THE EFFECTS OF PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLES ON SCHOOL CULTURE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF OROMIA SPECIAL ZONE SURROUNDING FINFINE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of leadership styles on school culture of public secondary schools in the Oromia Special Zone Surrounding Finfine. The study employed a mixed method research design that includes 90 teachers, 16 school leaders, and 4 heads of the Parent Teachers Association as the respondents of this study. Standardized Leadership Questionnaire of Northouse based on Kurt Lewin's 1939 leadership model and School Culture Survey of Steve Gruenert, (1998) with some modifications were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, and standard deviations and inferential statistics such as t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and regression analysis. The findings show that the leadership style practiced in the study schools was dominated by Laissez-faire than another leadership style. The finding also indicated that though inadequately practiced, all leadership styles had a significant strong association with school culture and can be explained by the school culture taken into consideration. Thus, these implied that improvement in school culture will positively affect the practices of the leadership style in secondary school understudy. Based on the findings of the study the researcher concluded that well-established school cultures with a proper leadership style and democratic leadership style have resulted in a high level of achievement in school performance. The corolletin analysis further displayed that overall leadership styles: democratic, autocratic, and laissez-faire leaderships were good predictors of school culture and have a significant correlation. Although, the overall leadership styles and the overall school culture correlation were positive as the r value indicates. It was recommended that the OSZSF Education Office school leaders in collaboration with training institutes should have to provide training for current principals on the concepts and practices of leadership styles and school culture; encourage the adoption of leadership strategies by school leaders as democratic or participative style, facilitating annual forums and experience sharing programs among school leaders; and conducting further studies on issues related to school culture and leadership styles