Strategic Leadership Practices of Middle Leaders: Advancing Staff Training, Professional Development, and School Outcomes in Myanmar’s Primary Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60072/ijeissah.2025.v4i01.004Abstract
This study investigates the leadership practices of middle leaders in Myanmar’s primary schools. It focuses on their role in staff training, professional development, and school performance. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining survey responses from 110 middle leaders with semi-structured interviews and a focus group discussion. The quantitative component of this study involved survey responses from 110 middle leaders, whose data were gathered using a structured Likert-scale questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequency distributions mean scores, and standard deviations were used to examine the quantitative data to determine the most common leadership behaviors and their perceived efficacy. The findings were then presented in tabular form to illustrate key trends and variations across leadership dimensions. The quantitative findings reveal that middle leaders actively participate in instructional leadership activities, including mentoring teachers and spearheading curriculum development. However, mentoring systems, feedback provision, and distributed leadership practices were weak. Qualitative data further demonstrated systemic barriers, including limited institutional support, competing demands between teaching and leadership, and insufficiently useful training programs. Despite these challenges, the study concludes that middle leaders can positively influence teaching quality and school outcomes if supported by structured mentoring mechanisms, targeted professional development, and policy interventions that clarify roles and strengthen collaboration. The study concluded that middle leaders could make a lasting impact on teaching quality and school performance only when supported by policy changes, targeted leadership training, and strong institutional backing.
Keywords:
Distributed Leadership, Instructional Leadership, Middle Leadership, Myanmar Primary Schools, Professional DevelopmentReferences
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