A Comparative Analysis of the Leadership Practices of the Principals of Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas in Kerala, India

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceived leadership practices using the Kouzes and Posner Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI-Observer) between the principals of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalayas in the state of Kerala, India. In this quantitative survey study, all the postgraduate teachers (PGTs) of five Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNV) and five Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) filled up the LPI-Observer. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, and rank ordering.

This study established that the leadership practices of the principals of JNV and KV differ significantly. Also, the leadership practices of the principals of both JNV and KV are significantly different from that of the other leaders in the world. The rank order of the leadership practices of the principals of both JNV and KV and that of the other leaders in the world differ. Principals of KV are found to outperform the principals of JNV and other leaders in the world in their frequent engagement in the leadership practice of Challenging the Process. The leadership practice Modeling the Way stands second in rank order in the data of JNV, KV, and other leaders in the world.