Article info.

ABSTRACT

Received 03 Feb 2017
Revised 24 Mar 2017

Accepted 31 Oct 2017

Significant reforms are currently underway in Vietnamese higher education since it is in the phase of transformation to improve the higher education system. In implementing higher education reforms, leaders play a key role. This paper reports on phase one of a multi-method research: a quantitative approach using the multifactor leadership questionnaire to investigate the Vietnamese higher education leaders’ leadership styles (i.e., transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership) to support the quality improvement in Vietnamese higher education. The multifactor leadership questionnaire was administered to 190 senior managers in nine State institutions in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The psychometrics of the multifactor leadership questionnaire for the Vietnamese sample confirmed the reliability and validity of the instrument with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.78. A principal component analysis was conducted, and all factor structures were stable and consistent. The findings from the multivariate analysis of variance showed that the leadership styles of Vietnamese higher education leaders were significantly different based on the educational background, but not on their gender. The descriptive statistics analysis on the demographic items indicated a trend that transformational and transactional leadership were more preferable than laissez-faire leadership in higher education leaders’ performance.

Keywords

College, laissez-faire, leadership, transformational, transactional, university

Cited as: Thu, P.D.X, Pillay, H. and Mergler, A., 2017. Leadership styles of Vietnamese higher education leaders: Transformational, transac-tional, or laissez-faire. Can Tho University Journal of Science. 7: 126-137.