THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCHOOL CULTURE AND PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF GODE CITY ADMINISTRATION, SOMALI REGIONAL STATE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The research focused on the relationship between school culture and leadership styles of principals in public secondary schools of Gode City Administration, Somali Regional State, Ethiopia. Using a mixed-methods descriptive survey design, the study collected data from 99 participants, including 90 teachers (census method), 6 principals, and 3 supervisors (purposive sampling). The quantitative data was collected using modified forms of the School Culture Survey (Gruenert & Valentine, 1998) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Bass & Avolio, 1997), while the qualitative data was collected using semi-structured interviews. The reliability analysis showed Cronbach alpha coefficients between 0.699 and 0.935 for all dimensions of the instruments. The descriptive statistics showed that the transactional leadership style was the most dominant style among the principals (M = 3.97, SD = 0.908), followed by transformational leadership (M = 3.84, SD = 1.08), and the least dominant was the laissez-faire leadership style (M = 3.39, SD = 0.999). The school culture was moderately positive on the five dimensions, with the highest score on professional development (M = 4.21, SD = 0.808) and the lowest score on learning partnership (M = 3.74, SD = 0.942). The Pearson correlation analysis showed that there were positive correlations between transformational leadership and professional development (r = .858, p < .01), learning partnership (r = .682, p < .01), teacher collaboration (r = .483, p < .01), and collegial support (r = .301, p < .01). The transactional leadership style was moderately positively correlated with teacher collaboration (r = .214, p < .05), unity of purpose (r = .288, p < .01), and professional development (r = .295, p < .01). The laissez-faire leadership style was not significantly correlated with any of the five dimensions of school culture (all p > .05). Qualitative results support that transformational leaders are innovators and builders of partnerships, while transactional leaders are providers of structure and accountability. The findings of this study support that a complementary integration of both leadership styles is the most effective way to improve school culture, while passive leadership has little impact. The major challenges facing this school are teachers who are not adequately qualified (64.7% have qualifications below first-degree level), geographical remoteness, and lack of communication between parents and teachers.