TRANSFORMATIONAL TEACHER LEADERS

Transformational Teacher Leaders in a Virtual Learning Environment and Student Achievement As Measured By State Achievement Exams



Transformational Teacher Leaders in a Virtual Learning Environment and Student Achievement As Measured By State Achievement Exams

Introduction

This study addresses the research question of how instructor transformational leadership behaviors behaviors affect student achievements of cognitive learning, affective learning, student perceptions of instructor credibility, and communication satisfaction in distance education. An overview of the theoretical underpinnings of the study is provided, as well as the tested hypotheses. A summary of the methodology, including sampling procedures, instrumentation, and data collection processes is presented, along with the procedures would be used for data analysis. Multiple linear regression would be used to examine the relationships among the specified variables.

Statement of the Problem

Results from research examining transformational leadership in management make it clear that transformational leadership has its advantages in organizations. More recently, a handful of scholars have begun to investigate the relationship between instructor transformational leadership behaviors and student learning outcomes. Overall, research studying transformational leadership in school and university settings is minimal, and an examination of these constructs within online courses is completely missing. This research provides a solution to this oversight by examining the link between instructor transformational leadership behaviors and student outcomes in terms of cognitive learning, affective learning, perceptions of instructor credibility, and communication satisfaction within distance education.

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between student perceptions of instructor transformational leadership behaviors and student achievements of cognitive learning, affective learning, perceptions of instructor credibility, and communication satisfaction. This research stems from a lack of literature pertaining to the relationship between the specified variables in online courses. Independent variables are identified as transformational leadership behaviors. Dependent variables are student cognitive learning, affective learning, perceptions of instructor credibility, and communication satisfaction.

This study is based on transformational leadership theory and social learning theory to understand how instructor leadership behaviors affect student cognitive learning, affective learning, perceptions of instructor credibility, and communication satisfaction. This research effort suggests that the concepts of transformational leadership, drawn from leadership research, can help fill the research gap and strengthen understanding of instructor leadership and student outcomes in online courses.

Research Questions

Instructor transformational leadership behaviors will have a stronger relationship with student cognitive learning than transactional leadership behaviors in online courses.

Instructor transformational leadership behaviors will have a stronger relationship with student affective learning than transactional leadership behaviors in online courses.

Instructor transformational leadership behaviors will have a stronger relationship with student perceptions of instructor credibility than transactional leadership behaviors in online courses.

The Background and Context for the Problem

Since Burns first introduced the concept of transformational leadership in 1978, a great deal of research has been devoted to exploring the behaviors of leadership styles. Current studies typically examine the effects of transformational leadership on outcome variables in an organizational setting. Literature examining the phenomenon of instructor transformational leadership and student outcomes, specifically in online courses is limited; however, studies contributing to the development of the hypotheses for this ...