ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
This study aimed to develop and validate a psychometric instrument to assess Principal Instructional Leadership, the Ulul Albab educational paradigm, and multidimensional Student Development Outcomes in Islamic-integrated secondary schools. Drawing from a theoretical framework encompassing eight leadership domains, three Ulul Albab epistemological dimensions (Quranic, Encyclopedic, and Ijtihadik), and nine student development constructs, the instrument was subjected to rigorous Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA). Data were collected using a 10-point Likert scale and analyzed via Principal Component Analysis with varimax rotation. Findings confirmed the robustness of all constructs, with Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) values exceeding 0.6, significant Bartlett’s Test results (p < 0.001), factor loadings above 0.60, and Cronbach’s Alpha values above 0.70 for all domains. Notably, no items were excluded during validation, affirming the instrument’s structural integrity and contextual relevance. The validated tool effectively measures leadership practices aligned with Islamic epistemology and offers a comprehensive framework for evaluating holistic student development. This study contributes both conceptually and methodologically to the scholarship on Islamic educational leadership and lays a foundation for future confirmatory analysis and educational policy implementation.
Akyeampong, K., & Bennell, P. (2017). Teacher motivation and incentives in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. DFID Research Series. https://www.gov.uk/dfid-research-outputs
Asariah, M. (2009). Educational leadership in Malaysia: Key factors and reform initiatives. Ministry of Education Malaysia.
Awang, Z. (2012). Structural equation modeling using AMOS graphic. UiTM Press.
Chik, C. T. C., & Abdullah, A. G. K. (2018). Statistical analysis for social science research. Penerbit UTM Press.
Dunteman, G. H. (1989). Principal components analysis. Sage Publications.
Field, A. (2006). Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Hallinger, P. (2010). Leadership for learning: Lessons from 40 years of empirical research. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(2), 125–142.
Hallinger, P., & Leithwood, K. (2011). Leadership and student learning outcomes. International Journal of Educational Management, 25(3), 218–233.
Hoque, K. E., Samad, A. S. A., Siraj, S., & Jalil, H. A. (2017). Instructional leadership and its relationship with the school climate. International Journal of Instruction, 10(1), 99–114.
Jeffri, N. M., Azlin Norhaini, M., & Aida Suraya, M. (2019). Principal instructional leadership and its effect on teachers’ commitment. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Management, 7(3), 28–47.
Lewis-Beck, M. S. (1994). Factor analysis and related techniques. Sage Publications.
Maulod, S. A., & Shafinaz, S. (2017). Leadership and student performance: The secondary school perspective. Journal of Educational Leadership and Management, 5(1), 35–49.
Murphy, J. (2016). Creating instructional capacity: Helping schools capitalize on the power of teacher learning. Corwin Press.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed.). Pearson.
Witziers, B., Bosker, R. J., & Kruger, M. L. (2003). Educational leadership and student achievement: The elusive search for an association. Educational Administration Quarterly, 39(3), 398–425.
Yahaya Don. (2005). Educational leadership: Concept and practice. PTS Publications.
Ismail, M. A., Embong, R., Ahmad, R. N. R., Chik, Z., Yusoff, Z. J. M., & Subaidi. (2026). Validating Islamic-Integrated Instructional Leadership: A Psychometric Evaluation of the Ulul Albab Paradigm and Student Development Outcomes. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 15(1), 713–728.
Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s)
Published by HRMARS (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode