Principals' leadership skills, personal characteristics and the performance of public secondary schools in South Rift region, Kenya

Abstract

Performance of educational institutions continues to be a cause of concern to stakeholders due to the significant role of these institutions to the individual learner, the community and the nation in general. For secondary schools, principals are the overall leaders charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the schools are effectively and efficiently managed and therefore, meet their set goals. The leadership skills of a principal to a great degree determine how the institution he or she leads is managed. Previously, studies have attempted to underscore the existing relationship between principals' leadership skills and students' academic performance in disregard of other concepts of institutional performance. This study sought to determine the relationship between principals' leadership skills, personal characteristics and the performance of public secondary schools in South Rift region, Kenya as a contribution in bridging the existing knowledge gap. The specific objectives of the study were; determine the relationship between principals' financial management skills, establish the relationship between principals' instructional leadership skills as well as determine the relationship between principals' human resource management skills and institutional performance. It also sought to establish the influence of principals' personal characteristics as well as the institutional characteristics in the relationship between principals' leadership skills and institutional performance. The study adopted descriptive cross-sectional survey research design and correlational research design with mixed methods approach that used both qualitative and quantitative methods. A sample of 336 was obtained from 2050 respondents, comprising 1023 principals, 1023 senior teachers, and 4 County Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (CQASOs) using multistage sampling techniques. Data was obtained from 331 individuals who participated in the study giving it a return rate of 98.51%. They responded to questionnaires items and interview guide. Prior to this, the research instruments were pretested in Kajiado county. Data obtained was analyzed descriptively and inferentially with the aid of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 27.0 computer software. Frequency and percentages were used to describe the existing relationship between study variables while hypothesis was tested using logistic regression at 95% level of significance. Findings showed that principals financial management skills, their instructional leadership skills as well as their human resource management skills were each positively and significantly related with institutional performance. Further, principals' level of education as well as their experience was found to positively and significantly influence the relationship between principals' leadership skills and institutional performance. Similarly, type of school was found to significantly influence the relationship between principals' leadership skills and institutional performance. It is therefore recommended that Ministry of Education in collaboration with Teachers Service Commission should ensure that school principals get adequate in-service training on financial management and human resource management prior to their deployment and refresher training periodically undertaken to enhance their leadership and management skills for better institutional performance.