Osobnostné faktory budúceho lídra v edukácii

Abstract

The study focuses on transformational leadership in the school environment, reflecting the current need for necessary changes in modern schools. It represents a diversion from rationality emphasizing emotionality, a leader’s personality strength and influence, since s/he has a potential to motivate, engage or challenge others – colleagues or students. The study aim was to ascertain the personality variables of a future leader in education – a future teaching professional, graduated from the bache‑ lor and master degrees at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica (N = 205,72 % females, AMage = 20.87). Methods: Personality variables (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, conscientiousness level) were mapped by the NEO‑FFI inventory (Slovak version in Ruisel & Halama, 2007), self‑esteem level by the Rosenberger’s Self‑Esteem Scale (RSS, 1965 in Blatný & Osecká, 1994, ɑ = 0.67), and transformational leadership practices (ability to model the way, α = 0.68, inspire a shared vision, α = 0.80, to challenge the process, α = 0.77, enable others to act, α = 0.67, encourage the heart, α = 0.81) by The Leader‑ ship Practices Inventory (LPI, Kouzes & Posner, 2012 in Kaliská, 2019). Results: Correlation and regression analysis showed that personality factors (extra‑ version, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness) entered into significant positive moderate to weak (low effect size) relations with all types of leadership practices. Neuroticism entered into significant negative weak relations with the ability to challenge the process of others, the ability to inspire a shared vision for others and model the way in the future direction (with low effect size significance). The self‑esteem level did not enter into any relations with various types of leadership practices. Thus, only two personality factors (conscientiousness and openness to experience) contribute to the determination of leadership practice types, where these personality factors predict in the range of 8 % to 21 % of the total variability the variance of individual leadership practices. The highest personality prediction level by these two factors was proved for the transformation practice of challenge the process for the followers (21 %), the ability to model the way to the direction of the organization (almost 21 %) and the ability to inspire a shared vision for others (20 %). Openness to experience appears to be the strongest predictor of all types of leadership practices, remaining in a significant positive weak to moderate relations (.164 ≤ r ≤ .386) to all types of practices when controlling for the other personality factors. Conclusion: Awareness of the personality factors of future leaders in the school system, i. e. teachers, creates a potential to set the pre‑gradual educational goals so as to in‑ crease their leadership competencies. These leaders are the building blocks of a successful transformation of our education, and as such should have qualities characterized as transformational leadership features, such as the ability to think strategically, be action‑oriented, support others in their visions and spread out the vision of the organization within the school system, and become a role model, inspiration, and driving force for new followers (new leaders).