Learning Activity 5.1

The article I chose to focus on for this unit is The Effects of Servant Leadership Behaviours of School Principals on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction by Yusuf Cerit.

1. What quantitative research design is used and is it justified?
   Rating: 2/3
   The researcher used a questionnaire consisting of 68 items to research how the behaviours of principals affected the teachers who worked under them in Turkish schools (Cerit, 2009, p. 608). While this is a good way to quantify a normally very qualitative topic, there are some serious limitations to this study. For example, the researcher assumes that all the participants will have strong self-assessment and evaluation skills. The entire study is based on the teachers’ ability to quantitatively assess the behaviours of their principals and also their own performance in their positions. There was no standard scale for the participating teachers to use so a rating of 1 to one teacher could be completely different from a rating of 1 to another teacher.
2. Are good quantitative procedures used to select and assign participants?
   Rating: 2/3
   The participants were 700 teachers from 29 public primary schools in the province of Duzce in Turkey (Cerit, 2009, p. 608). This is a good sample population because it includes all primary public school teachers in this province. However, this also introduces uncontrollable factors beyond principal behaviours such as different school environments, student demographics, and staff culture. These are uncontrolled variables that could affect teachers’ job satisfaction.
3. Are good quantitative data collection procedures used?
   Rating: 2/3
   Yes, Cerit (2009) use a a 5 point scale questionnaire to collect quantitative data from the participants. He then uses a complicated statistical tests to find correlation between principal behaviours and corresponding staff satisfaction (Cerit, 2009, p. 608). However, the teachers only took the questionnaire once and the test was not repeated.
4. Does the quantitative research design address the study’s purpose?
   Rating: 3/3
   Yes, Cerit (2009) was able to find direct correlation between principal behaviours and teacher satisfaction in their positions (p. 613). The results answer the study’s research question clearly.

References

Cerit, Y. (2009). The Effects of Servant Leadership Behaviours of School Principals on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(5), 600-623.

Original assignment post found here.