Abstract

This paper investigated principals’ leadership styles and teachers’ job performance in senior secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. The study population comprised all the 281 secondary schools in the State. Out of this population, a sample of 240 senior secondary schools was taken and selected through the stratified random sampling technique. Out of 7460 teachers (including principals) in the schools, a sample of 2040 teachers was selected through the stratified random sampling technique. This sample was made up of 240 principals and 1800 teachers. Two instruments were used to collect data for the study. These were the principals’ leadership style questionnaire and the teachers’ job performance questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, correlation matrix and the t-test. It was found that the democratic leadership style was the most commonly used leadership style among principals of senior secondary schools in the State. Teachers’ job performance was also found to be at a moderate level in the schools. Teachers’ job performance was found to be better in schools having principals using autocratic leadership style than in schools having principals using democratic or laissez-faire leadership styles. It was recommended that school principals should imbibe a mixture of autocratic and democratic styles of leadership in their school administration in order to enhance better job performance among teachers. The use of the laissez-faire leadership style should be discouraged among school principals as it could not bring a better job performance among teachers.

Key words: Principals, leadership, styles, teachers, job, performance.