Transformational Teaching Matters: Lecturer Leadership Styles and Student Satisfaction in Malaysian Higher Education

Abstract

Student satisfaction is a key indicator of teaching quality and institutional performance in higher education. As lecturers function as leaders within the classroom, their leadership behaviours significantly influence students’ learning experiences and perceptions of academic quality. This study examines the influence of transformational, transactional, and task-oriented leadership styles on student satisfaction among undergraduates at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP). Guided by Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997) and transformational leadership principles, this research employed a quantitative cross-sectional design. A structured questionnaire adapted from established scales was distributed to 370 students. Cronbach’s alpha values ranged from 0.774 to 0.853, indicating acceptable to excellent reliability. Results show that transformational leadership is the strongest predictor of student satisfaction, followed by transactional leadership with a moderate effect, while task-oriented leadership exhibits weak effects. The findings highlight the need for universities to strengthen transformational teaching practices to enhance student satisfaction. Practical implications and recommendations for leadership development among lecturers are provided.