Class 4-Reflection

Course Name	DYNAMICS OF LEADERSHIP
Course Code	UHPS6013-51
Lecturer and Faculty	Dr. Roslizam bin Hassan, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Technology
Student Name	Sharina binti Hashim
Student Matric Number	MHL254004

Summary and Reflection for: ODL Synchronous Class 4 (11 December 2025)

INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP / TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP / TEAM LEADERSHIP

For this class, we had three topics that were presented. The first one was on Instructional Leadership by Johanna Renisa Binti Mohd Sani (Johanna). This is a leadership theory that I was most unfamiliar with, so I was keen to get an understanding of what it entails and how it differs from other leadership principles.

The first key learning for me is that instructional leadership is very much operating in the educational space with a focus on how the head of the education unit (for example, in a school, it would be the principal) leverages upon several principles and practices to empower the teaching staff to adopt best-practice teaching methodologies as well to support their professional growth. I learnt that ultimately, it is to ensure student success. I also learnt that this leadership principle had existed for over five decades and that throughout the years it had gone through a steady pace of evolution.

I note that the foundational theory on instructional leadership originated in 1979 and that subsequent theories were developed by other scholars over the years. Key information on the relevant scholars that were takeaways for me are:

Ronald Edmonds. Based on my further reading, Edmonds was one of the first scholars to use real school data for his research in 1979 to demonstrate that what principals and teachers do instructionally matter more than the students’ actual background. Essentially, the key differentiator was about how a school is led and how the teaching is managed.
Halinger & Murphy. While Edmonds initiated the thought, it was Halinger and Murphy who first developed a leadership model in 1985 comprising the 3 Dimensions of Instructional Leadership. This model essentially described what leaders actually had to do, as below:

Dimension 1: Define the school mission
Dimension 2: Manage instructional programme
Dimension 3: Develop Positive Learning Climate

From Dr. Roslizam’s sharing, it was clear to me how enthusiastic and committed he is on researching and advocating the principles of Instructional Leadership. I noted with interest how Dr. Roslizam’s qualitative study (Hassan, R., Ahmad, J, & Boon, Y. 2019) on instructional leadership practices within the 3 southern states of Malaysia (Johor, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan) found that the principals practiced instructional leadership at a moderately high level and how the teachers leveraged upon professional learning community practices (CoPs) at moderate to high levels.

The next topic, presented by Nur Alyssa Fahira binti Mohd Zamri (Alyssa) was on Transformational Leadership. Personally, I view this as one of the more popular leadership principles in the modern world. In reflecting, my career journey to date had provided me with opportunities to be a part of organisations from different industries in the private sector as well as in semi-government. This accorded me with an inside look of how each organisation’s intention to ‘transform’ required individuals at the highest levels of management to step up and embrace transformational leadership behaviours. In fact, even at senior and mid-management levels, I recall experiencing individuals and managers who exhibited inspirational behaviour and became change agents to the transformation initiative.

From Alyssa’s presentation I learnt the scholars Khan, Avolio and Bass in 1991 had described transformational leadership as the shared relationship between a leader and his/her followers and how the leader influences and inspires them to go beyond the normal to reach their potential. Transformational leadership is about how a leader can influence and inspire their followers. I also learnt that to be considered a transformational leader, Khan, Avolio and Bass are guided by the 4 I’s as below:

Idealised Influence
Inspirational Motivation
Intellectual Motivation
Individualised Consideration

Alyssa shared 4 case studies including on the leadership style of Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, a global telecommunications and information technology company headquartered in China.

The final presentation for this class was on Team Leadership by Najwa Farhana Binti Ahmed Malasia (Najwa). I thought it was creative for Najwa to start the presentation by showing a video related to teams. To me, it demonstrated how, depending on the circumstances, it makes more sense to work in teams rather than working on one’s own. Najwa offered two definitions on team leadership that centred on the idea of one being able to guide and motivate and a group of individuals towards a shared goal.

I learnt that for team leadership to be effective, there are 8 essential skills:

Communication skills
Industry expertise
Decision making skills
Relationship building skills
Conflict resolution skills
Time management skills
Collaboration skills
Delegation skills

References:

Hassan, R., Ahmad, J., & Boon, Y. (2019). Instructional leadership practice and professional learning community in the southern zone of Malaysia. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 7(12A), 42–50. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2019.071906