International Journal of Educational Management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the nine-point strategic leadership characteristics of Malaysian Quality National Primary School Leaders (QNPSL) and to indicate the implications of these findings for the current educational management and leadership practices in their quest for Malaysian quality education.

Design/methodology/approach – The study selected 600 senior management team members from 150 schools to complete a seven-page questionnaire survey and eventually managed to collect back 420 completed survey questionnaires. The study employed SPSS 15.0 and a full-fledged Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) software Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) version 16.0 to confirm the dimensionality and the psychometric properties of the scale, as well as to test the research hypotheses.

Findings – Despite what Davies and Davies suggested, the results confirm that the Malaysian QNPSL do not possess three out of nine predetermined characteristics of a strategic leader such as wisdom, strategic intervention point and strategic competence which are pertinent for efficient and effective leadership in realizing the objectives of the National Education Master Plan.

Practical implications – The findings from the study provide useful information to senior management team members of the respective schools, District and State Education Departments in improving the quality of Malaysian education.

Originality/value – As this is the first research of its kind in Malaysia, the findings to a certain extent will be able to contribute to the efforts in achieving the accessibility, equity, quality and enhancement of management goals stipulated in the National Education Master Plan (2006-2010).