Differential Contributions of School-Based Management Dimensions to Principals' Effectiveness: PLS‒SEM Evidence from Cambodian Public High Schools
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: School-based management (SBM) is a central mechanism of education decentralization, yet its component dimensions may not contribute equally to effective school leadership. This study examines the differential relationships of five SBM dimensions—administrative management (ADM), stakeholder participation (STP), school leadership and governance (SLG), accountability (ACT), and resource mobilization and management (RMM)—with teacher-rated principal effectiveness (PE) in Cambodian public high schools. Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey of 387 teachers across six public high schools. A 35-indicator reflective measurement model was evaluated using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in SmartPLS 4. The final measurement model showed satisfactory indicator reliability, with outer loadings ranging from .665 to .912 and all but one indicator exceeding .708. The internal consistency was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha = .863–.952; rho_A = .884–.985; rho_C = .900–.958), convergent validity was supported (AVE = .645–.751), and discriminant validity was established (HTMT = .062–.540). Inner VIF values ranged from 1.033 to 1.523. The structural model explained 20.7% of the variance in principals' effectiveness (R² = .207). RMM showed the strongest positive direct relationship with PE (β = .197, p = .003), followed by SLG (β = .179, p = .001) and ADM (β = .165, p = .009); ACT (β = .031, p = .613) and STP (β = .059, p = .382) were not statistically significant. Model-fit diagnostics were favorable (SRMR = .037; d_ULS = .880; d_G = .539), with the discrepancy measures below their 95% bootstrap quantiles. Compared with the linear-model benchmark, PLSpredict produced positive Q²predict values for all ten PE indicators (.066–.203), with lower RMSE and MAE values across all the indicators. Similarly, compared with the linear model, the CVPAT showed significantly lower PLS-SEM prediction loss for all the PE indicators. Importance–performance map analysis identified SLG as the highest-importance SBM dimension. The findings support a differentiated view of SBM in which resource management, governance, and administrative management are the most evident direct organizational correlates of principals' effectiveness.
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7214715004