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Dissertation Abstract

A Comparative Analysis of Transformational and Transactional Leadership in Public School Principals and Their Effects on School Culture

Lloyd J. Chadwick
Regent University

This study centered a comparison of transformational leadership styles and transactional leadership styles. Staff members of five public secondary schools were given two questionnaires. Avolio and Bass (1993) developed both of these questionnaires. The first, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), measures nine behaviors, attributed charisma, idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, individual consideration, inspirational motivation, contingency reward, management-by-exception active, management-by-exception passive, and laissez-faire, and three outcomes extra effort, effectiveness, and satisfaction. The second, the Organizational Description Questionnaire (ODQ), measures transactional and transformational components of an organization. The nine transformational and transactional components were correlated with the outcomes from the MLQ and culture scores from the ODQ. The results showed that virtually every component was statistically significantly related to the other. Pearson correlations were used as were the stepwise regression analysis. While all variables were significantly related using the Pearson correlations when the stepwise regression tests were run attributed charisma and contingent reward proved to be the most consistent predictors of the outcomes satisfaction, extra effort, and effectiveness. Attributed charisma was the highest predictor of each of these outcomes, as well as both the transformational and transactional culture scores.