PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP APPROACHES AS PREDICTORS OF STUDENTS’ LEARNING OUTCOMES IN OYO METROPOLIS PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS, OYO STATE

Abstract

The place of leadership cannot be jettisoned in the attainment of secondary school effectiveness.
This study examined principals’ leadership approaches as predictors of students’ learning
outcomes in Oyo metropolis public secondary schools, Oyo State. The descriptive survey
research design of correlational type was employed. The population for this study comprised all
public senior secondary school teachers in Oyo metropolis. Purposive sampling technique was
used in selecting 250teachers from 10 randomly selected public secondary schools in the study
area. A researcher designed a questionnaire titled “Principals’ Leadership Approach
Questionnaire” (PLAQ) and “Students’ Learning Outcomes Proforma” (SLOP)were used as
instruments for the study. Descriptive statistics of mean was used in answering research
questions while inferential statistics of Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used
to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that:
transformational leadership was ranked 1st (x̅ = 39.45) as the most used leadership approach by
secondary school principals; students’ learning outcomes level (41.73) was low in the selected
secondary schools. It was revealed a positive non-significant association between the principals’
leadership approaches and students’ learning outcomes in Oyo metropolis public secondary
schools. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the principals should
change their leadership approach in order to improve the Oyo metropolis public secondary
schools in public examinations; and that educational planners in the Ministry of Education
should sponsor and organise conferences, seminars, and workshops on a framework for
leadership development for principals in all public secondary schools in Oyo metropolis.