Relationship Between The Teacher's Leadership Style And The Students' Attitudes In The Educational Process

Abstract

Teacher leadership is increasingly recognised as a key dimension of the teaching–learning process in higher education, yet empirical research examining how different leadership orientations relate to students’ academic attitudes and developmental readiness remains limited. This study investigates the relationship between teacher leadership styles and students’ psychological and work-related maturity within a public higher education institution in the Mexican Caribbean. Using a quantitative, cross-sectional correlational design, data were collected from 13 university teachers and 239 undergraduate students enrolled in Administration and Civil Engineering programmes. Four purpose-designed instruments were administered to capture teachers’ leadership orientations and students’ perceptions of leadership, as well as students’ levels of academic maturity. Reliability and construct validity were established through statistical analyses using SPSS. The findings indicate that relationship-oriented leadership styles are significantly associated with higher levels of student psychological and work maturity, whereas predominantly task-oriented leadership shows weaker or negative associations with these outcomes. These relationships were consistent across academic programmes. The study contributes to higher education research by highlighting the importance of adaptive leadership behaviours in fostering student engagement and developmental readiness. Implications are discussed for professional development initiatives aimed at supporting university teachers in aligning their leadership approaches with students’ evolving academic needs.