Leadership Competency of an Island School Principals in Sabah

Abstract

The capability in managing school effectively and efficiently among school principals is always concern in education management. This study aims to identify the leadership competency and implementation practices of a principal of a school in a Sabah island. This qualitative study uses the case study approach. The respondents for this research are principals, administrative senior assistant and teachers. Data collection processes consist of interview, observation and document analysis. The data is processed and analysed using ATLAS.ti 8 software. The findings show that the principal of this island school need to possess leadership competencies in terms of knowledge, skills and behaviour in performing his duty efficiently and effectively, whether focusing on leading the school, teacher teaching, or operational aspects. In short, the leadership competencies of the school principal are very important in ensuring that the management and leadership of the school is always well-planned and systematic, and able to keep up with the current changes in the context of global education.