Leadership style of head teachers of early childhood centres and its influence on teaching in the Bolgatanga Municipality

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to explore the Leadership Style of Head Teachers of Early Childhood Centres and Its Influence on Teacher Performance in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The research design for the study was a descriptive survey. The positivism paradigm was considered for this study for the reason that it advocates for the use of quantitative methods. The target population for this study was 217 classroom teachers and 59 Head teachers of public kindergarten schools in the Bolgatanga Municipality. The sample size for the study was 112 classroom teachers and 59 head teachers Structured Questionnaires were used to collect data for the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were employed to analyse the data and presented using tables and figures. The study revealed in some cases, the Head teachers combine different leadership styles as revealed by the respondents. The results from the majority of the teachers revealed that the Leadership Styles of Head teachers often influence Teaching. However, some of the teachers stated otherwise, according to them the Leadership Styles of Head teachers, in general, do not have any influence on Teaching. The study further discovered that the Head teachers are not able to utilize their leadership styles to effectively ensure the following i.e. to Ensure high morale among staff, attract, develop and appraise the staff; Monitor, evaluate and report the achievements against the set standards; ensure that Teaching is play-based and child-centred; employs instructional strategies appropriate for mixed ability multilingual and multi-age classes; Identifies and remediates learners’ difficulties or misconceptions, referring to learners whose needs lie outside the competency of the teacher.