The Destructive Instructor-Leadership Questionnaire: A Replication Study in Trinidad

Abstract

While destructive leadership has been investigated primarily in corporate contexts, research has shown that such leadership may also exist in instructor-student relationships in higher education. In light of this, researchers have very recently developed a 13-item measure of destructive instructor-leadership that is well-aligned to the theoretical model of destructive leadership. However, this measure has yet to be replicated in an independent sample or a western country, and doing so is important for a measure’s generalisability. Therefore, the aims of the present study are to (1) test the factor structure of the destructive instructor-leadership questionnaire (DILQ) in an independent sample from a western country, (2) examine convergent and discriminant validity using social undermining, and (3) test criterion-related validity via outcomes that are both established and novel to instructor-leadership research. Using a sample of 194 students from Trinidad, the findings partially replicated the three-factor structure of the DILQ, including irresponsibility, victimisation, and callous communication, and showed validity overall. These findings, along with unexpected findings, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.