A CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS IN IMPLEMENTING ISLAMIC STUDIES CURRICULUM

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to analyze the factors supporting the academic leadership of the administrators in implementing Islamic studies curriculum in primary schools under the jurisdiction of the Primary Educational Service Area Offices in the three southern border provinces. The population of this study was 255 State-run primary school administrators carrying out Islamic studies curriculum in academic year 2013. A Taro Yamane’ simple random method was used to draw a sample of 156 principals. The research method consists of 5 stages: (1) Review of literature and related documents; (2) Formulate a conceptual framework for research; (3) Develop and verify research instrument; (4) Collect data from the sample; and (5) Analyze data and present the results. The data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. The statistical analyses used included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, content analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis respectively.

                The findings of this research revealed that: (1) Academic leadership of administrators in implementing the Islamic studies curriculum in primary schools under the Primary Educational Service Area Offices in the three southern border provinces was at a high level ( = 4.40, S.D. = 0.46). (2) An academic leadership model of the administrators in implementing Islamic studies curriculum in primary schools under the Primary Educational Service Area Offices in the three southern border provinces was consistent with empirical data. There were three factorial areas identified in the model, namely, instructional management, academic management strategies, and supervision and evaluation of instructional activities. The model covered 13 variables with the chi-square values of 104.359, P-value of .001, df of 63, CMIN / df of 1.656, NFI of 917, CFI of .965, IFI of .965, and the RMSEA value of .065.