GAYA KEPIMPINAN JURULATIH YANG DIMINATI ATLET-ATLET SEKOLAH MENENGAH DI MALAYSIA BERASASKAN JANTINA

Abstract

This study aims to investigating the coaches’s leadership style favored by secondary school athletes in Malaysia based on gender. A total of 162 secondary school athletes aged between 13 and 16 years who had at least represented school in sports competitions and games were selected by purposive sampling. Questionnaire "Leadership Scale for Sport" (LSS) by Chelladurai and Saleh (1980) was used to identify the preferred leadership style of coaches at the secondary school level based on gender differences. The results showed secondary school male athletes was favored the positive feedback dimensions of leadership style (mean=4.16, SD=0.70), followed by the dimensions of training and instruction (mean=4.07, SD=0.57), the democratic dimension (mean=3.89, SD=0.64), dimensions of social support (mean=3.49, SD=0.72) and the least interest was the autocratic dimension of leadership (mean=2.68, SD=0.59). While secondary school female athletes was favored the positive feedback dimensions of leadership style (mean=4.03, SD=0.53), followed by the dimensions of training and instruction (mean=4.01, SD=0.63), the democratic dimension (mean=3.77, SD=0.65), dimensions of social support (mean=3.52, SD=0.74) and the least interest was the autocratic dimension of leadership (mean=2.60, SD=0.59). The independent t test showed a significant difference between the gender in the dimension style of positive feedback and autocratic, with p < .05. This research has revealed that positive feedback leadership style is preferred by the secondary school athletes based on gender and have indicated some recommendation and suggestions for further studies.