LEADERSHIP PATTERNS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS

LEADERSHIP PATTERNS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

Leadership is fundamental to the existence of any organization. It focuses on the accomplishment of goals and objectives of the organization. The leader influences the behaviours of the people who work for an organization so as to achieve the basic goals upon which the organization or group is found. The process through which leaders influence their followers to work towards attainment of certain goals that represent the values, needs, aspirations and expectations of both the leaders and the followers is termed leadership.

Leadership connotes the ability to get things done with the assistance and co-operation of other people within the organization (Ake, 2007). The effective leader is not only able to make his subordinates do what they have to do but also recognize that they must be motivated to ensure that they continue to work hard until the goals and objectives of the organization are met. Other qualities of good leaders are unquestionable discipline, endurance, integrity and persistence in attaining goals. Most good leaders have crucial vision. They know how to motivate people to believe in the same vision they have for themselves.

Leadership is very crucial for school administration. Leadership and administration are usually mistaken to be the same, but there are differences. While every administrator is a leader not all leaders are administrators. In leadership, authority is derived from the followers but in administration authority is derived from the statutory functions of the office holder (Chiaha, 2009). However their qualities are similar. Good school administrators are perceptive and strategic leaders. Ezinne (2010) observed that a good school administrator should have the knowledge to make the correct call in making sure that the organization is successful. Therefore, a good school administrator must have to be strategic, wise and perceptive. Similarly, a good school administrator, just like a good leader, must be passionate charismatic and good communicators to enable them carry along the teachers and other members of staff to enhance good administrative and learning climate in the school. A good school administrator with the above qualities tends to actualize the goals of the school in terms of improving teaching and learning alongside welfare of the staff.

In the primary school system, the school administrator (principal) has the responsibility as an instructional leader to ensure effective teaching and learning by exerting his influence or position as the school administrator. This is especially needed where there is an upsurge of private primary schools in recent times (Collins, 2009). This upsurge refers to the sporadic springing up of private schools due to poor instructional leadership quality of public school principals whom parents often accuse of not rendering high quality educational services to the learners (Ugwu, 2010). The reaction is based on the proactive measures which the principals of private school often adopt for ensuring instructional improvement of their students. This implies that parents and stakeholders often look forward to effective leadership of schools to enable their wards progress academically. Apparently, therefore, transformational leadership seems to be the answer to their problem.

Experts express opinions that transformational leadership appears to offer the most comprehensive description and generate the most beneficial results in an organization. Leithword (2007) observed that transformational leaders have three main goals which comprise development of staff, maintenance of collaborative school culture and participatory decision-making process which is geared towards the attainment of both individual and organizational (group) goals. The second goal is fostering teacher development by giving teachers a role in solving school problems by allowing them some ownership of the problem and its solutions. Ultimately, transformational leaders help followers solve problems more effectively by encouraging collaboration and promoting the idea that staff, working together, can often find a better solution to a problem than the administrator acting alone. This is probably why private schools seem to apply the use of transformational leadership more often than not (Adebayo, 2009).

LEADERSHIP PATTERNS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS