| dc.description.abstract | Leadership is an important aspect of administration. This is because the .success of any organization depends largely on the chief executive's leadership abilities.
Because of the emphasis placed on leadership, many studies have been carried out using different instruments to measure the leadership behaviour and styles of different leaders. However, very few such studies have been carried out in Kenya.
This study attempted to establish the leadership behaviour and styles of secondary school headteachers in Kenya. In order to do this, the .per-cep'td ons of the he adt.eacher-s t leadership behaviour and styles by the headteachers themselves and 'their teachers were compared and contrasted. The study also tried to find out whether such factors as the size of the schools, the qualifications of the headteachers and teachers, and the category of the schools in terms of the sex of the pupils, influenced,the headteachers' and teachers' perceptions of the headteachers' leadership behaviour and styles.
The literature review studied revealed that it was difficult to generalize on the best leadership for any organization. This was why the present study proved necessary. Thus the intentions behind this study included giving the headteachers and other interested persons information that would help them understand the kinds of leadership found in the Kenya secondary schools.
The sample of the study comprised of twenty-one headteachers and one hundred and seventy-six of their teachers, from twenty-one government-maintained and assisted secondary schools in Nairobi. In a pilot study carried out to test the reliability of the research instruments~ six headteachers and twenty-four of their teachers, from six other secondary schools in Nairobi were used. Randomization was used as a method of the selection of teachers and schools. Information was gathered through the subjects completion of two questionnaires, namely Forms <l3 and LB, which were personally given to the subjects by the researcher. Forms <l3 were completed by the headteachers to indicate their perceptions 6f their own behaviour and styles. Forms LB were completed by the teachers to show their perceptions of their headteachers' leadership behaviour and styles. These instruments were prepared by Rensis Likert and Jane G. Likert.
A general questionnaire was attached to each of these questionnaires
to gather information about the respondents' sex, their qualifications,. the size of their schools, and the sex of the pupils in the schools. After a period of about one week, the completed questionnaires were personally collected from the respondents. The results of the pilot study made it necessary to simplify the difficult words on the questionnaire as well as increase the alternative answers to the questions from 4 to 5.
Financial and time constraints limited the study to Nairobi area only. The data collected were analysed using basic statistics and percentages.
The findings of the study showed: 1. That whereas most headteachers perceived thel't1Selves as very democratic leaders, most of their teachers saw them as merely considerably so. 2. That most teachers, male as well as female, viewed their female headteaChers as autocratic.
3.
That most female headteachers, unlike their male
counterparts, perceived their own leadership behaviour and styles as very democratic.
4. That the headteachers of the large schools were perceived as democratic by most of their teachers.
5. That the headteachers of small schools were perceived as autocratic by most of their teachers.
6. That most teachers with high academic and professional qualifications viewed their headteachers as democratic.
7. That most teachers with low academic and professional qualifications viewed their headteachers as autpcratic.
8. That whereas most headteachers with low academic and professional qualifications viewed themselves as very democratic, most of their teachers with similar qualifications viewed them as autocratic
9. That most teachers in mixed schools perceived their headteachers as autocratic.
After examining the findings, it was concluded that there were differences in the perceptions of the headteachers' leader- ship behaviour and styles by the headteachers themselves and their
teachers. It was also concluded that such factors as the sex and qualifications of the respondents and the size of their schools influenced their perceptions of the headteachers' leadership behaviour and styles. i
In the light of the findings and conclusions of the study,
it was recommended that:
1. Efforts should be made to have secondary school head- teachers take intensive courses in Educational Administration and leadership either before they are appointed or soon after they are appointed.
2. Efforts should be made to ~taff secondary schools with professional graduate headteachers.
3.The government should aim at staffing secondary schools with trained graduate teachers.
4. Professionalism rather than the sex of the individual should be the guiding factor in the relationships between headteachers and their teachers.
5. There is need for further research on leadership and factors that influence it to be carried out. | en |
