_Influence Of Head Teachers’ Leadership Styles On Pupils’ Kcpe Performance In Non-Formal Primary Schools In Kibra Sub- County, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of head teachers’ leadership styles on pupils’ Kenya Certificate of Primary Education performance in non- formal primary schools in Kibra Sub-County, Nairobi, Kenya. Thereafter, the findings would be generalised to other non-formal primary schools in other Sub-Counties in Kenya. The main argument here is that leadership is critical in any educational institution as it influences academic performance of learners. The study was conceived due to the factor that the government of Kenya and NGO’s have tried in providing quality education to every child of Kenya, however pupils in non- formal schools are still dropping out and recording dismal performance at KCPE examinations. This is what prompted the researcher to investigate on whether it’s the type of leadership styles that the head teachers are employing that is influencing the performance of pupils. To achieve this, the study had four research objectives touching head teachers’ leadership styles which are: autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and transformative. The study adopted an ex-post facto design where the head teachers’ leadership styles and pupils’ performance were assumed to have occurred and could not therefore be manipulated by the researcher. The target population consisted of the 40 non-formal primary schools in Kibra Sub-County which consisted of 400 teachers who were viewed as information rich respondents. The sample size comprised 8 head teachers and 72 teachers. Two questionnaires were administered to collect data. Findings indicated that male head teachers and teachers were predominant in most non-formal primary schools in Kibra Sub-County. Also, findings indicate that for the past three years, there has been a rise in numbers of pupils being involved in poor performance cases in Kibra Sub-County. In 2017, the pupils scoring (below 250) D+-E were many. Furthermore, it was noted that there were head teachers who often exercised autocratic leadership style. Teachers indicated that democratic leadership should be exercised always in school because it has good advantages that can bare great fruits at KCPE examinations. This prompted the researcher to apply Phi correlation coefficient test. Results from the Phi correlation coefficient test was Ф= .14 indicating that there was a significant relationship between the head teachers’ leadership style and pupils’ performance at KCPE examinations. The researcher recommends a replica of the study to be performed in other nonformal primary schools in Kenya to determine whether the same variables derived from this study would be the same. Besides, suggestions posed by teachers should be taken seriously by the Ministry of Education (MoE ) to be implemented in schools to enhance performance.