Are School Leaders Born or Made? Examining Factors of Leadership Styles of Malaysian School Leaders

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify factors of thinking and leadership styles of a group of Malaysian primary and secondary school leaders (n=85). The instrument “Thinking and Leadership Styles” was used to identify thinking styles (critical style or creative style) and leadership styles (closed style or open style) of the subjects. Results show that the majority of the school leaders implemented critical thinking with open leadership style. School grade, type of school, gender, age, working experience, educational background are significant predictors of leadership style. The findings reject claims that leaders are purely born or purely made.