STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP AND PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAMBURU CENTRAL SUB-COUNTY
Njukunye Peter Leseketeti - Master of Business Administration (Strategic Management), Kenyatta University, Kenya
Dr. Paul Waithaka - Department of Business Administration, School of Business, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
The effect of school leadership on educational outcomes has been widely debated in our current times that students’ performance can be influenced by the kind of leadership exerted into the school system. This study examined the effect of strategic leadership style and performance in secondary schools of Samburu Central Sub-County. The study was guided by three objectives: to examine the effect of transformation leadership style on performance, to establish the effects of transactional leadership on performance, to explore the practicality of shared leadership on performance in secondary schools of Samburu central sub-county. The study explored the following theoretical theories: leadership trait theory, behavioral theory and, contingency theory. A total of five public secondary schools were selected from a population of 27 schools through stratified sampling method. A total number of fifty teachers were sampled as respondents from the selected schools for the interview which constituted 58% of the population. The study adopted a survey design through interviews, questionnaires and case study. In this connection, a survey design through questionnaires was used to collect the required data for the study. The target population for the study was the five public secondary schools in Samburu Central Sub-County that have challenges in their school academic performance. These schools were targeted because of the prevailing challenges in their performance. Purposive sampling technique and simple random sampling techniques was used to select the respondents. The researcher used questionnaire to elicit information from the interviewers and interview schedules to collect data for analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics were adopted to analyze the data that included frequencies, percentages and means. The findings of the study were analyzed and presented in the form of frequency tables and figures. The results of the study indicated that; there is a strong correlation between the schools principal style of leadership and students’ performance, they are intertwined which was statistically significant. Teachers’ strongly perceived that the principals’ style of leadership impacts students’ performance either negatively or positively depending on its nature. That for schools to prosper academically, strongly effective and efficient school leadership is necessary. The study recommends that, the principals should possess satisfactory leadership and managerial skills for mentoring and steering the schools progressively forward.
