Influence of Head Teachers' Leadership Traitson Students Academic Performance: A Survey of Private Primary School in Nyali Sub County

Abstract

Studies done over the years indicate that Headteachers leadership traits influence academic performance to a great extent. This is because the headteacher is the chief instructor, coordinator and motivator of both teachers and pupils. Academic performance for private primary schools in Nyali Sub County has been dismal over the years hence raising questions on the effectiveness of headteachers leadership traits on students’ academic performance. This study therefore endeavored to make findings on the influence of headteachers leadership traits on students academic performance in Nyali Sub-county. The study established the influence of leadership skills, leadership styles, and headteacher motivation on students’ academic performance in private primary schools of Nyali Sub-county. The study used descriptive survey research design which described systematically a situation, a problem, or phenomenon, or provides information about an issue, or describes attitudes towards an issue. The target population was all 77 registered private primary schools in Nyali sub-county, 77 headteachers and 782 teachers. The study used simple random sampling technique in determining 10% sample size of the respondents. Therefore the sample size arrived at was 7 headteachers and 78 teachers. The study used closed-ended questionnaire which on a linket skell of 1-5 to measure the influence of headtechers leadership traits on students’ academic performance. Reliability of the instrument was established through piloting of the instruments in Kisauni sub-county. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of reliability of 0.7 indicated that the instruments were reliable. The validity of the instruments was established through expert judgment offered by quality assurance sub-county director of Nyali Sub- County and also the supervisors. The researcher obtained a letter from Kenya Methodist University academic (KeMU) office and the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI) to facilitate data collection. The researcher adhered to all ethical research requirements. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency’s, percentages, means and standard deviations. ANOVA was used to establish the extent to which the headteachers leadership traits influence academic performance. The researcher used SPSS version 23 to facilitate data analysis. The study found out that headteachers leadership traits significantly influence academic performance either negatively or positively. The researcher concluded that headteachers leadership traits should frequently be enhanced through training which is based on policy. The study recommended that the school management should formulate capacity building programs so as to empower both the head teachers and teachers in their leadership skills and styles. The study recommends a similar study to be conducted in secondary and public primary schools to identify the influence of headteachers leadership traits on student’s academic performance.