Choose a quantitative original research study to complete your analysis (following the example provided) and create a quantitative instrument (with specific

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACT ASSIGNMENT 4.1 1

Bibliographic Citation

Atasoy, R. (2020). The relationship between school principals’ leadership styles, school

culture and organizational change. International Journal of Progressive Education,

16(5), 256-274.

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=b54f9890-511f-

46a0-b3d1-f63d3ae25cc2%40redis

Author

Dr. Ramazan Atasoy, Mamak District of National Education Directorate, Turkey Ministry of

National Education

Research Concern

In the post-Covid era of quiet quitting, massive teacher shortages, and unprecedented job

dissatisfaction among educators, school systems and educational organizations have to take a

hard look at organizational changes that must be made in order to recruit and retain teachers.

Lowering the standards to a pathway to certification is a short-term, and short-sighted, fix. The

number one reason most teachers give for leaving the classroom is lack of pay, the number two

reason is lack of respect or satisfaction on the job. The culture of a company is the most

significant contributor to the satisfaction of the employees who work there, and it is logical to

assume that the culture is closely tied to the leadership style of the organization head. This study

sought to quantify the impact that a transformational leader can have on the culture of the school

as well as the attitudes of the employees during a period of organizational change. The

assumption was that a transformational leader would have a significant positive impact, and the

data proved that to be true. It went on to indicate that a transformational leader has a

significantly higher impact on positive culture than a transactional leader, and that only

transformational leaders can hope to actually mitigate negative feelings or opposition when an

organization is experiencing significant changes.

Purpose

The purpose of the research was to measure the relationship between leadership styles of school

leaders on school culture and teacher attitudes during organizational changes.

Precedent Literature

The literature reviewed for this study focuses on understanding the meaning of the concepts that

will be explored in the data (Joseph, 2020). The definitions of transformational and transactional

leadership and their similarities and differences (Arnold, 2023). The study centers around Bass’s

leadership model (1985), and seeks to determine how the transformational leader empowers

teachers and taps into their critical thinking, problem solving, and creative thinking skills in

order to inspire them to give their all to the organization and to help to achieve the mission and

vision of the school. Transformational leaders build teams and coalitions (Smith, 2021; Jason,

2023, Marshall, 2029) . Transactional leaders use the carrot and the stick. While that might be

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACT ASSIGNMENT 4.1 2

effective in the short term, that strategy does not help to improve school culture or teacher

satisfaction or morale.

Other literature reviewed included research that helped deepen the understanding of the concept

of school culture. Not only does a school culture relate to the “norms, values, beliefs,

ceremonies, rituals, traditions, and myths” (Bass, 1985, p. 258) of a school community, it also

has to do with the attitudes of the teachers and the students in the actual schools. A

transformational leader can help to create a culture where the teachers and students are excited to

teach and learn, where they interact in a positive way, and where the members of the school

community have a sense of being in it together (Lesson, 2021; Alley, 2019). A good school

culture will have a positive impact on teacher satisfaction, student achievement, and staff

retention. A school leader has a direct impact on the culture of the school. The literature bears

that out. This study seeks to prove just how statistically significant the relationship is to school

culture.

Research Methodology

The research was set up to determine whether transformational leaders were more effective at

leading through organizational change than transactional leaders. Approximately 2171

secondary school teachers were surveyed during the 2019-20 school year and it was determined

that a sampling of 327 would be enough to meet the standard of 95% of the population. Of the

2171 teachers surveyed, 382 completed surveys were assessed as being complete and usable –

well over the 327 required for significance. The data was collected using three collection tools

including the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), School Culture Survey (SCS), and

the Organizational Change Management Scale (OCMS) after receiving permission from each of

the developers.

Data was collected in the fall of the year. Each instrument took around 15 minutes to complete.

Any incomplete surveys were eliminated. All data collection was done on a voluntary basis, and

the appropriate permissions were obtained and anonymity assurances were made.

Instrumentation

The MLQ is a survey given to leaders and their employees that determines the leadership style

by a series of 14 questions about how principals react to certain situations or deal with issues.

Each question is answered by choosing a rating on a Likert scale of strongly agree to strongly

disagree which are given numeric values of 1-5. Once all of the answers are tabulated, the total

score determines leadership style depending on where it falls on the overall rating scale.

Principals answer the questions about themselves, and teachers answer the questions about their

principals. All of that data is then used to determine the leadership style of the principal.

The SCS is another survey consisting of 29 questions that measure issues relating to task-

oriented, support-oriented, bureaucratic, and success-oriented factors in the school. The study

selected 10 of the 29 questions with at least 2 from each measured factor. Like the MLQ, the

questions are set on a Likert scale rating of strongly agree to strongly disagree and are

respondents are given aggregate scores based on the numeric values of their answers to the

questions.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACT ASSIGNMENT 4.1 3

Finally, the OCMS has 67 items, of which the study used 12. The items measure organizational

change during all of its stages – determining, preparing, implementing, evaluating. The

researchers chose three questions from each stage of organizational change.

Findings

Ultimately, the study sought to link leadership style with successful organizational change, and it

did. What it discovered was that the link is school culture. When a transformational leader has

built a school culture that recognizes and celebrates teacher success, achievement, autonomy,

and decision making, that leader can create an atmosphere where change doesn’t seem daunting

or negative or punitive. Many employees see changes as a direct attack on them personally or on

their work. Teachers are especially prone to this kind of thinking because so much of their work

is by its very nature personal. The teacher is the personality in the classroom who determines the

lessons and what will be presented and how. If the principal is seeking to change how things are

done in the classrooms, that can often come across as a personal attack. That is particularly true

when that change comes down from a transactional style leader – change to this, or else. A

transformational leader, makes teachers feel like they are part of the team. No one is singled out.

Everyone is going to try this new way or this change because it will make them ALL better.

That is what kind of culture they build through careful decision making and

recognition/celebration of success. The study bore that out. A transformational leader who

builds a strong school culture where teachers feel valued and successful, creates a situation

where negative attitudes toward change are mitigated (not eliminated).

The hypothesis that a transformational leader will be able to mediate between the staff and

change more successfully than a transactional leader was proven to have statistical significance.

Though transactional leaders also show ability to partially mediate between the determining,

preparing, and implementing stages, ONLY the transformational leader can fully mediate during

the evaluative stage. The evidence was pretty clear.

Conclusions

The results show that school culture plays a strong role in whether institutional change can be

successful. And school culture starts with the principal. A transformational leader can create a

culture that will embrace necessary changes for the good of the institution and especially for the

people the organization serves (in this case students). Understanding the relationship between

leadership style, culture, and successful change is the key to implementing much needed changes

in schools across all demographics and cultures. Essentially, a transactional leader can effect

school change, but a transformational leader can effect organizational change and make everyone

happy they did it. That is the difference between the change being successful and sustained.

Suggestions for Further Research

What comes out of this study is a powerful call to action for school leadership to grow and

develop transformational leaders and then put them in places where significant change needs to

occur. Research into how to develop the kind of leaders that are needed and to put them into the

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH ARTICLE ABSTRACT ASSIGNMENT 4.1 4

right positions can help to determine next steps for many school boards and district leadership

teams. Mapping out where the most structural and systemic changes need to be made can also

help to position leaders in places where they will have the most significant impacts.

C H A P T E R S E V E N

Research Questions and Hypotheses

Investigators place signposts to carry the reader through a plan for a study. The first signpost is the purpose statement, which establishes the central direction for the study. From the broad, general purpose state-

ment, the researcher narrows the focus to specific questions to be answered or predictions based on hypotheses to be tested. This chapter begins by advancing several principles in designing and scripts for writing qualitative research questions; quantitative research questions, objectives, and hypotheses; and mixed methods research questions.

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In a qualitative study, inquirers state research questions, not objectives (i.e., specific goals for the research) or hypotheses (i.e., predictions that involve variables and statistical tests). These research questions assume two forms: a central question and associated subquestions.

The central question is a broad question that asks for an exploration of the central phenomenon or concept in a study. The inquirer poses this question, consistent with the emerging methodology of qualitative research, as a general issue so as to not limit the inquiry. To arrive at this question, ask, “What is the broadest question that I can ask in the study?” Beginning researchers trained in quantitative research might struggle with this approach because they are accustomed to the reverse approach: iden- tifying specific, narrow questions or hypotheses based on a few variables. In qualitative research, the intent is to explore the complex set of factors surrounding the central phenomenon and present the varied perspectives or meanings that participants hold. The following are guidelines for writ- ing broad, qualitative research questions:

● Ask one or two central questions followed by no more than five to seven sub- questions. Several subquestions follow each general central question; the

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subquestions narrow the focus of the study but leave open the questioning. This approach is well within the limits set by Miles and Huberman (1994), who recommended that researchers write no more than a dozen qualitative research questions in all (central and subquestions). The subquestions, in turn, can become specific questions used during interviews (or in observing or when looking at documents). In developing an interview protocol or guide, the researcher might ask an ice breaker question at the beginning, for example, followed by five or so subquestions in the study (see Chapter 9). The interview would then end with an additional wrap-up or summary question or ask, as I did in one of my qualitative case studies, “Who should I turn to, to learn more about this topic?” (Asmussen & Creswell, 1995).

● Relate the central question to the specific qualitative strategy of inquiry. For example, the specificity of the questions in ethnography at this stage of the design differs from that in other qualitative strategies. In ethnographic research, Spradley (1980) advanced a taxonomy of ethnographic questions that included a mini-tour of the culture-sharing group, their experiences, use of native language, contrasts with other cultural groups, and questions to ver- ify the accuracy of the data. In critical ethnography, the research questions may build on a body of existing literature. These questions become working guidelines rather than truths to be proven (Thomas, 1993, p. 35). Alternatively, in phenomenology, the questions might be broadly stated without specific ref- erence to the existing literature or a typology of questions. Moustakas (1994) talks about asking what the participants experienced and the contexts or sit- uations in which they experienced it. A phenomenological example is, “What is it like for a mother to live with a teenage child who is dying of cancer?” (Nieswiadomy, 1993, p. 151). In grounded theory, the questions may be directed toward generating a theory of some process, such as the exploration of a process as to how caregivers and patients interact in a hospital setting. In a qualitative case study, the questions may address a description of the case and the themes that emerge from studying it.

● Begin the research questions with the words what or how to convey an open and emerging design. The word why often implies that the researcher is trying to explain why something occurs, and this suggests to me a cause- and-effect type of thinking that I associate with quantitative research instead of the more open and emerging stance of qualitative research.

● Focus on a single phenomenon or concept. As a study develops over time, factors will emerge that may influence this single phenomenon, but begin a study with a single focus to explore in great detail.

● Use exploratory verbs that convey the language of emerging design. These verbs tell the reader that the study will

• Discover (e.g., grounded theory)

• Seek to u

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