Determinant Factors in the Effective Leadership of Secondary Schools: The Diminishing Trust Culture by Educators

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinant factors in the effective leadership of secondary schools in Uganda. Factor Analysis was employed to appropriately identify variables for inclusion in subsequent analytical procedures. The use of an eigenvalue cut-off point of 1.0, as suggested by Kaiser, resulted in four factors which were then rotated using varimax rotation before the use of correlation and regression analyses to determine their significance. Factor analysis results revealed that there are four significant factors that determine effective leadership of secondary schools in Uganda. Further subsequent analysis then indicated that only three of the factors significantly determine effective leadership in schools which are; (i) the head teacher’s ability to acquire instructional materials [β = .246, t = 2.902, p < 0.004]; (ii) their ability to supervise and manage the school [β = .175, t = 2.111, p < 0.037]; and (iii) their influence over teaching and student assessment [β = .544, t = 8.872, p < 0.0001]. The study documents the factors that have been empirically identified as key to the effective leadership of secondary schools in Uganda and therefore closes the gap on what should practically be done by stakeholders and especially educators to effectively lead schools and produce results.

Keywords: Leadership Effectiveness, Trust Culture, Trust Gap, Teaching

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-33-10

Publication date: November 30^th 2020