Transformational leadership and its influence in the high school choral setting

This study makes a unique contribution to the body of literature in choral-music education by equipping high school choral directors with a theory-based understanding regarding how their leadership behaviors influence the attitudes and perceptions of students. I employed Bass’s (1985) theory of transformational leadership as the framework for this investigation in order to understand the effects, if any, that leaders have on their followers, and to determine the net impact among the behaviors that they use to achieve these effects. The following research questions guided this investigation: (1) What specific leadership behaviors may be attributed to effective high school choral directors? (2) To what degree do the leadership behaviors of effective high school choral directors influence students’ self-reported levels of extra effort, satisfaction, and assessment of their directors’ overall effectiveness? I employed the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (5X-Short), an online survey tool, to measure 223 choral students’ perceptions regarding the transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership behaviors of five high school choral directors. Multiple regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship among the transformational leadership behaviors of directors and all three outcome variables. The findings illuminated ways that transformational leadership behaviors can be used to foster positive personal relationships and improved pedagogical strategies that may lead to greater satisfaction within high school choral music education