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Head Teachers’ Competency in Managing Change: A Study in the National-type Chinese Primary Schools in Perak, Malaysia

The increasing demands for accountability and excellence continuously challenge the roles of head teachers in the process of school change. To best lead change in school, effective change leadership is crucial as it is the key to any change initiatives. The study was to identify the level of competency in managing change (CIMC) of the head teachers in National-type Chinese Primary Schools (NCPS) in Perak, Malaysia, that included the change leadership technical competency (CLTC) and the change leadership emotional intelligence (CLEI). The analysis of the survey was performed based on the data of 875 respondents i.e. 50 head teachers, 144 senior assistants and 681 teachers. The findings revealed that, a) the head teachers of NCPS were rated as Quite Good in CIMC, CLTC and CLEI; b) the head teachers of NCPS achieved a higher mean score in CLEI than in CLTC and the difference was significant; c) in terms of sub-dimensions, the head teachers of NCPS were rated as Quite Good across all the four sub-dimensions of CLTC; and Good in Emotional Regulation and Emotional Utilization whereas Quite Good in Emotional Understanding and Emotional Perceiving and Expressing of CLEI. The study provided useful feedback in designing change management training programmes based on the distinct needs of the head teachers of NCPS. Besides, it offered the Ministry of Education and relevant parties another dimension of enhancing and enlarging head teachers’ capacity for change, particularly in advancing a more comprehensive analysis in exploring change leadership competency towards continuous school improvement and effectiveness.