RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPALS’ TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP STYLE AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN KENYA CERTIFICATE OF SECONDARY EDUCATION IN BOMET COUNTY, KENYA

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.