A study of teachers and students perception of headmasters leadership effectiveness in senior secondary schools in the AKWAPIM North district of the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

What occasioned this study was the seemingly big difference in academic performance of students from various senior secondary schools and the desire of some teachers to work in some particular schools. These, to some extent, indicated the existence of some problems confronting the senior secondary sector and among the problems was one related to leadership effectiveness of headmasters. A research problem was created with the aim of knowing from respondents (teachers and students) whether the leaders of second cycle institutions in the execution of their duties exhibited any peculiar characteristics that constituted a marked departure from what was revealed by the literature review related to leadership effectiveness. The respondents for the study were teachers and students of six senior secondary schools from the Akwapim North District in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The basic focus was the perception of the leadership styles of the headmasters of the schools. Five research questions were formulated to investigate such factors as (a) the extent to which teachers and students thought their headmaster was effective (b) the extent to which teachers and students thought that their headmaster's performance created an enabling environment for academic work. The instrument that was designed was primarily based on previous empirical studies of leadership and this together with the information provided by the literature review produced the factors upon which the study was based. The instrument was designed to examine (a) the personal qualities and academic qualifications of headmasters and (b) the leadership behaviour of the headmasters. Two main null hypotheses were formulated to test for any significant differences in perception between the teachers and student respondents. The chi-square test of significance was used as the main statistical technique for the study. The hypotheses were tested at the 0.05 alpha level. A finding of the study was the essence of the possession of the requisite managerial and administrative skills to ensure leadership effectiveness in schools. It was the considered opinion of students that education was one of the basic vehicles for equipping one with the required skills. This finding endorses the recommendation that the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and other concerned bodies should ensure that our senior secondary schools are manned by people who possess the requisite educational background. Teachers expressed that sound mental health and trust in dealing with peers and subordinates are very important in helping achieve effectiveness in schools. Chi-square analysis revealed differences in perception of the teachers and students on 9 items out of the 24 items in the questionnaire. Some of the factors where perception differed are (1) Neat in appearance, (2) Courageous in facing problems (3) Promotes good relations among the personnel of the school and (4) Accepts and applies suggestions made by students. Further recommendations made as a result of the findings of the study are: Heads of educational institutions should engage qualified staff and also they (Heads of educational institutions) should do careful analysis of problems before taking action.