CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

The success of any organization is highly rated upon the head, boss or the manager of such an enterprise, like business, school or any organization. The leadership impact is desirable in an organization to aid easy and maximum success. Leadership is an instruction used in an organization for behavior modification.

It determines the goals of an organization and means of accomplishing them. Therefore, leadership in an organization has been seen as motivator whereby one person who is the head motivates others towards the achievement of specific goals of the organizations.

However, fellowship is the essence of leadership, in other words it is the willingness of the people to follow that makes a person a leader. Moreover, people follow those perceived to be providing means of achieving their own desires, wants and needs. In this case, we can see that leadership and motivation are closely interconnected.

Motivation enables us appreciate better what people want and why they act as they do. In secondary school administration, the success of any school to achieve its stated goals or objectives depends on the ability of the chief administrator otherwise known as the principal and his leadership style.

Effective leadership role provided by the principal will lead to the achievement of the schools goals and objectives. Education among other concern is an instrument for effecting national development with the formulation of national policy on education. To achieve the stated aims and objectives of the national policy, all stakeholders in the educational sector have different roles to play. At the grass root level, the management of available resources rest solely upon the schools principals inclusive in principals’ roles is the provision of effective administrative skills which cannot be separated from their leadership styles.

The principals’ leadership style in secondary schools is a pointer of the level of productivity of teachers or their job performance. With the close review of the setbacks being experienced in some secondary schools, pressure groups are agitating for effective leadership styles. It is glaring that some principals in Buea municipality have not considered their styles of leadership as the determinants of teachers’ job performance level. Hence, some principals seem to find it difficult to effectively administer their schools (Gronn, 2000, Adeyemi 2004). Every school principal is in a unique position as the manager or administrator of the resources in their schools.

Historical background

In the   20th century, people began to believe that some people        were    born     with certain characteristics (not just related           to their position in       life) that suited them to leadership positions. This was called “Trait Theory”. Those characteristics, or traits,         still limited how leadership was defined- it tended to            occur   in people who had access to education and who had certain opportunities in life- as a result, they     could speak eloquently, they had self-confidence, they could afford           to take risks,    and showed courage. In many cases, Trait Theory still meant that           only a limited number of people had             the right traits for leadership .Still ,Trait Theory was      the beginning of our modern thinking about  leadership because people began to let go           of the  idea that only people of a certain class or gender were          born            to lead.

In the   1940s people started to see     the first studies of behaviors that were associated     with leadership. Studying for how        we look at leadership today- today    there    is near consensus that effective            leadership        is determined more by what leaders do          and how they act than by their class,  their            gender or their race,     or by    the certain personality traits    they     may have been born with.

Today we believe        that      traits    may     play     a role   in leadership, but that many of the most important leadership behaviors can also be learned through practice. Studies of leadership behavior were     common from the 40son ward. If you studied the        behaviors of enough people it  became clear that both            inborn traits and learned behavior   could      observed and correlated         with successful leadership            through outcomes like- greater production,   lower turnover of workers, loyalty to the company, job satisfaction, and          high quality outputs. In other words, you could         learn    to act in certain ways  that increased your natural propensity for being an effective leader.

Kurt     Lewi at the      University       of Iowa became known of the pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology. He studied         three different styles displayed by people in leadership positions- autocratic, democratic an laissez faire leadership styles,       (heavy, directive; listening and  give  and take; relaxed and passive) He          found  that democratic styles tended to produce       greater loyalty and            productivity    from    workers. At     about   the same time at University of Michigan, Rensis  Likert was      studying production-oriented and employee-oriented            leadership        styles.  He found that the            employee-oriented      style tended to be        more    effective in      terms   of long-term    outcomes. Stephen           Covey, whose book we          study   in this  class,    calls     the same thing the       Production and Production Capability Balance or            P/PC balance. It means that you cannot use and        abuse   the production capability- the       employees if you         want    to stay in production for         a long  time.            We’ll   talk more         about   the P/PC balance in Week 2.Likert’s work led to the development of scales   for measuring leadership         behaviors. For instance,          on the  low and high ends       of the            scale,   if someone       showed low     concern for      results and       low concern for           people, they            were    judged to be    an “impoverished        leader “and        they   showed high concern for            results and       high     concern for      people, they    were    judged to be    a strong team leader. Those studies in the 1940s and         1950s   led in   the 60s and      70s       to what became known           as Situational or Contextual theories.

One of the most influential of these    was Situational Leadership theory by Hersey and      Blanchard            (1969).Some of you, like        me, will remember      how     popular situational      leadership            theory  was at  the time. Situational theory    claimed that    there    was no single best       way     to lead- that         factors unique to         each     situation should determine how          a leader acts. They believed            that      you      had      to assess the    “situation”       before  you      knew   how to lead,    including   the    evelopmental level of    the organization (D1-4)          and      the maturity     of the   leader  and team (M1-4). Knowing those would determine      what    style     a leader should employ with   staff     (S1-4).

This study explores the historical development of educational administration and planning in Cameroon from  the Traditional (indigenous) Education in the sixteen century, through the post-colonial eras (1960- Present) in  the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, to current concerns about the Cameroon educational system in  the twenty-first century. It aims to showcase a chronological list of educational orders, education acts, policy acts, reports and other key educational development events in Cameroon. Similarly, while it deals with the educational administration and planning activities in Cameroon are presented according to the following thirteen major eras:  Indigenous traditional education; African Philosophies of Education; Pre-colonial (1844-1884); Colonial (1884-1960/61) German protectorate (1884-1914); The years of the first world war and peace settlement (1914-1922); French and British mandates (1922-191946); Education in French Cameroon Mandate (1916-1960); Education in British Cameroon Mandate (1914-1961); French and British Trusteeship (1946-1960/1961); the trusteeship in French Cameroon; the Trusteeship period in British Southern Cameroon; education in the federation period (1960-1972); education in the United Republic of Cameroon (1972-1984); education in the Republic of Cameroon (1984-2004);  The current state of education in Cameroon is given where it is relevant to the development of education administration generally.

Conceptual background      

Several researchers have defined leadership style in different countries and contexts. (Chandan, 1987) define leadership style is the ingredient of personality embodied in leaders that causes subordinates to follow them. Okumbe, (1998) on the other hand defines leadership styles is particular behaviors applied by a leader to motivate subordinates to achieve the objectives of the organization. In view of the foregoing, leadership style were defined in various ways. It refers to the underlying needs of the leader that motivate his behavior (Siskin, 1994; Okeniyi, 1995). It is the manifestation of the dominant pattern of behavior of a leader (Olaniyan, 1999; Okurumeh, 2001). It is also a process through which principal influences a teacher or group others in the attainment of educational goals (Akinwumiju and Olaniyan, 1996; Adeyemi, 2006). Therefore, the Leadership style of a principal depends on the leaders‟ behaviors. This behavior is the main foundation for choosing efficient leadership style (Douglas, 1996).

Leadership style of a principal depends on the leaders‟ behaviors. This behavior is the main foundation for choosing efficient leadership style (Douglas, 1996).

Scholar has proposed path goal theory to explain leadership. According to (House, 1968) in the path goal theory, a leader does the following:  clarifies and sets goals together with the subordinates and properly communicates to them. Besides, delegates duties to subordinates according to their abilities, skills, knowledge and experience.

Teachers‟ performance could be described in various ways.  (Robert and Tim, 1998) as the act of accomplishing or executing a given tasks. On the other hand (Obilade ,1999) defined teachers performance  as the duties performed by a teacher at a particular period in the school system in achieving educational goals Whereas,( Akinyemi 1993; Okeniyi, 1995) defined it as the ability of teachers to combine relevant inputs for the enhancement of teaching and learning processes.

However, (Meindl,1995) argued that teachers‟ performance is determined by the worker‟s level of participation in the day to day running of the organization.

Supporting this argument, (Adepoju ,1996) asserted that variables of teachers‟ performance such as effective teaching, lesson note preparation, effective use of scheme of work, effective supervision, monitoring of students‟ work and disciplinary ability are virtues which teachers should uphold effectively in the school system. In this regard, the teachers‟ performance could be measured through annual report of his/ her activities in terms of performance in teaching, lesson preparation, and lesson presentation, mastery of subject matter, competence, teachers‟ commitment to job and extra-curricular activities. Other areas of assessment include effective leadership, supervision of students‟ work; motivation, class control and discipline of the students are the virtues that teachers should uphold effectively in general secondary schools.

Autocratic Leadership Style

In the autocratic leadership style, also called dictatorship, the leaders are the focal point of power and regard their decisions and judgement as supreme (Burke et al., 2006; Vigoda-Gadot, 2007). The style has its roots in the transactional theory, which accentuates the relationships that exist between leaders and their followers. In this case, followers perform because of the reward systems or punishment for non-compliance (Burke et al., 2006; Rad & Yarmohammadian, 2006). The disadvantages of the autocratic leadership style appear to outweigh the advantages. For that reason, the autocratic leadership style is not popular among employees (and colleagues) in most organisations. If used in organisations, the leaders may apply it accidentally. The literature identifies the democratic leadership style as the complete opposite of the autocratic leadership style.

Transactional leadership

Transactional leadership is based on an assumption that employees are motivated by rewards and punishments. According to Zainuddin et al., (2019), transactional leadership is best suited to social systems that work best through clear chains of command. Because in this concept the main responsibility of employees is to do what their superiors tell them to do. That way, transactional leadership can also be said to be autocratic because leaders expect their subordinates to obey the established rules and follow instructions from the leader. According to Bass quoted by (Mustika et al., 2020),

Democratic Leadership Style

The democratic leadership style, also known as participative leadership style, derives its roots from the Transformational theory (Burke et al., 2006; Rad & Yarmohammadian, 2006; Vigoda-Gadot, 2007). In this style, leadership focuses on change, visionary leadership and enhancing individual and organisational outcomes. Members are given the chance to build up their leadership skills, participate in leadership and contribute to decision-making (Vigoda-Gadot, 2007). This leadership style is arguably more efficient than autocratic leadership (MacBeath, 2005). Employees feel their opinions, suggestions and ideas are taken into consideration. Although members enjoy a certain 28 level of autonomy, it works effectively in situations where members a highly skilled, passionate and more satisfied about their job as is the situation where the laissez-faire leadership style is utilised.

Transformational Leadership Style

According to Gumusluoglu and Ilsev (2009), the transformational leadership theory was introduced by Burns in 1978 and has since attracted a great deal research attention. Transformational leadership comprises four elements, that is, ‗charismatic role modelling, individualised consideration, inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation‘ (Gumusluoglu & Ilsev, 2009:462).First, utilizing charisma, leaders instigate high regard, reverence and allegiance, and emphasize having one shared mission. Second, individualized consideration is whereby leaders establish their own relationships with followers, and cater for individual differences, needs, skills and desires. Third, inspirational motivation is whereby the leader clearly communicates the vision for the future, demonstrates how goals can be attained, and instills followers ‘zeal to achieve goals. Finally, intellectual stimulation is whereby leaders widen and raise the welfare of followers and motivate them to be highly innovative (Hayward, Goss & Tolmay, 2004; Leach, 2005; Kirkbride, 2006; Gumusluoglu & Ilsev, 2009). The effectiveness of the transformational leadership style may be complemented by the transactional leadership style. In the next subsection, the transactional leadership style is discussed.

Statement of the Problem 

The relationship between principals’ leadership style and teachers’ job performance has been a subject of controversy by many researchers. The controversy was centered on whether or not the style of leadership of principals influences the level of job performance among teachers. Common observation in the school system shows that the style of leadership of a principal could perhaps have serious impact on teachers’ job performance.

Therefore, Principals as educational leaders play a pivotal role in the success of the school. In building a strong culture of collaboration and creative problem solving, set appropriate curriculum implementation mechanism, and possess an instructional leadership quality that takes responsibility for students’ achievement, develop and Communicate plans for effective teaching, among all staff members and monitor students learning progress and closely work with parents. Hence, the collision of principals’ leadership style and teachers’ performance has been a subject of disagreement by researchers (Nwadian, 2008; Adeyemi, 2006).

The argument was centred on whether or not the principals’ leadership style influences the level of performance among teachers. Therefore, it was necessary to determine the extent to which principals’ leadership styles influence teachers’ level of job performance since principals need to strive to satisfy the teachers so that they exhibit maximum production which can be measured through good academic achievement of the learners in learning institutions.

The problem of this study therefore was to investigate the effects of principals’ leadership styles on teachers’ job performance in secondary schools. In the past two years the researcher has served in Buea general secondary school as a practicing student. In that period of time the researcher heard complaints about leadership styles that the teachers are not interested in decision made by principal in delegation of duties and responsibilities in different activities of the school. Therefore, the above situation and the ordinary experience in the general secondary school in Buea prompt the researcher to conduct a study on effects of principals‟ leadership styles on teachers‟ performance.

Objectives of the Study

General objective

The general objective of this study was to investigate the influence of the principals‟ leadership styles on the teachers‟ performance in general secondary School in Buea sub Division.

Specific Objective 

1. To investigate how autocratic leadership style affects teacher’s performance in secondary school in the Buea sub division
2. To investigate how transactional leadership style affects teacher’s performance in secondary school in the Buea sub division.
3. To find out how democratic leadership style affects teacher’s performance in secondary school in the Buea sub division.
4. To find out how transformational leadership style affects teacher’s performance in secondary school in the Buea sub division.

Check Out: Teachers Education Project Topics with Materials