Exploration of Decision-making styles exercised by Heads of Secondary Schools in Punjab and the Effects of Gender on Decision-making

Oct 15, 2026

The study explores decision-making styles practiced by heads of secondary schools in Punjab and examines how gender affects those prevailing styles among head teachers in the Sahiwal division districts: Sahiwal, Okara, and Pakpattan. A survey using a purpose-built rating scale collected teachers’ opinions from a sample of 960 teachers. ANOVA and Chi-Square tested mean scores and variability, with p≤0.05 as significant. Findings show all styles—rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous—are used across genders, with no significant gender-specific differences.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Decision-making as an administrative ability

Decision-making as a multi-phase process

Significance of decision-making styles

Approaches and behavioral bases of styles

Bulletin of Education and Research August 2020, Vol. 42, No. 2 pp. 149-162 Exploration of Decision-making styles exercised by Heads of Secondary Schools in Punjab and the Effects of Gender on Decision-making Zia Ahmad Qamar * and Khalid Rashid ** Abstract The intent of the study was to explore the various decision-making styles practiced by the heads of secondary schools in Punjab and to examine the effects of gender on decision-making styles prevailing amongst the secondary school head teachers in the districts of Sahiwal division, viz. Sahiwal, Okara and Pakpattan. A survey based on the opinions of the teachers working under different decision-making styles was conducted through a rating scale devised for the purpose and was utilized over a sample of 960 teachers. ANOVA and Chi-Square were applied to measure mean score, standard deviation and p-value less or equal to .05 was considered as significant. It was found that all the decision-making styles like rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant and spontaneous were being practiced by the heads regardless any gender discrimination with minor difference. Not a single decision-making style was specific to gender. There was no significant difference in the head teachers’ use of decision-making style. Moreover, it was also found that rational decision-making style was the most opted style by both the genders. The only difference which subsists was that the ratio of rational decision-making style was slightly better among females. Therefore, the study recommends that the head teachers should contribute their preference to the rational decision-making style. Keywords: Decision-making styles, rational decision-making style * PhD Scholar, University of Lahore, Lahore. Email: [ziahmadqamar@gmail.com](ziahmadqamar@gmail.com) ** Assistant Professor, University of Lahore, [Lahore. Email:drkhalid545@gmail.com](Lahore. Email:drkhalid545@gmail.com) Introduction Management is considered as an art. The manager has to perform this act deliberately with the sense of an artist. Decision-making is important in all the institutions as well as in the schools. Griffith (2004) & Shahzad, Ali, Hukamdad, Ghazi, and Khan (2010) claims that decision-making is a basic quantity of all administrative abilities. These abilities are; making all the decisions at institutional level, interpersonal and the instructive. The ability of decision making refers to selection of a suitable alternate in the light of data acquired from others. The interpersonal ability of a head refers to build relations with all stakeholders of the institution. The instructive ability refers to exchange data to understand what is going on inside and outside the institutions (Cohen, Fink, Gadon, Willits, and Josefowitz, 1992) . The institutional achievements rely upon the nature of the decisions made by leaders (Robbins, Bergman, Stagg, & Coulter, 2009) . Decision-making is a process based on a few phases just as; "what to do and why"to address some specific objective (Nutt, 2008). A system of developing a last judgment from among the available choices is decision-making (Altunok, zpeynirct, Kazancoglu & Yilmaz, 2010; Donmez, Ugurlu and Comert, 2011). In the presence of any problem, the leader should resolve the issue by utilizing proper means. On the basis of findings of Oguz (2009), just resolving the issues is the sole technique to make a decision by school administration. In educational institutions the leaders every time require to take various actions to resolve the institutional problems. Dealing with decision making is the basic institutional requirement for a head. The process in which the best option is selected to achieve the institutional goals is decision making (Tat, et al. 2011). A best selection out of the two or more choices according to the criteria is a decision (Shahzad et al. 2010). Making the right decision is associated with the institutional head. A well reputed and an established organizatio

FAQs

What is the purpose of the study?

The study aims to identify the decision-making styles used by heads of secondary schools in Punjab and to examine the effect of gender on those styles.

How was data collected and analyzed?

Teachers’ opinions were gathered through a rating scale from a sample of 960 teachers. ANOVA and Chi-Square were used to assess mean scores and dispersion, with p≤0.05 considered significant.

Did the study find gender-specific decision-making styles?

No. All decision-making styles were practiced regardless of gender, and no decision-making style was specific to gender based on the reported results.

Oct 15, 2026

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