The effect of the principals’ leadership style on the performance of selected schools of South-Center Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Cameroun

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the effect of leadership styles adopted by primary and secondary school principals on the performance of these schools at the South-Center Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Cameroun. Four leadership styles were analyzed: democratic, autocratic, laissez-faire, and transformational. The study adopted a quantitative causal design to analyze the extent to which principals' leadership styles affect school performance and how school climate plays a role in mediating the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. The total population was 202 individuals, comprising 85 primary school teachers and 117 secondary school teachers working at 14 different schools in the conference. The sample for the investigation comprised six schools, three of which had a primary and secondary section, three had only a primary section, and 153 teachers were selected to participate in the study. The study found that among the four principals’ leadership styles, the autocratic style affected the schools' performance, with R2 of 5.2%, F(1, 150) = 9.28, p-value = 0.003). Further, the findings show that transformational style also had an effect on the school’s performance with R2 =3.1%, F(1, 150) =5.93, p-value =0.02. It was also found that school climate mediates the relationship between autocratic styles and school performance. It is recommended that principals be conscious of the effectiveness of their roles and leadership styles. It was also recommended that regular training be done for the principals so that they can discover their leading style, with its weaknesses and strengths, and learn to practice other styles in order to be more effective in their duties. In addition, principals should encourage a positive school climate to enhance their performance.