Analysis of leadership styles developed by teachers and administrators in technical-technological programs: the case of the Cooperative University of Colombia

Abstract

This work is part of a wider research effort in the field of leadership and organizational development, coordinated by the University of Granada and the A.R.E.A Research Group (Analysis of Educational Reality in Andaluz), HUM/672. It was developed in the Cooperative University of Colombia, a country where technical and technological programmes have been promoted in the past 10 years through institutions of higher education. We build on the idea that knowing the leadership styles of teachers and principals is fundamental. The main objective of the study is thus to formulate achievement strategies to improve the educative centre and the educational community at several levels: as individuals, as groups and as an organization. To this aim we conducted a descriptive research with a non-experimental design by the poll method, through the implementation of the ‘Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire by Bass and Avolio – MLQ’ instrument, administered to teachers and principals of technical-technological programmes of the Cooperative University of Colombia. Results show that the elements of Transformational Leadership are predominant over the other types of Leadership. They thus emerge as the key element to strengthen, through individual training processes and organizational improvement strategies, in order to achieve optimal organizational results. This must be carried out from within the educational entity, through the motivation of students and work groups, strengthening the practices of teachers and principals in the development of basic organizational and academic functions.