Abstract:
Leadership style is an important aspect in students’ academic performance in schools.
In Bomet County, for five years from 2010 to 2014 K.C.S.E. examinations, there was
academic performance disparity among the schools. The average range mean scores
disparities were 6.20 points for county schools and 5.00 points for sub-county
schools. Based on minimum university entry score of mean grade of C+ and above,
the students joining university were few. The purpose was to determine the
relationship between principals’ transformational leadership style and secondary
students’ academic performance in KCSE in Bomet County. The study adopted
descriptive survey research design. The target population was 109 Director of Studies
and five Quality Assurance and Standards Officers. To select sample for study, one
Director of Studies in school was selected from each 109 schools sampled and from
the five sub-counties, five Quality Assurance and Standards Officers were selected
making a total of 114 respondents. Stratified random and purposive sampling
procedures were used. Questionnaire for Director of Studies, interview guide for
Quality Assurance Standards Officers and document analysis were used as a data
collection instruments. Reliability of questionnaire items was tested with Cronbach’s
alpha and was found to be 0.81. Validity of research instruments was done through
expert judgement and triangulation.The data was collected from the schools after
getting permission and approval from National Commission of Science, Technology
and Innovation and Bomet County Director of Education. Data analysis for
quantitative data was done using descriptive analysis (frequencies and percentages)
and Chi-square test. The study found that: The principals’ idealized influence and
individualized consideration had a statistical significant relationship while
inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation had no statistical significant
relationship with students’ academic performance in KCSE results. The idealized
influence had a strong significant relationship with students’ academic performance in
KCSE. But individualized consideration had a weaker significant relationship with
students’ academic performance in KCSE. Thus, idealized influence characteristics
were most effective in promoting students’ academic achievement and individualized
consideration characteristics are less so. The schools that embraced more idealized
influence and individualized consideration improved significantly better than those
that used more inspirational motivation and intellectual stimulation.
Recommendations were: training of school principals should be focused on the
idealized influence and individualized consideration but less on inspirational
motivation and intellectual stimulation dimensions of principals’ transformational
leadership styles.
