Transformational leadership of schools and the engagement of their students

© 2015 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. The aim of this research is to identify the relationship between the transformational leadership of schools and the engagement of their students. 331 teachers and 918 students aged between 9 and 17 from 15 schools pertaining to different sectors in the Basque Country and Catalonia participated. Transformational leadership is approached as one of the seven dimensions (institutional history, institutional culture, transformational leadership, collaborative culture, mission/vision, participative structures, and organizational learning) that make up the organizational development of schools, according to Goikoetxea's model (2001). Three components of engagement are compared (emotional, behavioural, and cognitive), and measured via an adapted and translated version of the Leadership, Organizational Learning and Students Outcomes (LOLSO) questionnaire, by Mulford, Silins and Leithwood (2004). The associated work cooperative shows evidence of transformational leadership and greater engagement of teachers and pupils than in state schools. The relationship between leadership and the dimensions of organizational learning and mission/vision are noteworthy. Moreover, the relationship between transformational leadership and identification with the educational centre is seen to be significant.