Identifying and analyzing the factors affecting the intelligent leadership of school principals using exploratory factor analysis

Management and leadership in education as one of the pillars of the educational system is of great importance. However, the old leadership styles are no longer responsive to the chaotic environment ahead, so the purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the factors affecting the intelligent leadership of school principals. This study is a mixed method research (qualitative-quantitative). The statistical population in the qualitative section is made up of university experts in the field of educational management and school principals, 23 people of whom were selected using the snowball sampling method. The statistical population in the quantitative section consists of 192 school principals of Ilam county,128 of whom were selected using simple random sampling method and based on Cochran's formula. The data collection tool in the qualitative part is interview and in the quantitative part, the researcher-made questionnaire on factors affecting the intelligent leadership of school principals with 66 items. The validity of the instrument was confirmed by judgmental method and Cronbach's alpha coefficient equal to 0.87 was obtained, which indicated the appropriate validity of the questionnaire. The findings of qualitative analysis led to the identification of 66 items. In the quantitative part, exploratory factor analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that 8 factors of: rational and emotional intelligence, ability to plan and make the right decision, ability to coordinate and communicate effectively, high executive ability, ability to identify revenue sources, ability to allocate resources and control costs, foresight and crisis management ability, and managerial ability are the most important factors affecting the intelligent leadership of school principals. Based on the results, it can be concluded that intelligent leadership in schools requires many skills such as planning and decision making skills, crisis management, and having high-level managerial skills.