Strategic and Distributed Leadership as Complementary Predictors of Holistic School Performance: Evidence from a Geographically Dispersed Small-Island Education System

This study examines how Strategic Leadership Practices (SLP) and Distributed Leadership Practices (DLP) jointly relate to School Performance (SP) in Maldivian secondary schools. It addresses a gap in understanding how these two forms of leadership operate together in a non-Western, geographically dispersed education system, and it treats geographic dispersion and cultural collectivism as boundary conditions that may shape how leadership works. A cross-sectional survey was completed by 372 leadership personnel from 185 schools across all 20 atolls, representing 94.87% of eligible institutions. Data were analysed using a two-step structural equation modelling (SEM) approach in IBM AMOS. Common method bias was assessed using Harman's single-factor test and an unmeasured latent method factor. The measurement model showed acceptable fit (CFI = .944; TLI = .932; IFI = .944; RMSEA = .074), although the chi-square/df ratio (3.031) slightly exceeded the stricter threshold of 3.0. Both SLP (β = .323) and DLP (β = .413) significantly predicted school performance (p < .001), together explaining 28% of the variance. Both coefficients represent weak-to-moderate direct effects, which is consistent with the largely indirect way in which leadership influences school outcomes. Although the DLP coefficient was numerically larger, a Wald test showed that the difference between the two paths was not statistically significant (p = .234). The study contributes an integrated leadership model for a small-island developing context and shows how the Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, and Values (KSAV) policy framework used in the Maldivian curriculum can be examined empirically using SEM.