International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

School Administrators’ Leadership Practice: A Case Study Related to a New Curriculum Implementation in Malaysia

Open access
This article used a qualitative case study approach to explore the school administrators’ leadership practice in curriculum implementation of Tahfiz Model Ulul Albab (TMUA) in Malaysia. The paper also aims to identify problem arise due to its implementation as well as administrators’ strategy in tackling the issue. The case study was conducted in a National Secondary Religious School executing the curriculum involving 3 participants, namely the Principal, Senior Assistant 1 and TMUA’s Coordinator. Besides, semi-structured interview, data were collected also by observation and document analysis. The findings indicate several school administrators’ leadership elements under the scope of curriculum implementation, which are ‘goal setting’, ‘instructional management’, ‘leadership control and influence’, ‘motivation’, ‘teacher’s development’, ‘tolerance, communication and interpersonal relationships’, ‘sharing responsibilities and leadership’, ‘foster understanding’, ‘promote religious values’, ‘school ambience’, ‘networking’, ‘financial management’ and ‘innovation’. Challenges in leading the curriculum implementation comprises of three categories, namely ‘system and technical’, ‘teachers’ disciplinary problem’, ‘students’ performance’, ‘parents related issue’ and ‘financial constraint’. This research illustrates the discovery of new leadership dimensions and indicates that the school administrators are practicing more than a single leadership style. This paper also suggests that a proper planning by the policy maker as well as effective administration is necessary in order to ensure the success of the curriculum implementation.
Abdullah, N., Noh, N. M., Mansor, R., Hashim, A. T. M., & Wong, K. T. (2015). Penilaian Pelaksanaan Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS) dalam Kalangan Guru Sains (Assessment of School Based Assessment Implementation among Science Teacher). Jurnal Pendidikan Sains & Matematik Malaysia, 5(1), 89–102.
Aziz, N. A. A., Foo, S. F., Asimiran, S., & Hassan, A. (2014). Kepimpinan Instruksional Pengetua dalam Pelaksanaan Pentaksiran Berasaskan Sekolah (PBS) (Instructional Leadership in Implementation of School Based Assessment). Paper presented at the Global Summit on Education GSE, Kuala Lumpur.
Balyer, A. (2012). Transformational Leadership Behaviors of School Principals: A Qualitative Research Based on Teachers’ Perceptions. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 4(3), 581–591.
Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectation. New York: Free Press.
Curriculum Development Division (2001). Kepimpinan dan Pengurusan Kurikulum di Sekolah (Leadership dan Curriculum Management in School). Kuala Lumpur: Curriculum Development Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Hallinger, P., & Murphy, J. (1985). Assessing the Instructional Management Behavior of Principals. The Elementary School Journal, 86(2), 217–247.
Harding, J. (2013). Qualitative Data Analysis: From Start To Finish (3rd ed.). London: SAGE Publications.
Inspectorate of Schools. (2010). Standard Kualiti Pendidikan Malaysia 2010 (Malaysian Educational Quality Standard 2010). Putrajaya: Jemaah Nazir dan Jaminan Kualiti, Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
MacBeath, J., Oduro, G. K., & Waterhouse, J. (2004). Distributed Leadership in Action: Full report. National College for School Leadership. Retrieved from www.ncsl.org.uk
Manaf, U. K. A., Azman, A. H. N., Fadzilah, H., & Alias, N. F. (2014). Laporan Penilaian Pelaksanaan Program Ulul Albab di MRSM Kota Putra (Assessment Report on Implementation of Ulul Albab Program at MRSM Kota Putra). Kuala Lumpur.
McCarly, T. A., Peters, M. L., & Decman, J. M. (2016). Transformational leadership related to school climate: a multi-level analysis. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 44(2), 322–342. http://doi.org/10.1177/1741143214549966
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (4th ed.). St. Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Middlewood, D., & Burton, N. (Eds.). (2001). Managing the Curriculum. London: SAGE Publications.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025 (Preschool to Post-Secondary Education).
Nawi, N. H. M. (2012). Islamisasi Kurikulum Pendidikan Islam di Institusi Pendidikan Guru: Tribulasi dan Cadangan (Islamization of Islamic Education Curriculum in Teachers' Institution: Tribulation and Suggestion). Paper presented at Islamic Education National Conference.
Nawi, N. H. M. (2015). Kesinambungan dan Sinergisme Konsep Kesepaduan dan Islamisasi Ilmu (Continuity and Synergism Concept of Integration and Islamization of Science). E-Journal of Arabic Studies & Islamic Civilization, 2, 60–68.
Pihie, Z. A. L. & Sadeghi, A. (2012). Leadership in Relation to School Productivity, Stress and School Culture. In Zaidatol Akmaliah Lope Pihie & Afsaneh Bagheri (Eds.), Educational Leadership: Performance and Improvement (pp. 1–29). Serdang: Penerbit Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Rashed, Z. N., & Tamuri, A. H. (2015). Kepentingan Integrasi Ilmu Naqli & Ilmu Aqli dalam Pengajaran Pendidikan Islam (Importance of Integration between Naqli & Aqli Knowledge in Islamic Education Teaching). E-Jurnal Pendidikan, 2, 1–30.
Rotherham, A. J., & Willingham, D. (2009). 21st Century Skills: The Challenges Ahead. Educational Leadership, 67(1), 16–21.
Samsuiman, M. A., Benjaman, M. A., & Arifin, Z. (2014). Hubungan Antara Kualiti Guru Bahasa Arab Dan Kecenderungan Minat Pelajar Dalam Bahasa Arab (The Relationship between Arabic Teacher Quality and the Students’ Interest in Arabic Language). Jurnal Kemanusiaan, 22, 1–8.
Silverman, D. (2006). Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analyzing Talk, Text and Interaction. London: SAGE Publications.
Solumuthu, K. (2014). Satu Penilaian Kritis Tentang Perubahan Kurikulum Pendidikan Moral dan Strategi Pelaksanaannya (Unpublished master dissertation). Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjung Malim.
Tafsir, A. (1992). Ilmu Pendidikan dalam Perspektif Islam (Educational Knowledge in Islamic Perspective). Bandung: Penerbit Remaja Rosdakarya.
Tan, Y. L. & Lee, L. W. (2015). Profil Tahap Keprihatinan Guru Terhadap Inovasi Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) Berdasarkan Model Concern-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) (Profiles of Teacher's Concerns on Innovation of Primary School Standard Curriculum Based on Concern-Based Adoption Model). Jurnal Kurikulum & Pengajaran Asia Pasifik, 3(3), 1–21.
Zakaria, Z., Ahmad, A. R., & Awang, M. M. (2015, November). Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah (KSSR) Mata Pelajaran Sejarah: Perlaksanaan dan Cabaran (History Subject in Primary School Standard Curriculum: Implementation and Challenges). Paper presented at the 7th International Seminar on Regional Education.
A, J. N. M., K., S. A., & Alwi, N. H. (2017). School Administrators’ Leadership Practice: A Case Study Related to a New Curriculum Implementation in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 7(14), 801-815.