Educational Leadership and Total Quality Management: Investigating Teacher Leadership Styles (PDF)

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325338262 Educational leadership and total quality management: investigating teacher leadership styles Article in International Journal of Management in Education · January 2018 DOI: 10.15...

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325338262 Educational leadership and total quality management: investigating teacher leadership styles Article in International Journal of Management in Education · January 2018 DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2018.10013412 CITATIONS READS 15 4,014 4 authors, including: Eleni Sfakianaki Hellenic Open University 54 PUBLICATIONS 566 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Eleni Sfakianaki on 24 May 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2018 375 Educational leadership and total quality management: investigating teacher leadership styles Eleni Sfakianaki* Hellenic Open University, Parodos Aristotelous 18, Patra, 26335, Greece Email: [email protected] *Corresponding author Anna Matsiori Experimental High School of the University of Macedonia, Former Camp Strempenioti, 56 701 – Naples, Thessaloniki, Greece Email: [email protected] Dimitrios A. Giannias Hellenic Open University, Parodos Aristotelous 18, Patra, 26335, Greece Email: [email protected] Ioanna Sevdali 2nd High School of Ampelokipoi, Nikolaou Plastira 54, 56121 Ampelokipoi, Thessaloniki, Greece Email: [email protected] Abstract: This paper aims to investigate an important aspect of quality management in education – teacher leadership styles – as practiced by Greek secondary education teachers. A survey questionnaire was used based on a model developed by Giannias and Sfakianaki in 2016, which progresses the research originally undertaken by Blake and Mouton. A sample of 138 teachers provided their perceptions on the leadership styles they adopt. The study integrates leadership and quality management theories and explores teacher leadership styles in the Greek secondary educational system. Teachers can use their personal results for self-assessment and reflection as part of the total quality management process. Keywords: education; leadership; total quality management; grid method; teachers. Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. 376 E. Sfakianaki et al. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Sfakianaki, E., Matsiori, A., Giannias, D.A. and Sevdali, I. (2018) ‘Educational leadership and total quality management: investigating teacher leadership styles’, Int. J. Management in Education, Vol. 12, No. 4, pp.375–392. Biographical notes: Eleni Sfakianaki is an Assistant Professor at the Hellenic Open University, School of Social Sciences, in Greece. Her areas of expertise include total quality management, environmental management, sustainability and decision analysis. Over the last years, she has focused on the application of total quality management principles in education. Anna Matsiori is an economist and she has been working as a teacher of Economics in secondary education for the last 25 years. She has studied Business Administration and has a Master’s degree in Economic Sciences from the School of Economics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She also has a degree in Pedagogical Sciences at Education Academies in Thessaloniki. Her research interests are in the areas of total quality management and audiovisual literacy in education. Over the last years she has implemented a number of programs on good practices in secondary education and has also developed electronic scenarios for teaching economics. Dimitrios A. Giannias is a Professor at the Hellenic Open University, School of Social Sciences, in Greece. He is the editor of the EAST-WEST Journal of Economics and Business. His areas of expertise include business administration, industrial organisation, microeconomics, business economics, quality of life, economic analysis, environmental economics, marketing, business communication and networking. He has published widely more than 220 articles in referred journals and books. He has also worked extensively in research projects and has coordinated a large number of them. Ioanna Sevdali is an economist and she has been working as a teacher of Economics in the secondary education for the last 28 years. She has studied Economics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and also owns a Master’s degree in Business Administration of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. 1 Introduction Customers have continuously increased their quality requirements, leading to a growing interest in promoting this concept in practice. Quality management applications have been applied in areas with no direct competition but an urge for self-improvement. Such an example is education (Weckenmann et al., 2015; Sadeh and Garkaz, 2015). Total Quality Management (TQM) can be defined as a systematic management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction by achieving the commitment of all members of the organisation to participate in continuous improvement efforts (Deming, 1986; Juran, 1999). Human resources are at the core of TQM theory, and are the main assets of any organisation. Leadership is a key feature of TQM (Weckenmann et al., 2015; Kaufman, 1992). According to Oakland (2011), leadership excellence promotes TQM. A leader in TQM is someone who inspires and influences a group of individuals to become willing  Educational leadership and total quality management 377 followers in the achievement of the organisation’s goals (Darling, 1992). Some researchers have suggested that the importance of leadership in managing quality has been relatively unaddressed (Lakshman, 2006). For a thorough review of this topic see Lakshman (2006). Schools and other educational settings are complex organisations with different needs and attitudes that do not always converge (Saiti, 2012). Quality management may offer the right platform to improve educational practice and quality. In this context, leadership is regarded as an important element for the improvement of any educational environment. Building on the above observations, this article integrates quality management and leadership theories. It focuses on specifically teacher leadership in secondary education. A survey questionnaire was developed, which assessed Greek secondary education teachers’ self-reported leadership styles and their reflections on their potential for self- evaluation and improvement as part of the TQM process. The study adds value to the literature by embedding new teacher leadership constructs. 2 Total quality management, leadership and education TQM, although applied primarily by industrial and manufacturing organisations, has also garnered interest in the field of education (Bayraktar et al., 2008; Chao et al., 2015; Deming, 1986; Helms et al., 2001; Militaru et al., 2013). Lunenburg (2010) states that TQM is not only relevant to corporations and service organisations, but also to elementary and secondary schools. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2011) confirms that education needs dynamic quality models such as TQM. Many studies have investigated applications of quality management in education in general, however the focus of the present study is on TQM and its implementation in the educational sector. For example, Sadeh and Garkaz (2015) explain that students are the real customers in higher education and the key to success is the provision of high service quality. Ah-Teck and Starr (2014) also demonstrated that TQM is an appropriate framework for change and improvement in the school environment. Ngware et al. (2006) asked 300 Kenyan secondary school teachers about their perceptions of TQM and found that the central education authorities are not providing the necessary leadership that would promote TQM practices. Campatelli et al. (2011) developed a simplified model based on the European Foundation for Quality Management auto-evaluation model and Six Sigma approach for the implementation of TQM principles for a university’s administration. Asif et al. (2013) criticised the lack of consensus over critical success factors of TQM in higher education and developing countries emphasising the importance of TQM in education. Researchers have extensively studied the role of leadership and the importance of educational leader support in the quest for quality in education (e.g., Deming, 1986; Hargreaves, 2009; Leithwood et al., 2006; Sallis, 2005; Asif et al., 2013; Sfakianaki et al., 2016). TQM models such as The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) and European Quality Award (Asif et al., 2013) further exemplify the pivotal role of leadership in TQM. Muijs and Harris (2006) argued that leadership is increasingly being seen as a key vehicle for school improvement while Mendels and Mitgang (2013) also showed that there is a strong initiative in the US to bolster school leadership. Louis 378 E. Sfakianaki et al. et al. (2010) state that leadership is second only to teaching amongst school-related factors that influence learning. Ten Bruggencate et al. (2012) examined the importance of the school leader in promoting effectiveness and influencing student achievement in 97 secondary schools in the Netherlands. 3 Leadership and the role of the teacher-leader Koslowski (2006) explains that in the age of intense competition, quality education is a major concern with students’ expectations steadily increasing over the years. Within the field of TQM several studies identified the most important factors for its successful implementation. In the majority of these studies, the factors that appear common to most educational organisations are leadership, customer (student) focus, and continuous improvement (Aquilani et al., 2017; Nadim and Al-Hinai, 2016; Nawelwa et al., 2015; Owlia and Aspinwall, 1997; Sahu et al., 2013; Sila and Ebrahimpour, 2002). Modern educational reforms confirm a strong relation between leadership and school improvement (Harris, 2004; Saiti, 2012). Teacher leadership is not a new concept and has been well accepted in the United States and Canada (Harris, 2003). Considerable research has been carried out on the actual implementation of school leadership and its contribution towards sustaining improvement (e.g., Harris, 2004). Understandably, teachers are the natural leaders of their classes and school communities (Burns, 1979; Chao et al., 2015; Saiti, 2012). TQM can be implemented at the classroom level with the basic assumption that the teacher is the supplier and the student is the customer (Fields, 1993; Sallis, 2005). The teacher is considered a structural element of this relationship, playing a key role in the structure of the learning environment and students’ achievement (Harford, 2010; Saiti, 2012). Despite resistance to teachers being viewed as leaders, schools may achieve improvement by strengthening teachers’ leadership role within and outside the classroom (Bennet et al., 2003; Mulford and Silins, 2003). 3.1 Leadership styles Lippit and White (1943) proposed three leadership styles in the classroom. First, the democratic style which creates a positive atmosphere and brings positive results. Second, the authoritarian style creates a hostile climate, but inspires productivity. Third, the delegative (laissez-faire) style promotes friendly relations in the group, but does not lead to the effective achievement of objectives. Later, Bales (1951) defined two orientations of the educational leader (i.e., work and emotion) however Stogdill (1981) and Sorrentino and Field (1986) refuted this view. Later, McLaren (1993) distinguished that despotic teachers lecture from the front of the classroom; whereas entertainers do not really care about learning, but focus on how students will spend time pleasantly; and critics emphasise quality teaching and encourage student self-motivation. Over the years school leadership has transitioned from more traditional, top down models to schools with collective decision making and responsibilities distributed to teachers (Urick, 2016). Scholarly literature demonstrates that shared instructional leadership influences beneficially student achievement (Heck and Hallinger, 2009; Robinson et al., 2008). For this reason, many scholars have recently considered linking leadership styles with student performance (Isaac, 2011; Dvir et al., 2002; Howell and Frost, 1989; Keller, 2006). Day et al. (2000) and Harris and Chapman (2002)  Educational leadership and total quality management 379 demonstrated that the most successful leaders are transformational since distributed leadership contributes to the development of competence and school improvement (Harris, 2004). According to Leithwood and Jantzi (1997), female leaders are more transformational than their male counterparts. In the educational context, a number of management and business models are currently being applied (e.g., Harris and Muijs, 2002). Well-known models include the X and Y theory of McGregor (1960), the effectiveness theory of Fiedler (1967), the transformational leadership models of Burns (1979) and models by Lewin (1997) and Likert (1967). However, many of these models draw from the classical theory of Blake and Mouton (1964a). The managerial grid model developed by Blake and Mouton (1964a, 1964b, 1968) is a situational leadership model. This model initially identified five different leadership styles based on a concern for people as well as for production. This managerial model has been developed for a variety of contexts. For example, Giannias and Sfakianaki (2016) used this model to introduce and define teachers’ styles within a grid framework. This model is illustrated further below. 3.2 The Greek context In Greece, relatively few surveys have measured leadership styles. Most have concentrated on school heads, and only a few have investigated teachers’ perspectives. Papanaoum (1995) noted that Greek school heads have mainly administrative and managerial roles. However, Saitis (1997) concluded that school heads are more traditional bureaucratics and serve less as leaders. Kalavros (2007) and Mpotnias (2010) found that school management requires a participative leadership model. Potouri (2013) argued that most school heads follow a consultative style. Papadopoulos’s (2013) survey showed that Greek primary school heads mainly follow a moderate style. Zerva (2012) found that transformational and transactional leadership styles are positively correlated with the professional welfare of teachers, while Nasiou (2012) showed that democratic leadership creates feelings of self-efficacy. Gerasimidou (2008) used the Blake and Mouton grid (1964a) to evaluate school heads’ interest in people. Sianna-Kirgiou (1992) concluded that the most effective leadership is orientated toward human relationships. Brinia and Papantoniou (2016) argued that the educational system in which a school operates (e.g., centralised/decentralised) might affect the type of leadership a school head will adopt. This argument is illustrated in the centralised Greek educational system, which gives less freedom to the school head. 4 Methodology The aim of this research was twofold. First to record teachers’ reflections on the potential for self-evaluation and improvement and identify whether some of the key principles of TQM -leadership practice, continuous improvement and student satisfaction- are implemented and enhanced. Secondly to provide valuable empirical evidence which is currently limited in Greece. For this purpose a survey questionnaire was developed to measure self-reported leadership styles of Greek secondary school teachers’. According to Bryman (2008), questionnaires are amongst the methods of data collection which are in considerable use in the context of experimental research as well as in survey investigations and the right tools to make people’s responses as comparable as possible. 380 E. Sfakianaki et al. The leadership styles examined are based on the methodology proposed by Blake and Mouton (1964a) as developed by Giannias and Sfakianaki (2016) for education, in which teachers’ styles are presented within a grid framework where two fundamental drivers of teachers’ behaviour are identified. In other words the two dimensions of the Blake and Mouton grid (1964a) have been used in this research appropriately adapted for the educational environment as concern on providing education (i.e., getting the job done) and concern about the students as people. These two fundamental drivers of teachers’ behaviour, provide a classification in which a teacher’s type is specified by a pair (x and y) of scores, where x is a measure of a teacher’s concern for education, and y is a measure of a teacher’s concern for learners. Both x and y scores range from 1 (low) to 9 (high) and five major types of teacher behaviours are identified (Table 1). Table 1 Leadership styles (Giannias and Sfakianaki, 2016) Leadership style* Description A “dictatorial” (9,1) style of teacher finds students’ needs unimportant. Teachers of this style provide students with a great deal of educational (9,1) material and expect performance in return; they also pressure students to learn through the use of rules and punishments. Teachers using this (1,9) style focus on human relations with students at the (1,9) cost of efficient education. This style can also be called “nursery school” education. The (1,1) minimum concern for either education or people style is characterised by a desire to avoid responsibility and to exert minimum (1,1) effort. The indifferent style (1,1) is characterised by the terms “evade” and “elude”. Teachers using the (5,5) type attempt to maintain a balance between both (5,5) concerns. The “status quo”, or “middle-of-the-road”, style (5,5) is characterised by balance and compromise. Teachers using the (9,9) type give maximum attention to both students and education and put forward the most effective approach. The “sound”, or (9,9) “team”, style of (9,9) teaching is characterised by contribution and commitment. Note: *(x, y): x is a measure of a teacher’s concern for education, y is a measure of a teacher’s concern for learners. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first consisted of 30 questions, divided into 6 categories that assessed the main characteristics of leadership styles of Table 1. Examples included attitudes, behaviours and practices. The second part of the questionnaire measured the demographic profile of teachers and characteristics of their school types. All questions not relating to demographics asked participants to select the most representative statement of each category based on a scale of 1 (least representative) to 5 (most representative). The draft survey questionnaire was discussed initially with ten senior professionals with at least ten years of teaching experience in secondary education and also with experience in quality management applications. Consequently the questionnaire was tested on a sample of 25 teachers to assess its validity and ensure that the statements were well formulated, clear, presented in the right order and did not cause negative reactions. Based on their comments, the questionnaire was revised concluding to its final form (Bayraktar et al., 2008; Psomas and Anthony, 2017).  Educational leadership and total quality management 381 4.1 Sample The research was conducted in December 2014. The sampling frame of this survey was composed of teachers serving in schools of general education (High School and Lyceum) and vocational education (EPAL), in the north of Greece. The purpose of the study was explained in general terms, anonymity was guaranteed, and the importance of participants’ answers was emphasised. A total of 138 questionnaires were received from respondents out of a target population of 350 yielding a response rate of 39% (138/350). It is worth noting that in Greece there are around 2,800 secondary schools (Hellenic Statistical Authority, 2015). The response rate compared well with the 9%-28% response rate that has been reported in other surveys in the TQM field (Bhat and Rajashekhar, 2009; Hung et al., 2011; Rahman, 2001; Ugboro and Obeng, 2000), and very close to that of Martinez-Costa and Jimenez-Jimenez (2008, 2009) who reported response rates of 45.4% and 43.8%, respectively. 4.2 Data analysis A combination of applied correlation research techniques was used. A Cronbach’s reliability test showed a coefficient of 0.78, ensuring high reliability. The data from the first part of the questionnaire were transferred to a conversion tool developed by Giannias (2014). This tool shows the percentage of each leadership style of Table 1 that a teacher believes she/he adopts. Correlations between leadership styles, individual and professional characteristics (gender, experience) and features of their school unit were also investigated. 5 Results The survey results show how the teachers-participants in the survey perceive themselves in terms of their leadership styles. Table 2 illustrates the sample distribution in terms of personal and professional characteristics. Table 2 Personal and professional characteristics of the participants Standard Characteristics Number Average deviation Gender 138 59.9% (Women) 51.8% 25% Age 138 (45–54 years) (35–44 years) 42.3% 32.8% School type 138 (General) (Vocational) Years of experience 138 17.2 7.54 27% 10.2% 9.5% Specialty 138 (Literature (Physicists, (IT) teachers) etc.) Years in managerial 138 0.3 1.2 position 382 E. Sfakianaki et al. Table 2 Personal and professional characteristics of the participants (continued) Standard Characteristics Number Average deviation PhD 138 11.7% (Yes) Postgraduate studies 138 28.5% (Yes) Second degree 138 14.6% (Yes) Training in management 138 25.5% (Yes) No. of students per class 138 59.9% (20, up to 25 students) Every teacher has a primary and secondary leadership style he or she uses, depending on the circumstances. Tables 3–7 illustrate the distribution of each leadership style and the percentage of the participant-teachers adopting each. Table 3 Percentage of the indifferent leadership style (1,1)* Percentage of leadership style (%) Number of teachers Percentage of teachers 0–20 2 0.02 20–40 47 0.34 40–60 66 0.48 60–80 22 0.16 80–100 0 0 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. Table 4 Percentage of the humanitarian leadership style (1,9)* Percentage of leadership style (%) Number of teachers Percentage of teachers 0–20 0 0 20–40 1 0.01 40–60 31 0.23 60–80 88 0.64 80–100 17 0.12 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. Table 5 Percentage of the compromise leadership style (5,5)* Percentage of leadership style (%) Number of teachers Percentage of teachers 0–20 0 0 20–40 0 0 40–60 20 0.15 60–80 87 0.64 80–100 30 0.23 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles.  Educational leadership and total quality management 383 Table 6 Percentage of the “dictatorial” leadership style (9, 1)* Percentage of leadership style (%) Number of teachers Percentage of teachers 0–20 0 0 20–40 2 0.01 40–60 57 0.42 60–80 63 0.46 80–100 15 0.11 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. Table 7 Percentage of the participatory leadership style (9, 9)* Percentage of leadership style (%) Number of teachers Percentage of teachers 0–20 0 0 20–40 3 0.02 40–60 8 0.06 60–80 56 0.41 80–100 70 0.51 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. Most (i.e., 60 to 100%) of the participants believe that they adopt leadership style (9,9). This style shows interest for both the result (education) and student and promotes TQM principles for schools’ continuous improvement and student satisfaction. Many teachers reported using the (5,5) style. Few reported using the style (1,1). Table 8 presents the mean percentage of each leadership style teachers used. Table 8 Average style of leadership styles Leadership style* Average Standard deviation (1,1) 46.93 13.305 (1,9) 69.60 10.341 (5,5) 72.85 10.302 (9,1) 64.99 12.154 (9,9) 80.79 13.051 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. 5.1 Cluster analysis The current research framework sought to group teacher leadership behaviours. A cluster analysis was employed to arrange responses into groups so that the objects in one group were similar to each other and as dissimilar as possible from the objects in other groups (Norusis, 2011). The groups were divided according to statistically significant differences in sociodemographic or other participant characteristics (Zografos and Allcroft, 2007). The hierarchical method was initially applied to define the number of clusters. Then, the k-means procedure was adopted to form the clusters. 384 E. Sfakianaki et al. Table 9 presents the final classification of the average value of each leadership style behaviour in the four groups. The third group had the highest average indifferent leadership style (1,1) and lowest sound style (9,9) percentages. The fourth group had the lowest (1,1) and highest (9,9) leadership style percentages. A reverse presence of styles (1,9) and (9,1) is noted. The average percentages of the accommodating style (1,9) were high in the fourth group, whereas the average rate of the (9,1) style were low. The third group had the lowest average rates of the (9,9) and (1,9) styles. The second group had the highest average percentage of (5,5), (1,9) and (9,1). Table 9 Final cluster centres Groups of leadership* behaviour Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Leadership style (1,1) 46 58 63 34 Leadership style (1,9) 63 78 50 72 Leadership style (5,5) 66 80 62 75 Leadership style (9,1) 61 76 64 58 Leadership style (9,9) 74 86 44 90 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. Table 10 shows the results of the dispersion analysis. All variables were statistically significant and contributed to the separation of clusters. Table 10 Analysis of variance Cluster Error Leadership style* F Sig. Mean Square df Mean Square df (1,1) 4428.462 3 81.120 133 54.591.000 (1,9) 2595.818 3 50.793 133 51.106.000 (5,5) 1973.471 3 64.005 133 30.833.000 (9,1) 2562.158 3 93.259 133 27.473.000 (9,9) 5280.185 3 55.070 133 95.881.000 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. 5.2 Correlations Correlations between leadership style and personal and professional characteristics of the school unit were investigated. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed that no leadership style was significantly correlated with teachers’ age, profession or qualifications held (second bachelor, master, doctorate). A Mann Whitney test showed that no correlation existed between leadership and management training. A statistically significant relationship was found between the (9, 9) style and gender. Women adopted the participatory style at a higher rate (Table 11).  Educational leadership and total quality management 385 Table 11 Results of the Mann-Whitney test for the gender Leadership style* Gender Mean rank U Z p Men 69.11 (1,1) 2249.000 –.026.979 Women 68.93 Men 68.78 (1,9) 2243.000 –.053.958 Women 69.15 Men 65.75 (5,5) 2076.000 –.790.430 Women 71.18 Men 65.92 (9,1) 2085.500 –.747.455 Women 71.07 (9,9) Men 60.44 1784.000 –2.078.038 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. A statistically significant relationship was found between leadership style and school unit type (Table 12). Lyceum teachers declared lower rates of the indifferent style (1,1) than High School and EPAL teachers. Table 12 Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis control results for the school unit type Leadership style* School unit type Mean rank p High School 70.50 (1,1) Lyceum 56.68.003 EPAL 83.74 High School 73.18 (1,9) Lyceum 64.39.497 EPAL 71.79 High School 73.29 (5,5) Lyceum 65.60.648 EPAL 70.13 High School 75.96 (9,1) Lyceum 62.32.220 EPAL 72.36 High School 71.82 (9,9) Lyceum 76.09.057 EPAL 57.72 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. The Spearman correlation coefficient showed a weak, but statistically significant relationship among leadership style, experience, and years served in management positions (Tables 13 and 14). Younger teachers adopted compromise (5,5), humanitarian (1,9) and participative (9,9) styles more often than older teachers. Although the relationship was weak, teachers seem to adopt the participative leadership style (9,9) more frequently the more years they serve in management. 386 E. Sfakianaki et al. Table 13 Correlation coefficient Spearman (leadership style and years of working experience) Leadership style* Value Asymp. std. error (1,1) 0.011 0.089 (9,1) –0.179 0.078 (5,5) –0.147 0.084 (1,9) 0.090 0.089 (9,9) –0.030 0.088 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. Table 14 Correlation coefficient Spearman (leadership style and years in managerial position) Leadership style* Value Asymp. std. error (1,1) –0.127 0.079 (8,1) –0.049 0.079 (5,5) –0.062 0.094 (1,9) –0.095 0.083 (9,9) 0.085 0.089 Note: *See Table 1 for the analysis of leadership styles. 6 Discussion The intention of the present research was to investigate how a key principle of TQM, that of leadership, is perceived through the use of the grid framework presented initially by Blake and Mouton (1964a) and to record teachers’ reflections on the potential for self- evaluation and improvement. The analyses presented in the previous section and the discussion of the findings that will follow, aim to shed some light on these issues. Due to the specificity of the terminology used in this paper, direct comparisons with other literature findings are only implicitly attempted. Some of the findings can be associated with concepts that have already been mentioned in the literature, others cannot. The general profile of the teachers that participated in the research has been illustrated in Table 2. Distribution of leadership styles are outlined in Tables 3–7. Findings indicate that the participative leadership style was more prominent. This style is in accordance with TQM principles for schools’ continuous improvement and student satisfaction. A considerable percentage of participants reported using the compromise (5,5) leadership style whereas very few reported on the indifferent style (1,1). Since this is an expression of how teachers’ perceive themselves, it is certainly a positive observation the fact that most teachers were leaning towards the participative style and focus on both education and the learner. Some of these leadership styles have been found to be correlated with some of the personal characteristics of the participants. Younger teachers adopt participative and humanitarian leadership styles, whereas older teachers demonstrated authoritarian or indifferent styles. This may be justified partially by the impetus that young teachers have. In contrast, older teachers seem to have become tired from their work. Furthermore, teachers with more years in managerial positions seem to be more keen towards the  Educational leadership and total quality management 387 participative leadership style (9,9). This finding is in line generally with the findings of other studies which broadly report that school leaders tend to become more open-minded, avoid centralisation, willing to share and care about their audience (Ng et al., 2015). An interesting relationship was recorded between the participative (9,9) style and gender. Indeed the researchers found a certain degree of correlation between the female teachers who demonstrate higher tendencies towards the participative leadership style. This may be justified by the women’s characteristics. Female school leaders tend to be more sensitive and vulnerable, they however have better communication skills (Brinia, 2011; Genao and Wamba, 2016). These characteristics may consist the fundamental drivers that motivate female teachers to show equal interest on both students and education. Furthermore, Lyceum teachers demonstrated higher and lower rates of the participative and indifferent styles, respectively – a finding that may be explained by the teaching requirements of the specific school unit type. For example, more mature students preparing for university entry exams and therefore requiring or even imposing a different leadership style. Conversely, rates of the indifferent style (1,1) are expressed to a larger extent by High School and EPAL teachers. 7 Conclusions Educational institutions at all levels are being pressured to become more efficient and responsive to their “customers” needs by offering an effective and motivating educational environment. TQM is recognised as a generic management tool applicable to any organisation (Kumar et al., 2011) that can contribute significantly to the demand for quality education and continuous improvement by guiding all stakeholders in working towards the achievement of the organisational objectives (Ngware et al., 2006). An important aspect of TQM is leadership. The current study investigated teacher leadership through the use of a model developed by Giannias and Sfakianaki (2016). It aimed to integrate quality management and leadership theories and add value to the literature by embedding new teacher leadership constructs. It focuses on specifically teacher leadership in secondary education. A survey questionnaire was developed, which demonstrated that participants mainly adopted the participative style. Teachers alternate this style with the compromise, humanitarian, authoritarian and indifferent styles. What is deducted from such finding is that the teacher-leader that follows the participatory process shows concern for the student and the learner and thus can ensure educational quality promoting TQM principles such as continuous improvement and student satisfaction. However, the combination of different leadership styles is essential, because an effective leader adapts his or her style to the characteristics of the group, the maturity of its members, the work to be carried out, and the environment. Further correlations between the characteristics of the participants and their personal characteristics also derived (i.e. gender, years in managerial position etc.) and were discussed in relation to past relevant literature so as to evaluate the added value of the present findings. The originality of the current work lies in its direct interaction with Greek secondary education teachers, and reflects their opinions on the adopted leadership styles in class. Teachers can use their personal results as a means of self-assessment and reflection to promote self-improvement, evolution and student satisfaction as part of the TQM process. In the centralised Greek educational context, there is scepticism if the important asset of human resources, and specifically the teacher, are sufficiently considered. Debate 388 E. Sfakianaki et al. currently exists in Greece as to whether teachers should be evaluated, and with what types of criteria. The present findings could provide useful insights for central educational authorities seeking to evaluate teachers. Understanding teachers’ styles is clearly important and useful for the overall evaluation of a school and educational community. Due to the limitations of the study however, conclusions cannot be fully validated. More specifically, the researchers are aware that the sample of the 138 teachers cannot be considered as representative of the Greek population of teachers, both in terms of size and geographic location preventing therefore the generalisation of findings. However, the current cost and time constraints of the research, as well as the exploratory nature of the survey, prevented the chance of obtaining a larger sample. Results from this study can be therefore considered exploratory in nature. They provide some indications as to what are the prevalent tendencies on leadership styles. In terms of future work, a survey of a much larger sample of teachers that is more geographically dispersed would be preferable in order to obtain a well-defined assessment of leadership styles. Furthermore, a focus group discussion could also assist in the collection of pertinent data related to teacher leadership styles and ensure triangulation. Lastly the methodology used in this study can also be advanced by enlarging the size of the sample and by defining students’ respective behaviours through the use of the same grid. Consequently, the interaction between different behaviours of teachers and learners can be identified. 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