Principals under the Microscope: A harmonious chorus or discordant melody on their Leadership Styles in Colleges of Education, Ghana

Abstract

This study examined the leadership styles being used by principals in colleges of education in the Eastern Region of Ghana. The study was underpinned by the pragmatism paradigm and was guided by Theory X-Y by McGregor (1960).  With the utilisation of descriptive survey research design, data was gathered from the respondents, and through the use of a multi-stage sampling technique, a sample of 210 staff was selected to fill out questionnaires while five principals were chosen through purposive sampling for interview. In total, 215 respondents were selected from a population of 443 for the study. A descriptive statistical tool (mean and standard deviation) was used to analyse the statistical data with the support of Statistical Product for Service Solution (SPSS), whereas thematic analysis was employed to analyse the qualitative data. The study found that the principals exhibited transformational leadership style (mean of means = 4.25), even though some principals were perceived as transactional leaders (mean of means = 3.45). Principals were perceived as least exhibiting a laissez-faire leadership style (mean = 2.45). On the whole, the male principals were perceived more as transformational (democratic) leaders whilst the female principals were seen more as transactional (autocratic) leaders. Based on the outcome of the study, it is recommended that the Government of Ghana (GoG), through the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) should organise periodic seminars and workshops to re-orient principals and other college officials on the importance of the various leadership styles, especially, transformational leadership style and when to apply them.