Teachers’ Perceptions on the Influence of Headteachers’ Leadership Styles on Academic Performance of Students in Secondary Schools in Rongo, Migori County, Kenya

Abstract

In the management structure of secondary schools in Kenya, the headteacher is the leader who assigns all the other teachers duties, including teaching assignments. There is therefore the tendency of schools’ overall attainment being associated with the headteachers’ leadership styles. This study sought to investigate teachers’ perceptions on how leadership styles practiced by headteachers of secondary schools in Rongo District, Migori County influence the academic performance of students. The study also intended to determine the predominant leadership style of headteachers in secondary schools in Rongo District. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study population comprised 548 teachers in the 56 secondary schools in Rongo District. Thirty-three schools, which had their current headteachers since the year 2008 and had presented candidates at the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination from the year 2008 to 2011, were purposively sampled. A sample of 231 teachers participated in the study as respondents. Teachers Questionnaire on Headteachers’ Leadership Styles was used to collect data from the respondents. The validity of the instruments was ascertained through expert judgement by 5 experts from the Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Educational Management of Egerton University. The instruments were pilot tested in 2 secondary schools in Homa-Bay County. The reliability was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The reliability coefficient of the teachers’ questionnaire was 0.71thus the research instruments were reliable. The data obtained using the instruments were coded and analysed using descriptive statistics involving frequency distributions, percentages and means and inferential statistics involving one-way ANOVA. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer program version 15for windows was used for data analysis. The study established that participatory leadership style of headteachers was perceived by majority of teachers to influence positively the academic performance of students in secondary schools in Rongo District. The study also established that autocratic leadership style is the predominant style of headteachers in secondary schools in Rongo District. The findings of this study are likely to be a useful resource for school managers, headteachers and teachers, especially with regard to the influence of headteachers’ leadership styles on students’ academic performance in secondary schools.