A study of leadership styles and management practices of headteachers of underperforming schools in Agona East District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the leadership styles of Headteachers of underperforming basic schools in the Agona East District, and to find out the management practices applied in the schools. This was a mixed method research that used the sequential explanatory mixed method design. The sample size (for the quantitative part of this study) was 45 respondents, comprising 15 Headteachers and 15 Assistant Headteachers selected through census frame, and 15 conveniently selected teachers. The qualitative phase involved 6 participants (3 from the Inspectorate Division at the directorate and 3 Assistant Headteachers – from the qualitative frame). A structured questionnaire was used to collect data in the quantitative phase of the study, while a semi-structured interview was employed to gather data in the qualitative phase. The quantitative data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics, while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study identified the democratic, autocratic and laissez-faire styles of leadership as the most widely used by the headteachers. The headteachers' experience in leadership position as well as the desire to meet societal needs influenced them to be autocratic. Organizational culture emerged as most dominant factor influencing the use of democratic style and the use of laissez-faire style was influenced by one’s personality trait. The study concluded, among others, that most of the headteachers in the study area have little knowledge about styles of leading. Therefore, the study recommended, among others, training programmes in leadership to be organised for the headteachers to expose them to various styles which they could employ to manage their schools.