Abstract:
The leadership styles adopted by school leaders significantly influence teachers‟ motivation,
satisfaction, and overall performance, ultimately impacting educational outcomes. The
purpose of this study was to explore school leadership styles and teachers‟ preferences in
public secondary schools in Harar City. Particularly, this study aimed to identify the most
dominant school leadership styles, explore current status of teachers‟ preferences under each
leadership style, and assess the value of various school leadership activities. To attain the
objectives, this research employed a descriptive survey design and explanatory method for
analyzing the data gathered through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The
teachers‟ questionnaire was distributed to 172 secondary school teachers, and 63 other
school leaders, including vice principals, unit leaders, and department heads, filled out the
Secondary School Leaders‟ questionnaire. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted
with six school supervisors and six secondary school principals. The quantitative data were
analyzed using SPSS 24, employing descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and
inferential statistics (multiple linear regression) for a comprehensive analysis. Conversely,
the qualitative data were systematically coded by identifying patterns and themes based on
semantic resemblance. This process involved grouping similar concepts and ideas to
facilitate a deeper understanding and interpretation of the underlying meanings within the
data. The study revealed that public secondary schools in Harar predominantly implement
transactional and democratic leadership styles while transformational leadership is the least
utilized. It was also found that teachers in Harar's public secondary schools most preferred
democratic, transformational, and transactional leadership styles, which suggests that these
leadership approaches are more active in motivating teachers than autocratic or laissez-faire
leadership styles. Moreover, this study showed that school leaders are seen as successful in
fostering a safe and inclusive school environment, their influence on student academic
performance and the provision of resources is perceived with more ambivalence. Based on
the key findings, the researcher recommends that school leaders in Harar incorporate into
their practices more transformational leadership activities (empowering teachers by
providing opportunities for autonomy, creativity, and professional growth; stimulating
intellectual curiosity and critical thinking among teachers and staff through challenging
assumptions, fostering innovation, and promoting continuous learning and development …)
for enhancing both teacher motivation and learning outcome
