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Lam, Chee Fong (2025) Leadership roles of principals in international secondary schools: evidence from Malaysia. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham.

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Abstract

The number of international schools globally has been growing exponentially in the last few decades. Malaysia has a similar growth rate of international schools during these two decades. As more international schools are established, more principals are required to lead the schools. This study focuses on the role of principals in leading international secondary schools in Malaysia.

A two-stage mixed methods explanatory sequential design was adopted for data collection. An electronic questionnaire survey was sent to a census sample of 109 international secondary school principals in Malaysia in the first stage, with a response rate of 31.2%. Interviews were conducted with five participants in each of the three case study schools in the second stage. Methodological triangulation is used to improve reliability and validity of the study, through the quantitative survey and qualitative interviews, and respondent triangulation is addressed through asking similar questions to interview participants at different levels. Finally, comparison and triangulation take place based on the responses given by the interviewees, and also through responses from the survey questions.

The findings from the survey implies that the origins of the principals may have played an important part in their recruitment to an international school in Malaysia. This expectation is supported by the superordinates of the three case study schools. The main selection processes in the recruitment of principals were through face-to-face and Skype interviews. In terms of role relationships with different stakeholders, more principals rate the relationships as excellent or good, as compared to poor or very poor. This finding is similar to the ratings at the three case study schools, supported by the superordinates and SLT members. This study is a substantial addition to the existing knowledge on the roles of international secondary school principals in Malaysia as there is direct evidence from such principals through both survey and interview data. The multidirectional trust between principals, and their superordinates and subordinates, affects mutual relationship building, and may also impact on the tenure of a principal.

Item Type:	Thesis (University of Nottingham only) (PhD)
Supervisors:	Bush, Tony Ng, Ashley Yoon Mooi
Keywords:	international schools; school principals; leadership in education; mixed methods research; Malaysia
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
Faculties/Schools:	University of Nottingham, Malaysia > Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > School of Education
Item ID:	81586
Depositing User:	LAM, Chee
Date Deposited:	26 Jul 2025 04:40
Last Modified:	26 Jul 2025 04:40
URI:	https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/81586

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