International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

Frequency: 12

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 Volume 12, Issue 10 (October 2025), Pages: 108-117

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 Original Research Paper

Academic performance in the digital era: The role of leadership style transformation and self-directed learning

 Author(s): 

 Abd Rakhim Nanda 1, *, Muhammad Yahya 2, Agustan Syamsuddin 3, Maharida Manindar 3, Ahmad Fadhly Arham 4, Nor Sabrena Norizan 4, Syukurriah Idrus 4

 Affiliation(s):

  1Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
  2Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
  3Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Makassar, Indonesia
  4Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam, Malaysia

 Full text

    Full Text - PDF

 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6341-1112

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2025.10.013

 Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze how leadership styles and self-directed learning affect academic performance in the digital era. A quantitative correlational design was applied, with data collected from 301 final-year students at Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar through a Likert-scale questionnaire and analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with AMOS. The results indicate that self-directed learning has the strongest positive influence on academic achievement, while transformational leadership also shows a significant effect by creating an inspiring learning environment. Task-oriented leadership contributes positively but to a lesser extent, whereas relationship-oriented leadership has a slight negative impact, suggesting the need for adjustments in highly competitive academic contexts. The study highlights the central role of self-directed learning, supported by transformational leadership, in improving academic performance and recommends that universities enhance leadership training and provide stronger support for independent learning through digital resources and personal development initiatives.

 © 2025 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

 Academic performance, Leadership styles, Self-directed learning, Transformational leadership, Digital era

 Article history

 Received 12 March 2025, Received in revised form 5 September 2025, Accepted 26 September 2025

 Acknowledgment

This research is funded by an international collaborative research scheme. The authors would like to express their gratitude for the financial support provided by the Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar, Indonesia, and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

All participants provided informed consent prior to participation, and their anonymity and confidentiality were guaranteed. Participation was voluntary, and respondents could withdraw at any stage without penalty.

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

 Nanda AR, Yahya M, Syamsuddin A, Manindar M, Arham AF, Norizan NS, and Idrus S (2025). Academic performance in the digital era: The role of leadership style transformation and self-directed learning. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 12(10): 108-117

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 Figures

  Fig. 1 

 Tables

  Table 1  Table 2  Table 3 

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