Using teacher surveys and child assessments from 60 Vietnamese preschools, this study examines how leadership is associated with teachers’ sense of efficacy and children’s holistic development within Viet Nam’s highly centralised education system. Data were drawn from two cross-sectional baseline waves (pre-intervention) of a cluster-randomised controlled trial. Teachers (n=224) rated principals’ transformational and transactional leadership using adapted scales (Global Transformational Leadership Scale; Leader Transactional Behaviour Items) and reported efficacy via an adapted Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale across classroom management, instructional strategies, and student engagement. Children (n=360) were assessed with the East Asia–Pacific Early Childhood Development Scales (EAP-ECDS). Structural equation modelling showed that transformational leadership was positively associated with children's development outcomes, as well as with all three efficacy domains, strongest for instructional strategies, followed by student engagement and classroom management. Transactional leadership showed no significant associations with child outcomes or teacher efficacy. Teacher efficacy domains did not significantly predict EAP-ECDS scores, and indirect pathways from leadership to child development via efficacy were unsupported. The findings suggest that any leadership influence on children’s development may operate through practice-proximal mechanisms that strengthen teaching (e.g. coaching, instructional routines, and collective capacity) rather than through efficacy beliefs alone. Policy and management implications include embedding transformational leadership dimensions in leadership standards and appraisal, aligning principal development and teacher continuous professional development around instructional improvement, and investing in school-based support systems that directly shape classroom practice.

Authors:
Nhu Do, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam
Lam Bui, Hanoi National University of Education, Vietnam
Duy Nguyen, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam
Greeni Maheshwari, RMIT University Vietnam, Vietnam

About the Presenter(s)
Dr Nhu Thi Huong Do is currently Lecturer in Management & Change, The Business School, RMIT University Vietnam.

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/huongnhudothi/

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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