Personal and School Factors, and the Mediating Role of School Engagement as Determinants of Student Leadership Skill: A Structural Equation Model

Abstract

Leadership is an important 21st Century skill, and it is imperative that schools
develop responsible and authentic student leaders primarily to equip them for future
employment. However, school programs that aimed to develop leadership
capacities are short-term, and often benefit students already elected as organization
officers. Using structural equation modeling procedures, this study explored
inherent personal and school factors, and the mediating role of school engagement
in developing leadership skill. The main objective of this analysis was to come up
with a student-leadership development model beneficial to all students. A total of
881 grades 9 and 10 students selected through probability and non-probability
sampling techniques in schools in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and
Pakistan comprised the total sample of the study. The result showed that among
personal and school factors, self-efficacy, sense of well-being, and school climate
had direct and indirect effects to leadership skills indicating a partial
mediation. With this, school climate had the largest total effect which suggests that
a positive school climate is the strongest predictor of leadership development
among students. Moreover, teacher quality achieved a full mediation to leadership
skill which implies that in producing leaders, the role of the teacher is to ensure that
students are engaged in school. The theoretical and practical implications of the
result are further discussed in the study.