the participants. The survey pilot was conducted to
determine the time it would take to complete the survey and to troubleshoot potential
technological issues. The survey took no longer than 15 minutes to complete and was found to be
user friendly.
The first part of the survey focused on the background and demographics of the
participant, which allowed the participant to share information about their relevance to the study.
The second part of the survey asked the participants to respond to the predictors of a principal
who uses transformational and transactional leadership skills on a campus. The third part of the
survey asked the participants to identify specific qualities of transformational and transactional
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 46
leadership skills that a principal would utilize to sustain change at a school site. The participants
were required to mark a value of for each transformational and transactional leadership quality
on a Likert scale ranging on importance between Not Important at All, Of Little Importance, Of
Average Importance, Very Important, to Absolutely Essential. The fourth part of the survey
included questions on how an intermediate school principal can balance transformational and
transactional leadership skills to sustain change. The Likert scale for the fourth part of the survey
ranged from Always to Very Often to Sometimes, and to Never. The purpose of the quantitative
design of this study was to provide a numerical interpretation of the data and to provide a
broader scope of the transformational and transactional leadership themes in the study (Creswell
& Creswell, 2018).
Data Collection
Creswell and Creswell’s (2018) data collection steps were followed when conducting this
study. First, the researcher found the site and participants. Second, the researcher developed
strong relationships with the site to build trust between the researcher and the participants
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Third, the researcher used purposeful and network sampling to
gather participants (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Next, the researcher collected all of the data,
resolved any issues or errors with the data, and noted these issues accordingly. The final step
involved storing the data in a safe place where identities, information, and protection of data
were secure. All of the data were stored on an external hard drive located in a secure location as
well as on a password-protected USC Google Drive. It was important that all data were kept in a
secure location and that the participants knew their information was protected and remained
confidential (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 47
To collect qualitative data, interviews were conducted with five intermediate school
principals either in person or through virtual tools such Google Hangout or Skype. These tools
ensured the researcher and participant had a live face-to-face interview when not able to meet in
person. Participants who were going to be interviewed were notified at least a month ahead of
time and were contacted to set up a time, date, and location/method to conduct the interview. It
was important that the participant have enough time and notice to feel comfortable during the
process (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). The researcher contacted the participants ahead of time and
requested their permission to be recorded (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). In-person interviews were
recorded through a digital recording device smart phone application called Voice Recorder
which was automatically saved to Google Drive. Virtual interviews were recorded through
Google Hangout and Skype, which each has a tool for capturing the complete video interviews.
Each of the interviews took about 25 minutes to complete. The researcher made follow-up phone
calls with participants as needed. All recordings were transcribed by the researcher.
Data Analysis
This study utilized the mixed-methods approach where qualitative data was collected
through interviews and quantitative data was collected through a survey. The questions in the
interviews and survey were framed around the research questions to ensure that the data would
respond to the topic at hand. The research questions guided the type of data collected for this
study.
The specific type of mixed-methods approach was based on Creswell and Creswell’s
(2018) convergent mixed-methods approach. Using convergent mixed-methods requires the
researcher to use a three-step process to analyze data.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 48
In alignment with the convergent mixed-methods approach, first, the researcher analyzed
the qualitative data from the interviews by transcribing the whole interview. The researcher then
analyzed the data by assigning codes to pieces of the data to construct categories (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2016). These categories based on the codes allowed the researcher to find broad themes
in the interviews. Next, the researcher analyzed the quantitative data from the surveys by looking
at the numerical results. The statistical data, which were broken down into charts and bar graphs
through Google Forms, allowed the researcher to find broad themes. Lastly, the researcher
integrated the two data sets by doing a side-by-side comparison. The comparison consisted of
analyzing the themes from the qualitative data and comparing it to the themes of the quantitative
data for an gaps or commonalities. The researcher took the themes from the quantitative data and
compared to the themes of the qualitative data to confirm or disconfirm results.
The final step in the convergent mixed-methods approach is to triangulate the data. The
researcher took qualitative and quantitative data to create themes and connections based on
social capital theory (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Triangulation increased validity and fostered
deeper interpretation of the data (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Validity and Reliability
The researcher took all o necessary steps to ensure the data were valid. The researcher
followed Creswell and Creswell’s (2018) method of ensuring sufficient samples for both
qualitative and quantitative data collection. In regards to the qualitative data, ensuring validity
and reliability in the interviews required the researcher to conduct the interviews ethically
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The questions were designed to follow the research questions and
align the purpose of the study. When analyzing the data, the researcher objectively coded and
determined themes. This objective stance on analysis allowed the researcher to capture to reality,
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 49
connections, and relationships between the themes of transformational and transactional
leadership (Maxwell, 2013). To ensure validity for the survey, the researcher first tested the
survey questions on colleagues. The researcher received feedback from colleagues on how to
better word and phrase the questions.
Summary
The purpose of the study is to determine which transactional and transformational
leadership skills are needed for an intermediate school principal to sustain change at their school
site. Qualitative and quantitative data yielded results and answers to better support current and
future administrators who want to move their schools forward in a time of great change. The
convergent mixed-methods framework by Creswell enabled the researcher to conduct a side-by-
side comparison of both qualitative and quantitative data, allowing for triangulation and valid
results. The findings and analysis are shared in Chapter Four, followed by the results and
implications of the study in Chapter Five.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 50
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS
The role of a school principal is multi-faceted, complex, and requires a leader who knows
how to use their own strengths and weaknesses to support and shift the school staff and culture.
Principals are required to be dynamic multi-taskers, and many have autonomous range to utilize
their leadership skills in the best interest of their school. Principals are the strongest influence on
the school environment, student achievement, teacher and staff attitudes, overall academic
achievement, and student learning (Bogler, 2005; Waters, 2013). At the intermediate school level
for grades 7–8, school principals support an environment of constant change. Students and their
families frequently shift in and out of the school due to the 2-year span, implementation of
Common Core standards, supporting professional learning groups, use of instructional
technology in the classroom, building the capacity of teacher leadership, and supporting socio-
emotional learning through exploratory electives (Clark & Clark, 2006). The role of the principal
in the 21st century is different because it is a time of fast and rapid change and higher
accountability for school administrators (Fullan, 2001).
Purpose of Study
The quality of school leadership and school culture are the top two areas that teachers
often say are the driving force behind why they enjoy coming to work and stay in teaching
(Fullan, 2003). School accountability policies hold principals responsible for communicating the
vision and mission of the school to staff members and faculty, facilitate school policies, and
interpret policies (Elmore, 2001). The multi-faceted role of the school principal prompts
researchers to further understand principal leadership qualities. This study analyzed specific
qualities and characteristics of transformational and transactional leadership skills of grades 7–8
intermediate school principals. Providing a detailed report of what transactional and
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 51
transformational leadership skills principals value, how these skills are implemented at the
school site, how often and in what kinds of situations do principals implement these skills will
further support learning and growth in principal leadership. The findings and results of this study
can be used for future professional development opportunities for administrators and teacher
leaders, for insight on how district administrators can support principals, and to pose potential
questions for future research on grades 7–8 intermediate school principals.
The focus of this study was on two transformational leadership and transactional
leadership. A transformational leader is defined as one who addresses the cultural components of
the environment and can step into and appeal to the emotions and moral imperative of the
members of the community (Burns, 1978). Transformational leadership is often referenced as the
most successful style of leadership due to the focus on interpersonal relationships and direct
impact on how people feel (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Burns (1978) lists specific leadership
characteristics of transformational leadership: charisma and personality, intellectual stimulation,
allocating tasks for individual growth, and inspirational motivation.
In contrast to transformational leadership is transactional leadership. Transactional
leadership is defined as a leadership style that uses practical give-and-take exchanges, such as a
pay for performance or a reward for completing a specific task (Burns, 2003). Another facet of
transactional leadership is that the leader can set terms where they can punish or a staff or faculty
member for not complying or following rules (Bass & Bass, 2008). Transactional leadership can
often be seen as authoritative, delegative, and participatory, where staff and faculty members are
required to respond to set terms and rewards or consequences are based on those responses (Bass
& Bass, 2008). According to Burns, Transactional leadership contains two characteristics:
contingent reward and management by exception. Further studies are needed to better understand
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 52
how 7–8 intermediate school principals can use specific transformational and transactional
leadership characteristics to support their school site.
Both transformational and transactional leadership styles have distinct characteristics that
can be used interchangeably or in conjunction with one another. To provide additional research
for past, current, and future 7–8 intermediate school principals, this dissertation examined
specific transactional and transformational leadership qualities that intermediate school
principals can utilize to promote change at their school site. Four research questions guided this
study:
1. What are the predictors of a 7–8 intermediate school principal who has utilized both
transactional and transformational leadership skills?
2. What qualities of transformational leadership are present in a 7–8 intermediate school
principal who brings change to a school?
3. What qualities of transactional leadership are present in a 7–8 intermediate school
principal who brings change to a school?
4. How does a 7–8 intermediate school principal balance both transformational and
transactional leadership qualities to bring and maintain change to a school
Presentation of Findings
The four research questions stated above guided data analysis. Twenty-five intermediate
school principals completed an online survey on their demographics and experiences in
education, personal experiences with transformational and transactional leadership,
transformational leadership skills as valuable in supporting school-wide change, which
transactional leadership skills were valuable in supporting school-wide change, and whether
were interested in participating in an interview. Five respondents were interviewed on their
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 53
personal experiences and use of transformational and transactional leadership skills. Each
interview was about 30 minutes long and allowed for qualitative data to be collected. All of the
questions on the survey and interviews aligned with the four research questions stated above.
The first research question called for the participants to first think and share about their
own understanding and personal experiences with transformational and transactional leadership.
This opener question asked the participants to make personal connections and share their
background with the research topic, meaning which transformational and transactional leadership
qualities were have witnessed and which they want to see in a principal who is trying to create
change. This research question asked for personal experiences with transformational and
transactional leadership and about the value of these skills. The third research question narrows
down the focus to specific transactional leadership skills that participants find valuable in
creating change at a school site. Bass and Avolio’s (1994) two transactional leadership qualities,
contingent reward and management by exception, are cited here for principals to share their
points of view on each leadership quality. The fourth research question narrows the focus for
participants to share their thoughts on Burns’ (1978) transformational leadership qualities of
charisma and personality, intellectual stimulation, allocating tasks for individual growth, and
inspirational motivation.
Criteria for Selection
All participants were selected at random. The researcher first contacted superintendents
for permission to contact their grades 7–8 principals. Once superintendents gave approval for the
principals to be contacted, an email was sent to the principals to complete a survey on
transformational and transactional leadership skills. Included in the survey was one question that
asked if the principal would be willing to participate in an interview. If a principal selected
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 54
“Yes” on the survey, the researcher contacted that person directly by phone and/or email to
arrange for the interview to take place.
Demographics
Twenty-five intermediate school principals completed the online survey on
transformational and transactional leadership qualities. Amongst them, the years of service as
intermediate school principals ranged from 1 to 12 years. The majority of participants had four
years of service (36%). This group was followed by four intermediate school principals (16%)
being in their first year of intermediate school principalship and three (12%) in their fifth year.
As seen in the table below, the majority (64%) of respondents ranged had between one and five
years of service as an intermediate school principal. Table 1 displays the range of years of
service for each participant.
Table 1
Participants’ Years of Service
Intermediate School Principals (Survey), n = 25
Years of Service Number of Intermediate
School Principals
Percentage
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
10
12
4
1
1
9
3
1
1
1
2
1
16%
4%
4%
36%
12%
4%
4%
4%
8%
4%
The 25 principals surveyed came from 11 school districts in Southern California. Five of
them were interviewed for this study. Each intermediate school had enrollment averaging
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 55
between 400 and 1,200 students. Two of the interviewees were from the same school district and
the other three represented different districts. Two interviewees were in their first year of service
as intermediate school principals, two were in their fifth year, and one was in their tenth year.
The interviewees also completed the online survey. In this study, these principals are referred to
as Principals A through E. Each principal agreed to having a voice recording of the interview,
and the researcher ensured that confidentiality was preserved throughout the entire process.
Table 2 shows years of service for each of the five intermediate school principals who were
interviewed for this study.
Table 2
Interviewees’ Years of Service
Intermediate School Principals (Interview), n = 5
Name of Principal Years of Service
Principal A
Principal B
Principal C
Principal D
Principal E
1
5
5
1
10
Design Summary
This study utilized a mixed-methods approach in that the researcher analyzed both
qualitative and quantitative data to respond to the research question. The mixed-methods
approach required the research to converge the quantitative and qualitative data to provide
analysis to a problem (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Quantitative data were collected through surveys completed online by 25 intermediate
school principals. The quantitative portion of the study revealed a broad scope of the principals’
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 56
views on transformational and transactional leadership. Quantitative data provided for numerical
interpretation to understand the various themes found (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Qualitative data were collected through interviews where each question was constructed
to follow the four research questions. Ten questions were asked in a semi-structured style, which
allowed for flexibility for the researcher and principal to clarify questions and responses
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). Using qualitative data enabled the researcher to apply specific
experiences, values, opinions, and points of view to the analysis (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Qualitative and quantitative data required convergence through triangulation in that both types of
data were analyzed to build coherent justification (Creswell & Creswell, 2018).
Research Question One
The first research question asked, “What are the predictors of a 7–8 Principal who has
utilized both transformational and transactional leadership skills?”
Five 7–8 intermediate school principals were interviewed, and all were asked the same
question of “What are the predictors of a 7–8 principal you has utilized both transformational
and transactional leadership skills?” Although the five principals had varied backgrounds,
experiences, perspectives, and leadership styles, there were similarities and common themes in
their responses. After coding each interview transcript, the following themes were found in the
responses to predictors of transformational and transactional leadership skills at work. The
column on the left hand side shares that theme, and the column on the right hand side shares the
frequency of that theme being mentioned in the interviews.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 57
Table 3
Themes
Theme/Phrase Found in Interview Frequency
“building good relationships”
“having charisma”
“strong work ethic”
“clear vision”
“inspires and motivates”
“have political intelligence”
“patience”
5
2
3
2
3
1
1
Theme: Building Good Relationships
All interviewees mentioned building good relationships with teachers, staff members, and
parents is key to being an effective school principal. Participants shared there are many ways to
build these relationships with staff members, including listening to another person,
understanding the other person’s perspective, respecting time and following up on emails, and
getting to know the other person’s beliefs, life story, and goals. Principal A stated,
Those interpersonal skills, the ability to develop relationships that are authentic. I think
teachers, especially, are very good judges of character and they will recognize there is a
hollowness to attempts at developing relationships and when it is a meaningful attempt.
So, I think that ability to develop meaningful relationships that are authentic in nature is
probably the number one most important piece.
Principal A explained it is important to be both a strong communicator and authentic
when building relationships with staff members. To build relationships, one has to be purposeful,
honest, and authentic for true leadership to take hold. Principal A also made another interesting
note that it was important to be authentic when building relationships because people can easily
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 58
see if the attempt is an authentic or non-authentic gesture. The warning here is that a non-
authentic gesture can hurt relationships and ability to move and change others.
Principal D commented on building relationships as a key aspect of strong leadership: “I
think that it’s important that a principal has strong relationships with people. I think having
strong relationships with staff, with students, families from the community is critical. I think
communication goes hand in hand with that.” Principal D noted that strong communication skills
in the form of conveying thoughts and ideas coherently and efficiently with those beyond the
staff are just as important. The role of the principal is to build relationships with staff members,
students, families, and the community. Principal C also stated that relationship building has a
strong tie to respect:
And really, that relationship developing is a huge component because if your staff doesn’t
respect you as a principal they’re not going to go above and beyond. They’re going to do
the bare minimum and the kids feel it, the culture feels it.
The survey participants who stated that building relationships with staff members is the
most important leadership quality for a principal to be successful, which also tied the idea of
building relationships to transformational leadership skills. Participants felt that building and
maintaining relationships, moving people by appealing to their emotions and feelings, was the
foundation of transformational leadership skills. This aligns with Burns’ (1978) definition of a
transformational leader as able to “appeal to the emotions and the moral imperative of the
community” (p.27). With a number of the interviewees, appealing to the emotions and moral
imperative involves having the relationships in the first place. Principal A related building
relationships to transformational leadership:
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 59
They [staff] care about you as a person because they see that you care about them and
that you are skilled in what you are doing and that you are going to work hard. And
there’s also a huge, really, really, important piece of being humble, being willing to say
sorry, and maintain that connection with your team.
Principal A responded that staff members will work and put in a stronger effort if they
see their leader putting in the same work, showing that they care, and being humble. This, once
again, aligns with transformational leadership skills as increasing teacher commitment, capacity,
and engagement in meeting school goals (Moolenaar et al., 2010).
All five interviewees affirmed that building relationships was the key skill and action to
take when providing school leadership and in trying to make change.
Theme: Strong Work Ethic
The second re-occurring theme in the five interviews was that showing and having a
strong work ethic was a predictor of a principal who utilized transformational and transactional
leadership skills. These principals stated that they valued their teachers’ hard work and wanted to
show the teachers that they are also team players working hard alongside them. If they wanted to
earn their teachers’ respect, they needed to connect with their teachers and be in the trenches
with the teachers doing the hard work. Principal A supported this idea with the following
response:
I think work ethic is incredibly important. I think if you are not demonstrating that
commitment to work then you’re not going to see if from your teachers and your teachers
are not going to respect you as a result. The reality is, having been a classroom teacher, I
know that being a high school English teacher is a larger workload than being a principal,
a lot of the time.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 60
Principal B further supports a strong work ethic by stating,
Be able to...really just have an open door policy. Somebody that they know is going to be
a hard worker, somebody that they know is going to support them, be there if they’re
having a great day, be there if they’re not having a great day.
Principal A understood the perspective that a teacher may have of administration due to
past experiences and tied in the fact that teachers will work hard if they see their administration
working hard as well. There is a strong positive correlation between transformational leadership
skills and supportive principal behavior that supports teacher performance (Eshbach &
Henderson, 2010; Mooney, 2003).
Research Question Two
The second research question asked, “What qualities of transformational leadership is
present in a 7–8 Intermediate school principal who brings change to a school?”
One of the survey questions asked how important certain leadership qualities were in a
principal who is trying to create and sustain change at a school. The participants responded on a
Likert scale: Not At All Important, Slightly Important, Important, Fairly Important, or Very
Important. The leadership characteristics they were asked to evaluate were charisma, intellectual
stimulation, inspirational motivation, allocating tasks for growth, management by exception, and
contingent reward. These six characteristics were defined in the survey based on definitions from
Burns (1978), Bass and Avolio (1994), and Bass and Riggio (2006). As stated in the literature
review, Burns (1978) first defined transformational leadership as a leader’s ability of to appeal to
the emotions and the moral imperative of a group of people. Bass and Avolio further developed
Burns’ definition of transformational leadership and defined it with four specific characteristics:
charisma, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and allocating tasks for growth.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 61
Burns (1978) defined transactional leadership as focused on maintaining the efficiency of
the organization and emphasizing the task at hand, the completion of the task, and ensuring all
goals are task-oriented. Bass and Avolio (1994), once again, further developed specific
leadership characteristics for transactional leadership as contingent reward and management by
exception. The following table shows the responses to the question.
Table 4
Leadership Qualities
Not at all
important
Slightly
Important
Important Fairly
Important
Very Important
Charisma/Personality
-- -- -- 4 21
Intellectual Stimulation
-- -- 1 6 17
Inspirational Motivation
-- -- 2 10 13
Allocating Tasks for Growth
-- -- 5 14 6
Management by Exception
3 8 7 5 2
Contingent Reward
5 10 7 3 --
Theme: Charisma, Personality, and Authenticity
A total of 21 principals who were surveyed listed “charisma and personality: the
principal builds up admiration, conviction, and esteem among their followers through
empowerment, autonomy, and trust” as the most important quality in creating and sustaining
change at a school site. An overall total of 84% viewed this skill as a very important quality, and
16% saw it as fairly important.
Research has shown that a principal’s charisma and personality can “allow the faculty to
perceive the principal to be authentic and supportive (O’Connor, 2001). An authentic and
genuine connection with staff members through a principal’s personality has been shown to be a
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 62
major theme in supporting and sustaining school change. This information was apparent in the
survey data and was shown in the principal interviews as well. Principal A stated,
Having a good personality has been very important in terms of developing relationships
and that’s probably the area where I’ve had the most success is that I have developed
meaningful relationships with a large number of my staff members. I think that comes
about through authentic interest in what they’re doing and supporting what they’re doing.
Showing honesty and being creating real connections with staff members was a theme in
both the surveys and interviews. This also correlates with the findings for the first research
question on the importance of building relationships with staff and faculty members and creating
strong connections to move people. These findings, once again, point to transformational
leadership as a strong leadership style and method to create and sustain change at a school.
Having charisma and personality also ties in with having a sense of humor and easily
relating to others, as “the followers have a personal identification with the leader allows for
further buy-in from the staff and faculty” (Kark et al., 2003). A likeable and authentic personality
facilitates trust building through wit and sense of humor (Bridges & Bridges, 2016). Principal D
referenced having a sense of humor as a method to connect with staff and faculty:
I think being able to be flexible and have a sense of humor. I think being able to work
with students in a way that makes it seem like you’re connected to the program of the
school I think gives a lot of credibility for your school goes a long way.
The participants shared that a likeable and positive personality, along with finding
enjoyment in specific situations, leads to strong relationships, which can move the staff. A
principal should utilize emotional intelligence to appeal to groups of people, relate to them, and
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 63
create trust to create a school environment based on cooperation among all members of the
organization (Feinberg et al., 2005).
Theme: Intellectual Stimulation and Building Trust
The leadership characteristics evaluated on the survey as second-most important was
intellectual stimulation. Bass and Avolio (1994) defined intellectual stimulation as one of the
most prominent behaviors of transformational leadership where the leader challenges the status
quo by encouraging teachers and staff members to think and problem solve using creativity and
innovation (Bass & Avolio, 1994). The results of the survey showed that 68% of participants
rated intellectual stimulation as Very Important and 24% as Fairly Important.
Principals valuing intellectual stimulation continues to be a theme in principal interviews.
Intellectual stimulation to support teacher motivation, creativity, and willingness to take risks
was cited as one of the benefits of using this transformational leadership skill. Principal C noted,
I think there’s the intellectual stimulation part which has to do what I think is really
important. So definitely, we have the creative part is really strong in our culture here at
our school, but I want out staff to know that there’s not just one right way to do things
either...I want them to be able to take risks and try new things, and it might work, right?
Principal C created saw intellectual stimulation as an opportunity for her staff to grow
and stated this type of transformational leadership skill can be beneficial in that it shows that the
principal trusts the staff to take these risks to grow. Intellectual stimulation is seen as a
characteristic of a transformational leader who seeks varied perspectives when problem solving,
attacking problems from various angles, and suggesting new ways to complete an assignment
(Bass & Avolio, 2004).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 64
Theme: Leading the Way with Transformational Leadership Skills
When discussing the effectiveness of transformational leadership skills to create and
sustain change in the workplace, the data shows that almost all of the survey participants felt that
transformational leadership skills were more effective than transactional leadership skills. In
reference to Table 4, the leading four leadership skills rated the highest in importance were all
four transformational leadership skills. Following these skills are transactional leadership skills
of contingent reward and management by exception, the only two leadership characteristics that
received ratings of “Not At All Important” and “Slightly Important” from the participants.
Research has shown that, to maintain efficiency of an organization, there needs to be a
greater emphasis on the task at hand than on the completion of the task itself (Burns, 1978). This
could lend to the reasons transformational leadership is valued more than transactional
leadership, as how we complete and get to the goal is more important than getting the goal done.
Due to the fact that all interviewees stated transformational leadership skills are valued the most,
the researcher responds to the reasons for this discrepancy in the discussion pertaining to the
fourth research question.
Research Question Three
The third research question asked, “What qualities of transactional leadership is present
in a 7–8 intermediate school principal who brings change to a school?”
Transactional leadership is defined by Burns (1978) as a leadership skills that focuses on
efficiency and completing a task as needed. Transactional leadership skills do not necessarily
appeal to the staff’s emotions, but, rather, views the relationship between principal and staff as
“this for that.” Research has found a need for transactional leadership due to the fact that this
ensures that tasks are being completed for the organization, staff, faculty, and school (Mooney,
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 65
2003). If these tasks are not completed efficiently, or if there is no follow-through on requests,
trust can easily be lost between the principal and staff (Mooney, 2003). This type of relationship
is broken down further by Bass and Riggio (2006) a leadership style with two different types of
characteristics: management by exception and contingent reward.
Based on the survey data, contingent reward and management by exception, received the
lowest ratings in importance on creating and sustaining change at a school site. The following
table shares this information.
Table 5
Transactional Leadership Skills
Not at all
important
Slightly
Important
Important Fairly
Important
Very Important
Management by Exception
3 (12%) 8 (32%) 7 (28%) 5 (20%) 2 (8%)
Contingent Reward
5 (20%) 10 (40%) 7 (28%) 3 (12%) --
Between the two transactional leadership characteristics, the data showed that
management by exception was found to be slightly more important than contingent reward, with
two principals rating management by exception as Very Important while none valued contingent
reward as being in the same category.
In comparison to the transformational leadership skills listed (Table 4), the two
transactional leadership skills were the only two rated as Not At All Important and/or Slightly
Important. Based on the data on Table 5, 44% of the respondents stated that management by
exception was Not At All Important or Slightly Important, and 60% of the respondents stated
that contingent reward was Not At All Important or Slightly Important. These data align with
research on transactional leadership where transactional leadership skills are seen as less
impactful, less effective, and less important in creating or sustain change (Boyne, 2004;
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 66
Moolenaar et al., 2010; Mooney, 2003). Transactional leadership is often seen as the less
glamorous leadership skill, but it is necessary because it allows for tasks to get done to support
the school (Smith & Bell, 2011).
Theme: Management By Exception and Accountability
In reference to Table 5, leadership style management by exception was rated higher than
its transactional leadership counterpart, contingent reward. Management by exception was rated
by 28% of the principals as fairly important to very important while contingent reward only
received 12% of the responses of fairly important. These results can also be found in the
principal interviews. All of the interviewees agreed that management by exception is not a
preferred leadership style, but it may be necessary in certain situations. Principal D reflected on
an experience where management by exception had to be used:
So, sitting, meeting with an individual teacher who may be struggling in an area
instructionally or may be is having some other challenges at work...I have a teacher, for
example, who I needed to meet with about some comments that he was saying in front of
students that were not appropriate to be said. We had a meeting, talked about what I was
aware of, let the teacher share, or take responsibility or not. In this case, he didn’t. I gave
a wrap down of what I expected to see happen next….and then I followed up with him
more formally with him on that and what we expected.
Principal D referred to how management by exception became necessary in this situation
because the teacher needed more direct support to meet expectations. The principal ensured the
message was delivered. This aligns with Bass and Riggio’s ( 2006) definition of management by
exception which requires the administrator to intervene in a situation whenever standards are not
met by teachers (see also Stordeur et al., 2001).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 67
A couple of participants also reflected that management by exception was necessary
because faculty and staff members want to know how to improve, so this leadership style can be
effective in certain situations. Principal E reflected on the use of management by exception and
how staff and faculty can perceive the message given to them by an administrator: “They
[teachers] do want to know if they are not doing it right. They want to know that I’ve worked
with the staff that they feel is doing it wrong...it’s not that they don’t want it [redirection and
management].”
The use of management by exception as constructive feedback for faculty and staff
members to learn ensures that change can be completed efficiently and that work will be
completed. Principal C reflected on using management by exception for growth and found that
not having aspects of transactional leadership can lead to tasks not being completed and for
students, staff, faculty, and community to lose trust in the school.
Principals also found management by exception to be useful in ensuring that faculty and
staff know that they are being held accountable for their actions. In addition to communicating
expectations and goals to the staff, principals are required to ensure that teachers and staff are
working towards the goal and not deviating from the schools’ expectations. Principal C reflected
on using management by exception for accountability:
I think knowing that the staff knowing that there is accountability as well is important.
You have that economy. You have that choice, by also you’re going to be held
accountable for your actions, for your behavior. I think closely monitoring not only the
instruction in the classroom that’s happening, but the interaction with kids. Basically,
making sure that everything is done and everyone is held accountable would really be
kind of what I would say.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 68
Participants often used their power to ensure that work was being completed and to show
that everyone on the team was being held accountable for their role in the school. The
transactional exchange relationship between a principal and a staff member is needed because of
the role of the administrator requires an understanding and enforcement of policy (Sun &
Leithwood, 2012).
Theme: Contingent Reward and Less Than Rewarding Results
Contingent reward received the lowest ratings in regards to importance in the surveys and
interviews. Out of 25 principals who were surveyed, five rated contingent reward as not being
important at all. Ten rated contingent reward as being slightly important. The same results were
reflected in the interviews, with the majority of participants stating that using contingent rewards
was not their style, that there are no long-term benefits with giving rewards to teachers, and that
giving a reward is not a strong motivator at their school site. Principal E reflected on using
rewards to create and sustain change:
At my site, my teachers like being recognized, but the transactional “I’m going to reward
you if and when this happens,” for this group, to me, doesn’t work out. Transactional
leadership in the idea “If you do this, then I will reward you with this,” isn’t really a
motivator for this group of teachers. They do want to know when they’re not doing it
right, though.
Although there is a recognition of power between the principal and the faculty or staff
member in the exchange of power through contingent rewards, Principal B reflected on the lack
of effectiveness of using rewards:
I don’t provide rewards for staff. Instead, I just - I will get occasional treats and they
happen throughout the year...if you think about it, I feel like it I set up a system of, “you
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 69
do this, you get that,” then we’re creating winners and losers, and that’s not what we’re
supposed to do here….we’re trying to create a culture of togetherness, it’s always for all.
Principal B stated that using contingent reward can create a more hostile and unfair
environment for teachers and staff members. By rewarding others, the principal creates a
situation of haves and have nots, which can take away from a team environment. Rewards create
competition between teachers, which takes away from the team mentality. Principal A stated that
using rewards is not an important component of leadership:
Rewarding people with something tangible for their completion of tasks, that’s not really
my leadership style, I don’t think...We’ll say, “the class that completes the most surveys
gets smoothies,” or something and the teachers winning things like that - I don’t see that
as an important component of my leadership.
Contingent rewards can be useful for students, competitions between classes, or as an
extracurricular activity, but participants found that it is not a useful leadership style or skill. This
exchange of power is not be effective or useful in creating change at a school site, and
participants shared this sentiment in both the surveys and interviews.
Research Question Four
The fourth research question asked, “How does a 7–8 intermediate school principal
balance both transformational and transactional leadership qualities to bring and maintain change
to a school?”
To understand the frequency of the use of transformational and transactional leadership
skills, 25 principals were asked how often they utilized these leadership characteristics. The
principals made selections on a Likert scale: Always, Often, Sometimes, Seldom, and Never. The
same descriptions were provided for each leadership characteristics as was stated in the previous
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 70
survey questions. The following tables share how often the participants utilized each
transformational and transactional leadership characteristic.
Table 6
Utilization of Leadership Characteristics
Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
Charisma/Personality
-- -- -- 10 15
Intellectual Stimulation
-- -- -- 16 9
Inspirational Motivation
-- 1 3 13 8
Allocating Tasks for Growth
-- 2 11 8 4
Management by Exception
3 8 8 4 2
Contingent Reward
9 8 6 2 --
Overall, participants shared that they utilized charisma and personality the most with
60% of principals stating always and 40% stating often. Intellectual stimulation was second, as
36% of participants stated always and 64% stated often. Third, regarding inspirational
motivation, 32% of participants stated always, 52% stated often, 12% stated that the
characteristic is sometimes used, and 4% stated it was seldom used. Next, 16% of principals
rated allocating resources for individual growth as always, 32% as often used, 44% as sometimes
used, and 8% as seldom used. The top four leadership characteristics used at the highest
frequency were all transformational leadership skills.
The leadership characteristics least used and which had the lowest frequency were
contingent reward and management by exception. The same 25 principals rated management by
exception, and 8% stated they always used the leadership style, 16% stated they use it often, 32%
stated they sometimes use it, 32% stated they seldom use it, and 12% stated they never use it.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 71
Contingent rewards was rated at an even lower frequency, with none of the principals stating that
they always used contingent rewards, 8% used it often, 24% used it sometimes, 32% seldom
used it, and 36% never used it as a method to create and sustain change at a school site. The
leadership characteristics that were not used as often were both transactional leadership skills. A
significant gap exists between the frequency of use of transformational and transactional
leadership skills, where none of the four transformational leadership skills were said as ever
being used while 48% of the participants stated they never used management by exception and/or
contingent rewards.
Table 7
Utilization of Leadership Characteristics
Never Seldom Sometimes Often Always
Charisma/Personality -- -- -- 40% 60%
Intellectual Stimulation -- -- -- 64% 36%
Inspirational Motivation -- 4% 12% 52% 32%
Allocating Tasks for Growth -- 8% 44% 32% 16%
Management by Exception 12% 32% 32% 16% 8%
Contingent Reward 36% 32% 24% 8% --
This gap between the use of transformational and transactional leadership skills is further
explained and reflected in the interviews. The themes that were apparent in the quantitative and
qualitative data were that transformational leadership skills are preferred and used more
frequently because of the long-term effectiveness through building relationships and that
transactional leadership is only effective for the short term, so it is used less frequently.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 72
Theme: Transformational Leadership and Long-Term Positive Effects
The four transformational leadership characteristics, as defined by Bass and Avolio
(1994), are considered to be a multi-dimensional construct that requires the leader to have
charisma and personality, intellectual stimulation, individual consideration for the growth of the
employee, and inspirational motivation. Both charisma and personality were ranked by the
participants as highest in importance and frequency to create and sustain change at a school site.
Subsequently, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and allocation of opportunities
for individual growth, followed respectively in importance and utilization frequency at the. This
aligns with the idea that principals who have transformational leadership skills and personal
identification with their peers will have more buy-in from the staff and faculty (Kark et al.,
2003). Research has shown that perception is key in leadership, so, when the principal is seen as
more connected with staff members and as working alongside the faculty, the principal will find
more success in staff and faculty participation (McCarley et al., 2016). The principals who were
surveyed and interviewed for this study shared the reasons they felt transformational leadership
is the leadership style of choice, is the most effective, and should be utilized more than
transactional leadership. Principal B shared transformational leadership helped spark creativity
and growth among faculty and staff:
Transformational for me is where the creative energy lies. I feel like it keeps me fresh, to
be able to continues to be creative and innovative and used shared leadership...I am
finding ways to engage my school community, to be creative in those management styles,
and to keep growing.
Transformational leaders often use their communication skills to create a shared vision,
foster growth, and state the high expectations needed at a school (Leithwood & Sun, 2012).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 73
Principal C related to this by calling transformational leadership the leadership style of choice
because it is a shared leadership style that allows for all individuals, the administration and
teachers, to grow together. Principal A stated why transformational leadership is more effective
to create and sustain change at a school site:
Yeah, no question, transformational is definitely more for my leadership style. It is much
more effective in terms of change, and we live in business of people and, if you cannot
get people to believe in who you are and what you are trying to do, you can give them
every incentive in the world and I don’t think you’re going to have the success [that you
want]. They care about you as a person because they see that you care about them and
that you are skilled in what you are doing and that you’re doing to work hard.
Principal A reflected on the importance of creating and maintaining relationships through
transformational leadership. Transformational leaders are those who gain followers through
confidence and creating long lasting connections with their staff (Eagly et al., 2007). Principal
A’s statement that being a school administrator is a business of people, rather than just general
management, alludes to the fact that transformational leadership should be at the forefront in
creating change.
Principal E stated why transformational leadership is more effective due to the work
being a long-term investment:
It’s not me asking to do this about test scores. It’s about them as teachers. It’s about the
kids they service...when it becomes about the kids rather than me wanting higher test
scores, my teachers become more invested. And the change - the work to fix those things
that are the root of the problem rather than just do the things that need to be done, to click
off the box.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 74
Once again, Principal E, in conjunction with Principal A and Principal D, stated that
transformational leadership is more than just management, as it is a style and whole level
approach to support teachers for positive change. All five interviewees stated that
transformational leadership is their preferred style when leading their staff because of the long-
term effects and that staff members are willing to do what a leader asks of them because there is
an existing valued and respected relationship.
Theme: Transactional Leadership and Lack of Effectiveness
Both leadership characteristics of transactional leadership, contingent reward and
management by exception, were rated as the lowest in importance and lowest in being utilized. A
total of 48% of the principals stated they never and/or seldom used management by exception
and contingent reward. However, when comparing the two leadership characteristics,
management by exception does lead over contingent rewards, with 24% of participants stating
that they always and/or often used it while contingent rewards only had 8% stating the same. The
perspective that transactional leadership skills are less important is also reflected in the
interviews. Participants had reasons for not using transactional leadership skills as much as
transformational leadership skills: (a) transactional leadership skills are only effective for short
term change and (b) transactional leadership does not address the “why” of creating and
sustaining change.
Transactional leadership is a “give one-get one” relationship between the teacher and
administrator where, if a teacher or staff member deviates from the organization’s goal, he/she
will be reprimanded. Under the transactional leadership style, the organization is regarded as
highly mechanistic and not accepting deviation from the operating system and procedures (Bass
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 75
& Riggio, 2006). Principal E reflected on transactional leadership requiring constant
reinforcement:
My understanding of how transactional leadership would work for me would be that
changes will be immediate, but it will be transitory. That if I’m not going to continue
reinforcing that, then it’s probably not going to continue happening.
Principal E considered the ineffectiveness and unsustainable aspects of transactional leadership.
When demanding or requiring immediate change, the change could occur but would need
consistent follow-up from leadership. This aspect of transactional leadership will not work
because there is not an organic belief in that change among faculty and staff.
Transactional leadership can sometimes be seen as the negative style of leadership
because of a lack of understanding of emotions and human needs (Sun & Leithwood, 2012).
Principal D reflected on transactional leadership as being useful for solely management
purposes: “If you only have transactional leadership, what you really have is more like
management and I don’t think you’ll be successful moving change or innovation forward in a
way that you really want to.” Principal C has a similar sentiment to the longest term effects of
transactional leadership:
I think transactional, in my opinion, is kind of more like the directive, and I don’t know
that transactional leadership necessarily works in the long run, in my opinion. I feel like
it’s a short-term leadership to get people to complete tasks, but I don’t know necessarily
all the time that it’s the buy-in that you want and the influencing or the motivation.
Although Principal D recognized that transactional leadership may be useful for the purposes of
management and getting tasks completed, it is not effective for long-term change and buy-in
from the staff. Principal C recognizes the need for transformational leadership because it brings
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 76
long-term, sustainable, change that is necessary for a successful school. Transactional leadership
is often used to show that something is being completed and done, such as task completion,
however, it does not address the feelings of the staff as a whole (Smith & Bell, 2011).
Both management by exception and contingent rewards can be used in specific situations,
but do not hold the effectiveness to create and sustain change at a school site. Multiple
participants expressed that transactional leadership does not address sustainability. This is
reflected in the principal interviews as well as in the survey results regarding the infrequent use
of transactional skills and in the view that transactional leadership skills are less important than
transformational ones.
Summary
After conducting interviews and collecting surveys, this study found that participants
valued transformational leadership methods over transactional leadership skills for sustainable
change and that the building of relationships through charisma, inspirational motivation,
allocation of opportunities for individual growth, and intellectual stimulation are valued over
contingent rewards and management by exception.
Although the participants noted that transactional leadership skills are not to be ignored
completely, transactional leadership skills are only necessary if a task needs to be completed.
Transformational leadership requires a development of relationships and connections with
faculty and staff while transactional leadership is a give-and-take leadership style. This aligns
with the idea that effective change occurs when the principal connects and creates an
environment conducive to all members of the school (Feinberg et al., 2005). Transformational
leadership is more successful due to the leaders’ ability to appeal to large groups and
communicate a vision and idea the staff can internalizes as their own (Leithwood & Sun, 2012).
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 77
Further, the study found that charisma and personality was ranked the highest in
importance and was the skill used most. This aligns with research that states charisma allows for
raising morale, inspiration, and for a positive culture (Odumeru & Ifeanyi, 2013). Multiple
principals reflected on using their personality to stay connected with faculty and staff members.
The conversations and relationships that principals had with their staff proved to be the most
important use of their time to create change.
Chapter Five will present a discussion about the research findings and implications with
recommendations from the research. The purpose of Chapter Five is to support the future
learning of administrators, teachers, and educators on the use of transformational and
transactional leadership.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 78
CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
A school campus contains a variety of players and roles that contribute to the
environment, student achievement, employee satisfaction, and overall culture. The principal is
required to be self-aware of personal strengths and weaknesses and to understand how to use
these skills to best support the school site in a culture of constant change. Principals are among
the strongest influences on student achievement, school environment, overall teacher and staff
attitudes, and student learning (Bogler, 2005; Waters, 2013). Principals are held responsible for
communicating the school’s vision and mission to the staff members and motivate them to reach
goals during a time of change. When discussing constant change in education, this study refers
the implementation of Common Core standards in core subject areas and changes in pedagogy to
support these curriculum changes, supporting professional learning groups by encouraging team
learning, implementation of instructional technology in the classroom and pedagogy, and
building faculty members’ leadership capacity (Clark & Clark, 2006). The role of the principal is
ever changing in the 21st century during a time of fast and rapid activity and high accountability
for school administrators (Fullan, 2001).
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study was to determine which types of principal leadership styles are
most effective for grades 7–8 principals to support constant change and growth. The two
leadership styles of focus were transformational and transactional leadership. The goal of this
study was to determine which leadership style is more valuable for a principal to create and
sustain change in a school setting. It is important to understand the effectiveness of each
leadership style in current and future administrators’ efforts to support and lead their schools.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 79
Research Questions
1. What are the predictors of a 7–8 intermediate school principal who has utilized both
transactional and transformational leadership skills?
2. What qualities of transformational leadership is present in a 7–8 intermediate school
principal who brings change to a school?
3. What qualities of transactional leadership is present in a 7–8 intermediate school
principal who brings change to a school?
4. How does a 7–8 intermediate school principal balance both transformational and
transactional leadership qualities to bring and maintain change to a school?
Methodology
A mixed-methods approach was conducted for this study. Quantitative data were
collected through a 12-question survey on Google Forms. Twenty-five grades 7–8 principals
responded to the surveys sharing the most effective leadership characteristics to create and
sustain change at a school site on a Likert scale. Qualitative data were collected through
individual 10-question interviews with five of the 7–8 principals that allowed them to elaborate
on their experiences and views on leadership and during which the researcher asked clarifying
questions. The data were triangulated through qualitative and quantitative methods and through
current research and theories.
Results and Findings
The findings were based on the data and analyzed. This section combines both qualitative
and quantitative data and link the data to current literature.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 80
Research Question One
Building strong relationships. One of the strongest themes that was found in the
interviews was the ability to build strong and positive relationships with faculty and staff
members. This included using interpersonal skills to move staff members by appealing to their
emotions and moral imperative (Burns, 2003). These personal connections with faculty and staff
members increase teacher commitment, capacity, and engagement in meeting the school’s goals
(Moolenaar et al., 2010).
Strong work ethic. The other recurring theme in the interviews was the leader’s strong
and persistent work ethic. This reflects on the principal’s ability to value hard work from faculty
and staff while also practicing and displaying that same work ethic. Principals who want to
create change have to be team players and be in the trenches alongside staff. The belief from
many participants was that teachers will work hard at their craft if they see their leaders working
hard as well.
Research Question Two
Charisma and personality. Principals shared and rated charisma and personality as the
most valued and needed transformational leadership skill to create and sustain change at a school
site. The principal’s charisma and ability to connect to the faculty can support belief in the
authenticity and supportive nature of the principal (O’Connor, 2001). Principals who can connect
with faculty and staff members can get further buy-in from staff members to move towards the
school’s vision and mission (Kark et al., 2003). Using charisma and personality relates to
building relationships and appealing to staff and faculty’s emotions, which is a core component
of transformational leadership.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 81
Intellectual stimulation. The second-highest rated transformational leadership skill was
intellectual stimulation, which is defined as the leader’s ability to encourage staff and faculty
members to use creativity and innovation to solve problems (Bass & Avolio, 1994). Principals
who use intellectual stimulation are interested in their personal growth as leaders and are fully
invested in staff members’ growth as well. This transformational leadership skill allows a leader
to take ideas from multiple perspectives, attack ideas from various angles, and suggest new
methods to accomplish a goal (Bass & Avolio, 2004).
Research Question Three
Management by exception. Transactional leadership is defined by contingent rewards
and management by exception (Bass & Avolio, 2004). Between the two characteristics,
principals found the leadership skills of management by exception to be more valuable due to the
requirement that a leader should re-direct a staff member who is not complying with expectations
and rules. It should be noted that management by exception is not preferred, but it is considered
necessary in maintaining a school during times of change. The role of the administrator requires
holding staff and faculty members accountable through enforcement of school policy (Sun &
Leithwood, 2012).
Research Question Four
Transformational leadership and long-term effects. Principals felt that
transformational leadership skills made for the most effective leadership style to create and
sustain change at a school site. Participants found that those with transformational leadership
skills can connect with staff and have buy-in from staff to sustain change (Kark et al., 2003).
Participants noted that perceptions of the principal are important in a transformational leadership
role and affects school success and staff and faculty participation (McCarley et al., 2016). All
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 82
participants shared that transformational leadership has better long-term effects because teachers
and staff members understand they hold power in bringing change to the school (Kezar & Eckel,
2008). Bass and Riggio (2006) stated that transformational leadership is the most impactful and
effective leadership style to support a school site in challenging circumstances.
Transactional leadership and lack of effectiveness. Participants felt that transactional
leadership, although necessary in specific situations, is not the preferred leadership method when
wanting to create or sustain change. Transactional leadership skills are not effective for long-
term change and do not address the “why” or purpose of creating and sustaining change.
Transactional leadership is seen as more mechanistic and as not allowing the staff and faculty
members to organically evolve and grow together (Bass & Riggio, 2006). Transactional
leadership can also be seen as a more negative style of leadership because of the lack of
consideration of human emotions and human needs (Sun & Leithwood, 2012). Using primarily
transactional leadership skills creates an environment that does not allow for innovation and does
not accept deviation from current operating systems (Bass & Riggio, 2006).
Implications of the Study
This study contributes to research on grades 7–8 principals’ transformational and
transactional leadership to support schools through creating and sustaining change. Findings
from this study align with current research in that transformational leadership skills and
characteristics were preferred over transactional leadership skills.
Administrative Credential Curriculum and Support for Upcoming Principals
Since research has found that transformational leadership characteristics are the most
powerful characteristics of a principal-leader, administrative credential programs and principal
professional development programs should emphasize the effectiveness and necessity of
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 83
transformational leadership skills. With the understanding that the 2st century will bring
consistent and constant change to school curriculum, expectations, and accountability, principals
need to understand how and why it is necessary to build strong bonds with faculty and staff to
move towards goals. One of the purposes of the school principal is to provide meaning to the
schools’ vision and mission and to encourage teachers to reach towards that higher and broader
objective (Bryant, 2003).
Administrative credential programs is one of the main pathways that allows for educators
to become school leaders and administrators. New administrators will be more prepared when for
their leadership role when they are educated on the importance of transformational leadership
skills, the need to value people over paper, and consistently practicing one’s own potential in
making strong connections. The principal’s leadership style has a direct impact on school’s
culture, morale, and student achievement (Bogler, 2005; Hood et al., 2009). Investing in new and
upcoming administrators with curriculum on transformational leadership skills can create
stronger leaders.
Administrative Support Network and Professional Learning Communities
Transformational leadership skills focus on a leaders’ ability to build and maintain
relationships in addition to creating opportunities for growth, intellectual stimulation, creativity,
and innovation. School districts must provide professional learning environments for
administrators to work together and share ideas. Utilizing transformational leadership skills and
characteristics to support principals in professionally learning from each other is the use of
transformational leadership skills to encourage the implementation of transformational
leadership skills.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 84
Recommendations for Future Research
This study interviewed and surveyed 25 grades 7–8 intermediate school principals to
further understand the implications, preference, and effectiveness of transformational and
transactional leadership skills. Findings from this study revealed additional areas that need to be
explored. The following are areas for further research to support the continuing growth of
administrators and schools:
● Further explore the effective leadership characteristics and traits for future and current
school administrators
● Create mentorship programs for new administrators to learn about transformational
leadership qualities from experienced administrators
● Establish inter-district networks for administrators to collaborate and share ideas on
effective leadership skills
● Include research on the effectiveness of transformational leadership, and minor
qualifications of transactional leadership, in administrative credential program curriculum
● For the human resources and personnel departments at school districts to emphasize and
focus on transformational leadership skills when hiring future school administrators
Concluding Remarks
This study found that transformational leadership skills and characteristics are considered
more effective, and preferred, for grades 7–8 principals who want to create and sustain change at
their school sites. All interviewees stated that they identified more with transformational
leadership because they enable leaders to build long-lasting relationships and a team mentality
when moving a school, which creates longer lasting change. In contrast, transactional leadership
was found, in the literature and research, to be less effective, necessary only in specific
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 85
situations, and creating short-term change. The difference found in the research when
participants ranked their preferred leadership characteristics showed the four transformational
leadership skills had a higher value than the two transactional leadership skills.
Of the four transformational leadership skills, charisma/personality and intellectual
stimulation led as the most valued and preferred skills. The focus on an engaging and positive
charisma/personality correlates with the research on the importance of building relationships,
making long lasting and meaningful connections with faculty and staff members, and taking the
time to authentically know and understand ones’ staff. Participants, too, shared that intellectual
stimulation means sharing one’s own knowledge and allowing faculty and staff members to be
innovative, creative within a safe place to fail and to test out ideas. Participants felt that, if
faculty and staff members felt their ideas were valued, they members are more willing to move
in the direction of change.
For future principals to grow as leaders in a time of constant change, administrative
credential programs must include research on the effectiveness of transformational leadership
skills. As more educators want to change and create great schools, administrative credential
programs should emphasize building strong relationships, creating connections on campus,
allowing for innovation and creation, providing opportunities for growth, and motivating staff
and faculty members through inspiration.
For current and new administrators, districts should create PLCs and networks for
administrators to collaborate regularly. Participants expressed that one of the ways administrators
can learn about effective leadership skills is to discuss and talk about their ideas on a regular
basis. Collaboration and teamwork can encourage transformational leadership styles within the
community of administrators.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 86
As school districts hire new administrators each year, interview questions and resumes
should contain evidence of transformational leadership experience and philosophies. Hiring
administrators who already have a strong foundation in transformational leadership skills can be
helpful in an administrators’ transition to a school site as leaders due to the value of building
relationships and connections.
Principals are among the largest influences on student achievement, school environment,
staff and faculty sentiment, and overall culture. The principals’ leadership skills have a direct
effect on a school’s growth to best support all students and members of the community. With
strong and effective leadership skills comes the ability to create and sustain change at a school, a
necessity for school leaders in the 21st century.
TRANSFORMATIONAL AND TRANSACTIONAL QUALITIES 87
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Abstract (if available)

Abstract The purpose of this study was to understand the most effective leadership styles for Grades 7-8 Intermediate/Middle School principals that undergo constant change in an urban school setting. Intermediate school principals are required to cultivate a sustainable learning culture.while also being effective leaders, create a positive school culture, and support student achievement. While grades 7-8 school principals learn about leadership styles through trial and error and job training, additional research is needed to further identify the specific leadership skills to support a sustainable school environment. This study aims to provide a detailed report on the specific transformational and transactional leadership skills that grades 7-8 intermediate principals should utilize for sustainable change on their school campus. Transformational leadership is defined by four specific characteristics in this study as: charisma/personality, intellectual stimulation, allocating tasks for individual growth, inspirational motivation, and instructional leadership. Transactional leadership is defined by two specific characteristics: contingent reward and management by exception. A survey was sent to 25 grades 7-8 Intermediate School principals that asked the principals to rank the importance and significance of specific leadership characteristics. In additional 5 intermediate school principals were selected for an in-person interview on their leadership styles in relation to transformational and transactional leadership skills. Implications of the study show that the majority of grades 7-8 intermediate school principals utilize transformational leadership skills, specifically charisma/personality and intellectual stimulation, over transactional leadership skills, however, transactional leadership skills are needed if very specific situations. This study recommends that mentorship programs for new administrators, inter-district networks for administrators, and human resources/personnel departments emphasizing and focusing on transformational leadership skills is important to help cultivate an intermediate school in an urban setting in the 21st century.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Trac, Ivy Ngoc (author)

Core Title Effective transformational and transactional qualities of 7-8 intermediate school principals who create and sustain change in an urban school setting

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 08/02/2020

Defense Date 03/23/2020

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education,educational leadership principalship,grades 7-8,intermediate school,leadership,middle school,OAI-PMH Harvest,transactional leadership,transformational leadership

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Castruita, Rudy (committee chair), Cash, David (committee member), Roach, John (committee member)

Creator Email itrac@usc.edu,ivytrac@gmail.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-355728

Unique identifier UC11666545

Identifier etd-TracIvyNgo-8863.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-355728 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-TracIvyNgo-8863.pdf

Dmrecord 355728

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Trac, Ivy Ngoc

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA