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LEADERSHIP THEORIES AND

PRACTICE: CHARTING A PATH FOR

IMPROVED NIGERIAN SCHOOLS.

by

Dr (Mrs.) Felicia I. Ofoegbu

Dr (Mrs.) Anthonia O. Clark

Dr (Mrs.) Roseline O. Osagie

Introduction

The Nigerian school of today is different and much more complex than those of some decades ago. There are many problems confronting principals. these include

• Student unrest

• Violence

• Insecurity of life and property

• Large classroom population

• Dearth of facilities

• Scrooge of HIV/AIDS

• Climate change

• Corruption and nepotism

• Fragile Economy

These problems and more in the

school system are increasingly being

identified as actual realities of the

Nigerian education system posing

challenges to school management.

• Even though there are leadership development programmes in Nigerian universities it is noted that in Nigeria as in several African countries there are no formal requirements for men and women to be appointed into leadership positions.

Many school heads are appointed on

the basis of

• god fatherism,

• political affiliation,

• ethnicism

• and indices of culture and religion.

Key to survival of educational

leadership

• Leadership development should have content led programmes including

- Strategies for communication and decision making.

- Legal aspects of school management

- Theories of educational management

- Instructional Supervision

- Personnel management

- Conflict management

Objective of study

• It is obvious both from research and observation that there is no “one package” for leadership, no one theory or model to be learned and applied in unrefined forms for all schools in all contexts. In fact according to Riley and MacBeath (2003) there is no all purpose recipe for educational leadership. However, it is recognized that leadership styles occupy important position in school management. While there are different theories that can be used to identify and classify leadership styles the researchers selected the contemporary/emerging leadership theories such as transformational, transactional, and strategic and servant leadership paradigms to undergird this study.

Therefore the purpose of the study

was to find out if there was any

relationship between leadership

theories and practice and charting

the path for improved schools.

Research Questions• What are the leadership styles of

secondary school principals in Edo State?

• What is the state of schools in Edo State?

• Is there any relationship between leadership styles and state of schools?

• Is there any relationship between leadership styles and improved schools based of experience?

• Is there any relationship between leadership and the nature of schools based on gender?

• Is there any relationship between leadership styles and improved schools based on qualification?

Hypothesis • Ho1 There is no significant

relationship between leadership practice and state of schools.

• Ho2 There is no significant relationship between leadership style and improved schools based on experience.

• Ho3 There is no significant relationship between leadership style and improved schools based on gender.

• Ho4 There is no significant relationship between leadership style and improved nature of schools based on qualifications.

Methodology

• Research design: Survey

• Population: 2371 teachers

• Sample: 237 teachers (10% of population)

• Technique: stratified random sampling

Instrumentation

• Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ)

Results

• Table 1: Percentage Distribution of Leadership styles of Secondary School

Principals in Edo State.

• Leadership styles Frequency Percentage

• Transactional Leadership

Style 76 33.0

• Servant Leadership

Style 48 20.9

• Strategic Leadership

Style 30 13.0

• Transformational Leadership

Style 76 33.0

• Total 230 100

Research Question 2.

What is the state of schools in Edo

State.

Table 2: percentage Distribution of State of Schools in Edo State

State of Schools Frequency Percentage

Conducive for teaching

And learning 184 77.9

Not conducive for

Teaching and learning 53 22.1

Total 237 100

Statistical Analysis• Table 4: Correlation between leadership practice

and State of Schools. NS

• Table 5a: One-way ANOVA of Principals’

leadership practice based on experience S

• Table 6: Z-test for leadership practice and

Improved schools based on Gender NS

• Table 7: One-way ANOVA of leadership

practice and Improved schools based on

qualification NS

Summary of Findings

• The leadership styles of principals in Secondary Schools in Edo State are transactional (33%) transformational (33%), servant (20.9%)and strategic (13%).

• The state of schools in Edo state is conducive for teaching and learning.

• There is no significant relationship between leadership styles and state of schools.

• There is no significant relationship between leadership practice of principals and state of schools in Edo state

•

• There is significant difference in leadership practice of principals and improved schools based on experience. The significant difference occurred between principals with 5 – 10years and those above 10years.

• There is no significant difference in principals’leadership practice and improved schools based on gender.

• There is no significant difference in teachers’perception of principals’ leadership practice based on the qualification.

Conclusion

There are several practices that may chart a path for improved Nigerian schools, and these are mainly the transformational and transactional leadership styles and practices. Charting the path for continued improvement of schools does not depend on qualification.

Recommendations

• The great complexity of the internal and external school environment increase the need for principals to receive effective preparation for their demanding role.

• Educational leadership positions should be made on merit and based on certification. Therefore leadership preparation is a moral obligation for charting a path for improved Nigerian schools.

Previous state of schools

Present state of schools

Schools today

THANK YOU