Transformational Leadership Behavior and Organizational Commitment of Meranaw Deans and Teachers in Teacher Education Institutions

Educational institutions in Mindanao play a vital role in the crafting of good governance and effective leadership. Ever since education is a powerful force in moulding the character and values of future leaders to become productive citizens of the nation and blaze the path to enduring peace and unity, and progress. With this, the researcher was driven to investigate whether transformational leadership behaviors and organizational commitment are evident among the deans and teachers in Teachers Education Institutions in Lanao del Sur, Philippines. Descriptivecorrelational survey method was employed in the study. There were 23 Meranaw deans and 189 teachers who participated in the study. Modified Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and Organizational Commitment Questionnaire were the instruments used. The data gathered were analyzed and interpreted. The findings revealed that both the deans and the teachershave moderately high level of organizational commitment. Based on the deans' self-rating, there is significant relationship between the following elements: (1) affective commitment to intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration; (2) continuance commitment to intellectual stimulation; and (3) normative commitment to idealized influence and inspirational motivation. However, on the teachers' rating regarding the deans' transformational leadership shows a significant relationship between their transformational leadership behavior and teachers' organizational commitment. This concludes that the leadership behavior of deans can positively influence the organizational commitment of teachers.


Introduction
As Muslim Mindanao stands on the threshold of a new order with the upcoming installation of the Bangsamoro Government, all stakeholders in that future await its dawn with mixed emotions: hope and excitement mingling with uncertainty and fear.The people of Mindanao, specifically the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), are mulling with some agitation over the type of governance that would replace the current governance of the ARMM.
The new structure, policies, and other facets of the new order under the framework agreement of the Bangsamoro Government, the Bansamoro Basic Law (BBL) requires more orientation for the people involved in various provinces of the ARMM in preparation for the plebiscite that will be conducted prior to the BBL implementation to ensure informed decision.It is a disconcertingly new world that Muslim Mindanao will be entering, hence, the critical need for a thoughtful preparation and proper mind set.The role of academe in seeing this crucial exercise through to its destined beginning or end is vital.As a leading state apparatus, citadel of critical thought and catalyst of change, the education sector is expected to be the vanguard in designing an awareness-heightening campaign on the unique form of governance under which the region shall be placed.
Educational institutions in Mindanao play a vital role in the crafting of good governance and effective leadership.Educational leaders have a great responsibility to provide assistance to the Filipino Muslims to carve out their destiny, take the road to selfdetermination, create their own identity, and develop self-discipline that would eventually lead to understanding themselves and their relationship with others.Education is a powerful force in moulding the character and values of future leaders to become productive citizens of the nation and blaze the path to enduring peace and unity, and progress.Moreover, the emergence of quality demands of ASEAN community by 2015 reiterates the standards or quality of education offered by Higher Education Institutions.This ASEAN community will open up opportunities for graduates of Philippine Higher Education Institutions, or may threaten their employment even in their own country if competencies were not meet.It is stipulated in Article 1, section 5 of CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No.46, s. 2012 (Policy, Standard to Enhance Quality Assurance (QA) in Philippines Higher Education through Outcome-Based and Typology Based QA).Under the impulsion of this challenge, the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the ARMM are compelled to set benchmarks and raise the bar of quality standards, learning and outcomes to compete globally.Developing a culture of quality is the transformational dimension of the Commission of Higher Education (CHED) idea of quality.It recognized as a major key that will enable HEIs to achieve their Vision, Mission, and Goals (VMGs) is their institutional quality assurance systems which they could establish following the Institutional Sustainability Assessment (ISA) framework.
At this crossroads, as the country's education sector primes itself for the "journey of a thousand miles," that is, the transformation of society, transformational leadership comes to the fore as an essential that higher education must emphasize so that adaptive measures can be completed to meet the constantly changing economic and academic environment.In a time of a leap, major change or shift, a leader with a vision is needed to guide an organization in negotiating the rough passage to the target goal.Leaders in higher education institutions in these times are needed to transform institution into autonomous, collaborative, forward looking and advanced thinking organizations, open to innovation that can hold up to change and generate a high performing learning environment for students and teachers.Moreover, transformational leadership influence the teachers' performance like their commitment not only to their profession and but to the institution of which they are involved in.According to Abdul Kadir (2010), committed teachers should receive maximum attention especially in times of rapid changes in education.When committed teachers refrain from the institution, the implications would be harmful to the education system.
Against the backdrop depicted above, the researcher was driven to investigate whether transformational leadership behaviours are evident among the Meranaw Deans of Teachers Education Institutions (TEIs) in Lanaodel Sur and bring under critical scrutiny their organizational commitment as well as that of the teachers directly under their supervision.The inquiry is anchored on the assumption that transformational leadership and organizational commitment leverage and impact the implementation of Outcome-Based Education.Hence, the findings of this study may give insights into the leadership behaviour of the school administrators in managing higher education institution and may eventually enhance their competencies, enabling them to initiate meaningful change in the educational system of the region.

Theoretical Framework
This study is grounded in theories and principles that explain transformational leadership and organizational commitment, namely: Transformational Leadership of Burns, Transactional Leadership of Weber, Behavioural Leadership of Blake and Mouton, Principles of Islamic leadership and organizational commitment of Allen and Meyer.This discussion hopes to enhance understanding of the theoretical, principles and concepts underpinning the investigation.
To begin with, the Transformational leadershipwas first introduced in 1978 by James McGregor Burns, a well-known scholar in the area of leader-follower relations.The theory was elaborated in his descriptive research on political leaders, but the term "transformational leader" is now used in organizational psychology as well (Bass &Riggio, 2006).According to Burns there are two types of leaders in management namely transactional leader who is a traditional manager that deals with the day-to-day operations and a transformational leader a manager who is committed, has a vision, and is able to empower others with this vision.The mutual vision serves as the energy to move the organization toward the envisioned future.
The Transactional style of leadership which was first introduced by Max Weber in 1947 and then by Bernard Bass in 1981.This style is most often used by the managers.It focuses on the fundamental management procedure of controlling, organizing, and shortterm planning, and on interpersonal interactions between managers and employees.Leaders are seen as attractive in behaviors that maintain a quality relation between themselves and their employees.
Another theory is the Behavioural theory of leadershipof Blake, R. R. and Mouton, J.S. (1964).They focus on the study of specific behaviours of a leader.For behavioral theorists, a leader behavior is best described on his leadership influences and as a result, is the best indicator of his leadership success.This behavior-focused approach provides authentic potential, as behaviors can be habituated in a way that one can have a precise answer to definite stimuli (Doyle et al, 2001).
On other hand, principles of Islamic leadership of necessity have their place in this study as this is undertaken in a predominantly Muslim area.Islam as a system and a way of life provides the most comprehensive understanding of leadership through its highly developed and modern ethical system that seeks inspired wisdom and guidance from the Holy Qur'an and very deeds and sayings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) who, in the Islamic world, is upheld as the exemplar or epitome of a visionary leader.Islamic leadership principles are also primarily derived from the wise Caliphs and pious followers.
According to the research conducted by Adnan Aabed (2006), in Islam, there two main roles of leadership based on the Shari'ah these are servant-leader role and guardian-leader role.Leadership principles and character comprise the Islamic leadership principles like leadership in Islam is embedded in the belief and wholehearted submission to the Creator, Allah; leaders have to endow with direction (a vision) to their organization; leaders should be in touch their visualization to others in waysintended to produce strong commitment needed to serve as a support to achieve the desired goals; leaders have a keyresponsibility in creating and maintaining the culture of the organization (Jabnoun, 1994) and; Effective Islamic Leaders should have some leadership qualities such as conviction, justice, sacrifice, eloquence, sound decision -making, etc.
As noteworthy for purposes of this study is a governance and leadership principle and practice that Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) modelled.Consensus and consultation 'kapmomosawira' are cardinal principles in Islam; the latter is shura in Arabic.The Holy Prophet (s.a.w.) himself felt bound to honor consensus and to consult the sahabahand leaders of the community before arriving at a decision, even against his better judgment.In relation to the above mentioned leadership theories and principles of Islamic leadership, organizational commitment serves as the dependent variable of the study.Thus, there is a need to understand the nature of this idea.
According to Aaron Cohen (2003), Organizational commitment is defined as an employee's sense of affection and faithfulness to the work organization with which the employee is connected.It is defined in terms of an employee's attitudes and intentions.Employees are said to be devoted to the organization when their goals are similar with those of the organization, when they are eager to exert effort on behalf of the organization, and when they wish to uphold their relation with the organization.Naturally, organizational commitment has been revealed to be a prime determinant of other important attitudes and behaviours, including those associated to performance and returns.
In addition, Meyer and Allen (2007) originally viewed organizational commitment as twodimensional namely, affective and continuance.They defined the first dimension, which is the affective commitment as "positive feelings of identification with, attachment to, and involvement in, the work organization", and they defined the second dimension, the continuance commitment as "the extent which employees feel committed to their organisation by virtue of the costs that they feel are associated with leaving".After further research, Allen and Meyer (2007) added a third dimension, which is the normative commitment in which it defined as "the employee's feelings of obligation to remain with the organization".Subsequently, the theory organizational commitment is described as a tri-dimensional concept, categorized by the affective, continuance and normative dimensions (Allen& Meyer, 2007)

Objectives
The study explore the profile of Meranaw deans and teachers of Teacher Education Institutions (TEI's); identify the transformational leadership behaviour exhibited among Meranaw deans and the teachers' perception on their transformational leadership behavior?; determine the level of organizational commitment of Meranaw deans and teachers; and to investigate the relationship between teachers' perceive transformational leadership behavior of Meranao deans relative to their own organizational commitment?

Related Literature and Studies
A logical extension to an integrative approach is the development of transformational leadership.Transformational leadership produces changes in both the leader as well as the follower (Burns, 1978cited by Saxe, 2011).Transformational leadership enhances the motivation, morale, and performance of followers through a variety of mechanisms.These include connecting the follower's sense of identity and self to the project (in this case, Outcomes-Based Education) and the collective identity of the organization; being a role model for followers that inspires them and makes them interested; challenging followers to take greater ownership for their work, and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of followers, so the leader can align followers with tasks that enhance their performance.Hence, education leaders must become transformation leaders to push changes through their systems.
In transformational leadership, people are motivated by respect, loyalty and admiration toward their leader.The behavior of a transformational leader is rooted in a strongly held value system.These values are non-negotiable and as such are considered to be "end values" (Burns, 1978 cited by Enanny et al., 2009).By holding strongly to their beliefs and values, such leaders inspire and are able to unite their followers to adopt these values.Bass and Avolio (1994) as cited by Enanny et al., (2009) indicate that transformational leaders achieve exceptional results by employing one or more of the "Four I's": idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.
• Idealized influence applies to a leader who acts as a role model for the followers because he/she is doing the right thing.As a role model, the leader inspires respect, admiration and trust.He earns these by considering others' needs ahead of his own, sharing risks with followers, being consistent rather than arbitrary, and demonstrating ethical and moral conduct.

•
Inspirational motivation is attributed to a leader who is able to inspire and motivate the followers to share the vision of the organization and willingly participate in the effort to achieve the organization's goals.This kind of leader inspires by giving meaning and challenge to followers' work; a team spirit is developed.Leader behaviors that contribute to this include involving others in visionary activities, clearly communicating expectations, and demonstrating commitment to shared foals and vision.• Intellectual stimulation simply refers to the ability of the leader to stimulate others to be innovative and creative.The leader succeeds in making the followers think and be creative by soliciting new ideas from them, not publicly criticizing followers' mistakes, and encouraging others to try other approaches.
• Individual consideration involves caring about the individual needs of the followers.A transformational leader attends to individual needs for achievement and growth by acting as a mentor or coach.Leadership behaviors that promote individualized consideration include accepting individual differences and supervising according to individual needs, encouraging two-way communication, listening, and delegating.

Transformational Leadership from Islamic Perspective
Transformational leadership is rooted in a strongly held value system.These values are non-negotiable and thus are considered to be "end values" (Burns, 1978 cited by Enanny et al., 2009).Dimensions of Islamic leadership can be identified with some of the dimensions of transforming leadership as given by Leithwood et al., (1999)

Organizational Commitment Model
Meyer and Allen (1997) use the tri-dimensional model to conceptualise organizational commitment in three dimensions namely: affective, continuance and normative commitments.These dimensions describe the different ways of organizational commitment development and the implications for employees' behavior.

• Affective commitment dimension
The first dimension of organisational commitment in the model is affective commitment, which represents the individual's emotional attachment to the organization.According to Meyer and Allen (1997), affective commitment is "the employee's emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organisation".Organizational members, who are committed to an organization on an affective basis, continue working for the organization because they want to stay (Meyer & Allen, 1991).Members who are committed on an affective level stay with the organization because they view their personal employment relationship as congruent with the goals and values of the organisation (Beck & Wilson, 2000).

• Continuance commitment dimension
The second dimension of the tri-dimensional model of organizational commitment is continuance commitment.Meyer and Allen (1997) define continuance commitment as "awareness of the costs associated with leaving the organization".It is calculative in nature because of the individual's perception or weighing of costs and risks associated with leaving the current organisation (Meyer & Allen, 1997).Meyer and Allen (1991), state that "employees whose primary link to the organization is based on continuance commitment remain because they need to do so".This indicates the difference between continuance and affective commitment.The latter entails that individual's stay in the organisation because they want to, by reason of allegiance and attachment.

• Normative commitment dimension
The last dimension of the organizational commitment model is normative commitment.Meyer and Allen (1997) define normative commitment as "a feeling of obligation to continue employment".Internalised normative beliefs of duty and obligation make individuals obliged to sustain membership in the organization (Allen & Meyer, 1990).According to Meyer and Allen (1991) "employees with normative commitment feel that they ought to remain with the organization".In terms of the normative dimension, the employees stay because they should do so or it is the proper thing to do.

Methodology
The study used the descriptive-correlation research design and adapted two (2) instruments such as the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) Form 5X Short of Bass (1997) and the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ) of Meyer & Allen (2007).All of these were validated and pilot tested.The reliability estimates using cronbach's alpha were calculated.A value of .984while the latter has value of .900showed a very high level of internal consistency reliability value which means the instruments were considered field-worthy.The statistical treatments used were the Frequency and Percentage Distribution, Mean, Standard Deviation, Cramer's V Coefficient, the Mann-Whitney U Test, and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).

Results and Discussion
Based on the statistical analyses performed on the data gathered, the following findings were generated:   3 displaysthe Meranaw deans' self-assessment of transformational leadership behaviour.They reported positive perception towards all the indicators of transformational leadership behavior.Given the average mean of 3.39 and standard deviation of 0.698, said behavior proved to be frequently, if not always manifest as discernible idealized influence behaviour which ranked 1; frequently, if not always exemplified as Individualized consideration (am=3.31,sd=0.752); and intellectual stimulationbehavior (am=3.31,sd=0.699)shared the same ranked as no.2; and frequently, if not always expressed as inspirational motivation to their subordinates, indicating an average mean of 3.273 and standard deviation of 0.724, respectively.Overall, the average mean is computed as 3.20 with a standard deviation of 0.718, which indicates that the Meranaw deans frequently, if not always, observe the idealized influence of elements in transformational leadership behavior probably because they are committed to the missions and goals of theinstitution as reflected in one of its indicators.Clearly, this is a commendable confirmation that deans of TEIs in Lanaodel Sur are seen to be committed and dedicated leaders with profound piety towards Allah (s.w.t.).According to Sergiovanni (2000) as cited by Saxe (2011), transformational leaders nurture harmony and commitment toward aims of the organization.This will achieve through the cooperation and motivation of teachers and others to work toward shared goals.The transformational leader has an ability to let the members to participate in various activities or programs to attain the desired goals and objectives of the institution through role modeling because his disposition and commitment are influential.4 shows teachers' perspective on transformational leadership behaviour of Meranawdeans, the data illustrates that they fairlyoften experienced all the elements of transformational leadership behaviour as executed by the deans, specifically,individualized consideration (am=2.86,sd=0.988); received inspirational motivation (am=2.85,sd=0.956);idealizedinfluence (am=2.84,sd=0.899); and received intellectual stimulation (am=2.81,sd =0.943).
The perceptions of evaluative judgments of teachers on the indicators of transformational leadership behaviors were all found as fairly often evident.On average, the Meranaw deans (am=2.84,sd=0.946)fairly often observe the practice or principle of individualized consideration like they deliversufficient information and inspire teachers towards excellence which is a positive indicators of being a transformational leader.They, as transformational leaders, consider the individual necessities and recognize individual differences; they serve as mentor or coach, to borrow the term of Bass and Avolio (1994).On the level of organizational commitment of Meranaw deans, their commitment is moderately high evident in all aspects, namely: normative commitment (am=3.06,sd=0.786),affective commitment (am=2.90,sd=0.815), and continuance commitment posting an average mean of *1.27 and standard deviation of *1.09 as presented in Table 3 above.This implies that the deans admitted the feeling of obligation to continue employment in the institution as described in the normative dimension which ranked 1.As they confidently affirm, their organization inspires the very best in them in the way of job performance as revealed in the indicators of the said dimension.This is enough reason for sustaining their membership and staying with the institution.It is said that normative committed employee considers it upright to remain in the organization, despite of incentives and benefits the organization will provide him for over the years.Hence, the Islamic perspective is at work here.Muslims are commanded to strive to improve their character and to excel in what they are doing, which is one of the fundamental principles in Islam.The Qur'an exhorts every faithful: "Do not forget your portion in this world" (28:77).Thus, educational leaders like deans and principals are expected to shoulder responsibility for their particular sphere of influence.Muslims must implement Islam by materializing it in their community's (organization's) polity and economy.No real Muslim can claim to be a true Muslim by merely professing his faith.Islam is an eminently practical religion, a comprehensive code of life; it must be brought to life by being lived.beyond what is expected of them to achieve to help the organization.This is basically because they greatly value so much their role in the organization, which has nurtured them and brought out the best in them.It is but fitting and proper that they feel sincere care for the organization and see their fate as bound up with that of the organization.Given this kind of attitude or orientation implies that the raters can become responsible transformational leaders.According to McDonald & Makin (2000) in their discussion of the commonresponsibility concept, a person enjoying compensations from his organization is more likely to repay the remunerations in many forms.As shown in Table 7, there is a significant relationship between the teachers' perspective on their organizational commitment in terms of affective, continuance and normative commitment with aspects of transformational leadership behavior of Meranaw deans in the aspects of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration.This confirms that deans' leadership behavior has great impact on the commitment of teachers in the institution.

Conclusions
In conclusion, sustainability of this particular leadership, especially in a time of rapid and prodigious change and the enormous pressures these create, is highly essential in order to uplift the performance of the institution and continuously attain its aims.According to the Islamic principles, leaders have a role of sustaining the organization over the long-term like the Prophet (s.a.w.) who succeeded to defend the sustainability of the Islamic state for many years by achieving continuous cooperation between the Ansar (Madinan hosts) and the Muhajirun (newcomers) and protected the Muslims from troublemakers and hypocrites.Giving satisfaction is a task that leaders use to motivate followers to make greater sacrifices (Aabed, 2006).Transformational leadership is an attribute of a Muslim leader.Generally, the Teachers Education Institutions (TEIs) are in good hands.The transformational leadership qualities or behaviors evident among the deans and the extent of their teachers' organizational commitment bespeak a positive, healthy organizational climate.Communication and decision-making patterns and relationships are inclined in the direction of participatory democracy which is buttressed, if not underpinned by the Islamic ideal of leadership by consultation (shura).There is ample space in this kind of organizational culture for expression of ideas and opinions and for self-growth.Furthermore, the leadership behavior of deans has a great contribution in strengthening the commitment of teachers.

Recommendations
Taking cognizance of the findings and conclusion, the researcher saw fit to advance the following recommendations for stakeholders in the teacher education enterprise to seriously consider for adoption, if not in toto, at least is parts: 1.The school administrators serve as role model to others in the institution.2. The Human Resource Development Personnel Office should design a continuing and constantly upgraded program to enhance the needed 21st century skills and competencies for today's educational leaders to enable them to be more creative and imaginative in playing their roles, and productive in their respective institutions.3. Teachers should always bear in mind the true spirit of their profession, whatever the management perspective and supervisory practices of their superiors.4. Various organizations may use the findings of this study as baseline data and guide to conduct an assessment and establish a program informed by the leadership behavior and commitment of leaders to any organization to create a positive organizational climate and uplift the organization's performance.5. Students as the center of efforts of the stakeholders in education should perform their duties and responsibilities as the school heads and their teachers do in order to excel academically 6. Future researchers interested in conducting similar studies are encouraged to: 6.1 Use a qualitative research design to gain a better understanding of how the Meranao deans as well as the teachers pronounce themselves as transformational leaders and what may be identified as concrete evidences of teachers' commitment to the institution.6.2 Consider other variables like Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) Performance.6.3 Explore other dimensions of transformational leadership such as religious orientation that may contribute to the improvement of the educational system especially in the ARMM region.6.4 Search for factors that affect the organizational commitment of Meranao employees; 6.5 Comparative studies, for example, between management-leadership perspectives and styles of private and public TEIs.6.6 Case studies focused on high-performing school administrators and their "best practices" in the specific fields of communication, decision making, planning, management, etc.
Cheong (2009)g (2009).These are "identifying and articulating a vision; fostering the acceptance of group goals; high performance expectations; and providing individual support".The vision articulated by the Prophet (s.a.w.) to his followers is a vision of a universal society built on the principles of justice ("O believers!Stand firm for justice and bear true witness for the sake of God" [4:135]; tolerance ("We have made you a moderate nation" [2:143]; and mercy ("We have not sent you except as a mercy to mankind") [21:107].One oftquoted tradition has Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) emphatically reminding his companions as they return home from a battle: "We are returning from the lesser jihad (the battle) to the greater jihad."The Prophet was referring to jihad al akhbar, the far more urgent and momentous task of destroying evil from one's heart and one's society.

Table 1 . Summary Profile of Meranaw deans
To quote the inscription posted by former US President Harry Truman on the door to the Oval Office: "The buck stops here."However,some of them need toobserve qualification standards, specifically the minimum required educational attainment for deanship, as prescribed by the Commission of Higher Education Institutions (CHED) Memorandum OrderNo.52,s.2007.Individuals aspiring for a niche position in the hierarchy of authority, particularly the deanship, are driven to pursue doctoral degrees in education or related field.They, moreover, realize the crucial role played by school administrators not only in the development of the institution they lead but also in the overall performance or achievement of the institutions' faculty and students.As revealed in Table2, majority (73.02%) or 138 out of 189 teachers of TEIs are females; most (48.15%) or 91 of them finished their bachelor's degree as their highest educational attainment and; 117 or 61.9% of them are in contractual as their appointment status.This implies that school administrators should encourage their teachers to pursue graduate studies so that they could comply with the minimum requirements for educational qualification of teachers in the tertiary level.As set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), college faculty must have at least a master's degree in the field which they teach.This is stipulated in CHED Memo.Order No.40, s. 2008 (Manual of Regulation for Private Higher Education).

Table 6 Organizational Commitment of Teachers Organizational Commitment Mean Std. Deviation Qualitative Description Rank
Similar to the teachers' level of organizational commitment, their commitment is also moderately highwhich manifest in all aspects, specifically normative commitment (m=2.84,sd=1.01),affectivecommitment(m=2.68,sd=1.05),andcontinuance commitment (m=1.36*,sd=1.18*).As illustrated in Table4.It is gleaned from the assessment that the teachers have moderately high level normative commitment (am=2.84;sd=1.01), which ranked 1.This result is mostly represented by the indicator that they are willing to exert efforts