The Head Teachers’ Directive Leadership Practices in Nakuru and Nairobi Catholic Private Primary Schools

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume II, Issue VII, July 2018 | ISSN 2454-6186

The Head Teachers’ Directive Leadership Practices in Nakuru and Nairobi Catholic Private Primary Schools

Susan M. Mutune, Dr. George Onyango and Prof. Jotham Olembo

 Department of Educational Management, Policy & Curriculum Studies, Kenyatta University, Kenya

Abstract: – High quality teaching staff is the cornerstone of a successful educational system. To attract and retain quality teaching staff sessional papers 12 of 2012 and 14 of 2012 urged head teachers to establish strategies and practices that address teacher’s needs in schools. The objective of the study was to establish head teachers’ directive leadership practices in Nakuru and Nairobi Catholic private schools. The study was guided by the path goal theory. Path goal theory recognizes that the actions of a leader (head teacher) have direct influence on the subordinates (teachers). Mixed methods research approach was used. The mixed method approaches combine quantitative and qualitative data in a single study. This study adopted the convergent parallel design. In this design quantitative and qualitative research is conducted simultaneously in a single study. The target population was 74 head teachers and 1184 teachers in the 74 primary Catholic private primary schools in Nairobi and Nakuru dioceses. Stratified sampling was used to categorize schools into two strata, the urban and rural schools. From each stratum, 40% of the head teachers and 20% of teachers were sampled. Simple random sampling was used to sample two teachers from each of the 6 teaching subjects. The study sampled 31 head teachers and 248 teachers. The instruments for conducting the study were; questionnaire for head teachers and teachers, interview guide for head teachers and focus group discussion guide for teachers. Content validity was determined by seeking expert judgment from specialist in Educational Management. Cronbach alpha was used to ascertain reliability of the instruments. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically while Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study established that the frequently directive leadership practices were concerned with school processes while the least practiced were concerned human relations. The study recommends induction courses and regular in servicing of head teachers. Further research on Catholic private secondary and tertiary institutions is recommended.

Key words: directive, leadership practices, head teachers perception, teachers’ perception, performance standards, targets.

I. INTRODUCTION

The concept of leadership has been in existence for centuries. Its origin is traced to the works of Aristotle. According to Aristotle leadership is a deliberate effort by leaders to respond to the ethos (character), logos (reason) and pathos (emotions) of the followers (Shay, 2000). Interest in the study of leadership increased during the early twentieth century.

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