Headteachers' leadership styles and teacher performance in secondary schools in Buikwe district

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Head teachers' leadership styles and Teachers' performance in secondary schools in Buikwe district. Three research objectives were formulated to guide the study which was; to establish the different leadership styles used by head teachers, the nature of teachers' performance, investigate the impact of Leadership styles on teachers' performance. The study employed descriptive cross-sectional survey research design to collect quantitative and qualitative data. The study targeted 12 head teachers, 120 teachers and 240 students. Purposive sampling technique was used to get 12 head teachers, 240 students and simple random sampling was used to select 120 teachers. Three instruments were used to collect data for the study. Descriptive statistics were used to establish head teachers' leadership styles and the nature of teachers' performance. Regression analysis and ANOVA were used to test the relationship between leadership styles and teachers' performance. It was found that the Autocratic leadership style was the most commonly used by head teachers. Teachers' performance was found to be at a moderate level. Teachers' performance was better in schools having head teachers using autocratic leadership style than in schools having head teachers using democratic or laissez-faire leadership styles. It was recommended that Ministry of education and sports should organize workshops for head teachers on effective leadership styles for school management, there is need for support supervision in secondary schools to improve teacher performance, head teachers should use a mixture of autocratic and democratic leadership styles to enhance better job performance among teachers.