Exploring Teachers’ Perspectives n Leadership Styles In Relation to Gender Differences

This study examined teachers’ perceptions of their school administrators’ leadership styles—transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire—in public elementary schools in Barili District 1. Guided by the descriptive–correlational research design, the study sought to determine the extent to which teachers perceive these leadership styles and whether such perceptions vary when grouped according to administrator gender, teacher gender, and teaching experience. Data were gathered from 146 teachers using an adopted and validated survey instrument based on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. Results revealed that administrators were perceived to demonstrate high levels of transformational (M = 4.41) and transactional leadership (M = 4.34), whereas laissez-faire leadership was rated moderate (M = 2.98). Significant differences emerged based on administrator gender, with female administrators receiving higher ratings in transformational and transactional leadership and lower ratings in laissez-faire behaviors (p < .001). Teaching experience also predicted significant variations in transformational leadership perceptions (p = .024), with more experienced teachers reporting higher transformational leadership and lower laissez-faire leadership. Meanwhile, no significant differences were found based on teacher gender. The findings underscore the importance of gender-responsive leadership development and the need for targeted administrative support for less experienced teachers. Insights from this study directly informed the creation of a School-Based Leadership Development Program aimed at strengthening effective leadership practices across the district.