Leadership Practices of Exemplary Principals in Malaysian Secondary Schools: Evidence from Pahang

School leadership is widely recognized as the most significant school-level organizational factor after classroom teaching in influencing student learning. Aligned with the aspirations of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013–2025, this study evaluates exemplary principal leadership practices using the Successful School Leadership (SSL) framework and examines the reliability of the Successful School Leadership Survey (SSLS) in the context of Pahang state secondary schools. This quantitative survey involved three national secondary schools selected through purposive sampling based on exemplary principal criteria, including recent excellence awards, consistent top-quartile academic performance, and State Education Department recommendations. Respondents comprised 152 teachers (98.1% response rate) from two urban schools and one rural school. The teacher version of SSLS (22 items across four domains: Setting Directions, Building Relationships and Developing People, (Re)Designing the Organization, and Improving the Instructional Program) was administered using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, one-way ANOVA with Games-Howell post hoc comparisons, and independent samples t-tests (Welch), with Cohen's d effect sizes reported. Findings indicated that exemplary principal leadership practices were rated highly (M = 4.40, SD = 0.56), with Setting Directions recording the highest mean (M = 4.46). The SSLS demonstrated excellent internal consistency (overall α = .977; domain α = .904-.943). Comparative analyses revealed significant differences across schools (all p < .001), with rural schools reporting higher scores than urban schools across all domains with large effect sizes (d = 0.70–0.86). These findings provide strong reliability evidence supporting the use of SSLS in the Malaysian context and offer practical implications for leadership development and benchmarking exemplary leadership practices across diverse school contexts. However, findings should be interpreted within the context of three purposively selected schools and require replication using larger and more diverse samples.

Successful School Leadership, SSLS, exemplary principals, school leadership, secondary schools, urban-rural, Malaysia

1. Abdul Ghani Kanesan Abdullah, Jamal@Nordin Yunus, & Mohd Izham Mohd Hamzah. (2022). Amalan Kepimpinan Instruksional Pengetua Cemerlang Sekolah Menengah. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 7(3), e001404. https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v7i3.1404 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000). Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine, 25(24), 3186–3191. https://doi.org/10.1097/00007632-200012150-00014 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Bush, T. (2021). School leadership in Malaysia: Policy, research and practice. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367566098 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Emmanuel, S., & Valley, C. A. (2022). A qualitative case study of exemplary principal leadership in the United States Virgin Islands. Journal of School Leadership, 32(5), 420–444. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775121990054 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Gurr, D., & Moyi, P. (2022). The International Successful School Principalship Project: Reflections and possibilities. Journal of Educational Administration, 60(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2022-0001 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Gurr, D., Drysdale, L., Longmuir, F., & McCrohan, K. (2018). The leadership, culture and context nexus: Lessons from the leadership of improving schools. International Studies in Educational Administration, 46(1), 22–44. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Hallinger, P. (2003). Leading educational change: Reflections on the practice of instructional and transformational leadership. Cambridge Journal of Education, 33(3), 329–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764032000122005 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Hallinger, P. (2018). Bringing context out of the shadows of leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 46(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143216670652 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Hardwick-Franco, K. G. (2019). Educational leadership is different in the country: What support does the rural school principal need? International Journal of Leadership in Education, 22(3), 301–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2018.1450996 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Hitt, D. H., & Tucker, P. D. (2016). Systematic review of key leader practices found to influence student achievement: A unified framework. Review of Educational Research, 86(2), 531–569. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315614911 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Lazaridou, A., & Iordanidis, G. (2011). The principal’s role in achieving school effectiveness. International Studies in Educational Administration, 39(3), 3–19. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Leithwood, K. (2012). The Ontario leadership framework: With a discussion of research foundations. Institute for Educational Leadership. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Leithwood, K. (2019). Leadership development on a large scale: Lessons for long-term success. Corwin Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Leithwood, K. (2021). A review of evidence about equitable school leadership. Education Sciences, 11(8), 377. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11080377 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Leithwood, K., Harris, A., & Hopkins, D. (2008). Seven strong claims about successful school leadership. School Leadership & Management, 28(1), 27–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/13632430701800060 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Leithwood, K., & Sun, J. (2018). Academic culture: A promising mediator of school leaders’ influence on student learning. Journal of Educational Administration, 56(3), 350–363. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-01-2017-0009 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Leithwood, K., Sun, J., Schumacker, R., & Hua, C. (2023). Psychometric properties of the Successful School Leadership Survey. Journal of Educational Administration, 61(4), 385–404. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-08-2022-0115 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Leithwood, K., Sun, J., & Pollock, K. (Eds.). (2017). How school leaders contribute to student success: The four paths framework. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50980-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Leithwood, K., Sun, J., & Schumacker, R. (2020). How school leadership influences student learning: A test of “The four paths model.” Educational Administration Quarterly, 56(4), 570–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X19878772 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Marks, H. M., & Printy, S. M. (2003). Principal leadership and school performance: An integration of transformational and instructional leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(3), 370–397. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X03253412 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Marsh, H. W., & Hau, K. T. (2003). Big-fish–little-pond effect on academic self-concept: A cross-cultural (26-country) test of the negative effects of academically selective schools. American Psychologist, 58(5), 364–376. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.58.5.364 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013–2025 (Preschool to Post-secondary Education). Ministry of Education Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2024). Pekeliling Perkhidmatan Bilangan 3 Tahun 2024: Pelaksanaan Sistem Time-Based Kecemerlangan (TBBK). Ministry of Education Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step-by-step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS (7th ed.). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. Preston, J. P., & Barnes, K. K. R. (2017). Successful leadership in rural schools: Cultivating collaboration. Rural Educator, 38(1), 6–15. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v38i1.231 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Robinson, V. M. J., Lloyd, C. A., & Rowe, K. J. (2008). The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of leadership types. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44(5), 635–674. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X08321509 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. Uhl-Bien, M. (2006). Relational leadership theory: Exploring the social processes of leadership and organizing. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(6), 654–676. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.007 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study