A Bibliometric Comparative Study of Servant and Instructional Leadership and Their Influence on Teacher Motivation in Public and Private Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11594/ijmaber.06.09.27Keywords:
Servant Leadership, Instructional Leadership, Teacher Motivation, Educational Leadership, Public and Private Schools, Sustainable Development Goal 4, Bibliometric AnalysisAbstract
This study addresses the growing interest in how leadership styles affect teacher motivation, a critical factor in improving educational quality. Leadership plays a central role in shaping school culture, teacher engagement, and instructional outcomes. Among the many approaches, servant leadership and instructional leadership have gained prominence due to their focus on teacher well-being and performance. However, a comprehensive comparison of these styles in different school settings remains limited.
To explore this gap, the study analyzed 99 peer-reviewed documents indexed in a major academic database from 1993 to 2025. A bibliometric method was used to map key trends, influential authors, and major themes. Visual and quantitative tools were applied to identify connections among publications and topics related to leadership and motivation.
The results show that both servant and instructional leadership positively influence teacher motivation, though they operate through different mechanisms. Instructional leadership focuses on academic goals and teaching strategies, while servant leadership emphasizes trust, empathy, and support. Cultural and institutional contexts influence the effectiveness of each style.
The study concludes that combining relational and instructional leadership elements can enhance teacher motivation, especially when adapted to specific school environments. These findings offer practical guidance for school leaders and policymakers aiming to improve teacher satisfaction and performance. The study also contributes to the global goal of promoting inclusive and high-quality education by highlighting leadership as a key driver of teacher motivation in both public and private schools.
Downloads
References
Afshari M, Bakar KA, Luan WS, Samah BA, Fooi FS. Technology and school leadership. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 2009;18(2):235–248.
Amels J, Kneyber R, Suhre C, van Veen K. The effects of distributed leadership and in-quiry-based work on primary teachers’ capacity to change: Testing a model. School Effectiveness and School Improve-ment. 2020;31(1):21–40.
Bandura A. Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Eng-lewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; 1986.
Bass BM, Avolio BJ. Improving Organizational Effectiveness Through Transformational Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 1994.
Bass BM, Riggio RE. Transformational Leader-ship. 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erl-baum Associates; 2006.
Bass BM. Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press; 1985.
Blasé J, Blasé J. Effective instructional leader-ship: Teachers’ perspectives on how
principals promote teaching and learning in schools. Journal of Educational Admin-istration. 2000;38(2):130–141.
Bogler R, Caspi A, Roccas S. Transformational and passive leadership: An initial investi-gation of university instructors as leaders in a virtual learning environment. Educa-tional Management Administration & Leadership. 2013;41(3):372–392.
Bogler R. The influence of leadership style on teacher job satisfaction. Educational Ad-ministration Quarterly. 2001;37(5):662–683.
Bos E, Alen J, Frølich A, de Maeseneer J, Van Royen P, Légaré F. Factors associated with student learning processes in prima-ry health care units: A questionnaire study. Perspectives on Medical Education. 2015;4(4):179–186.
Burns JM. Leadership. New York: Harper & Row; 1978.
Deci EL, Ryan RM. Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Springer; 1985.
Dinham S, Scott C. A three-domain model of teacher and school executive career satis-faction. Journal of Educational Admin-istration. 1998;36(4):362–378.
Donthu N, Kumar S, Mukherjee D, Pandey N, Lim WM. How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research. 2021;133:285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.20 21.04.070
Eva N, Robin M, Sendjaya S, van Dierendonck D, Liden RC. Servant leadership: A sys-tematic review and call for future re-search. The Leadership Quarterly. 2019;30(1):111–132.
Eyal O, Roth G. Principals’ leadership and teachers’ motivation: Self- determination theory analysis. Journal of Educational Administration. 2011;49(3):256–275.
Greenleaf RK. Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. New York: Paulist Press; 1977.
Griffith J. Relation of principal transformation-al leadership to school staff job satisfac-tion, staff turnover, and school perfor-mance. Journal of Educational Admin-istration. 2004;42(3):333–356.
Hadijah N. The impact of leadership styles on teacher performance. Review of Interna-tional Journal of Law, Crime and Justice. In press. https://doi.org/10.59298/rijlcl/2024/ 411318
Kazimi AA, Khan S, Shorish I. Effect of servant leadership style on teachers’ job satisfac-tion. American Journal of Economics and Business Innovation. 2023;2(3). https://doi.org/10.54536/ajebi.v2i3. 1908
Leithwood K, Louis KS, Anderson S, Wahlstrom K. Review of Research: How Leadership In-fluences Student Learning. New York: Wallace Foundation; 2004. https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/Documents/How-Leadership-Influences-Student-Learning.pdf
Mahembe B, Engelbrecht AS. The relationship between servant leadership, organisa-tional citizenship behaviour and team ef-fectiveness. SA Journal of Industrial Psy-chology. 2014;40(1):1–10.
Marks HM, Printy SM. Principal leadership and school performance: An integration of transformational and instructional lead-ership. Educational Administration Quar-terly. 2003;39(3):370–397.
Massry-Herzallah A, Arar K. Gender, school leadership and teachers’ motivations: The key role of culture, gender and motivation in the Arab education system. Leadership and Policy in Schools. 2019;18(3):389–405.
Naile I, Selesho JM. The role of leadership in employee motivation. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. 2014;5(3):175–182.
Robinson VMJ, Lloyd CA, Rowe KJ. The impact of leadership on student outcomes: An analysis of the differential effects of lead-ership types. Educational Administration Quarterly. 2008;44(5):635–674.
Ryan RM, Deci EL. Intrinsic and extrinsic moti-vation from a self- determination theory perspective: Definitions, theory, practic-es, and future directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 2020;61:101860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.202 0.101860
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mhara Sandoval
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access).
