The relationships between three leadership styles and team effectiveness in secondary schools in Kasarani Sub-County, Kenya- A mixed methods study

Abstract

Secondary school performance is a great concern to many stakeholders in Kenya and leadership is a key factor in this. The aim of this study was to explore the correlation between the principal’s leadership style and team effectiveness among teachers. Four objectives were addressed: to establish the impact of principal’s transformational leadership on team effectiveness; to determine how principal’s transactional leadership style affect team effectiveness; to establish how principal’s servant leadership style influences team effectiveness; and to understand how the principles leadership style impacts team effectiveness in secondary schools in Kasarani. The study applied a sequential mixed methods research design. The population of the study was 1,376 teachers and 404 support staff of 60 schools in Kasarani District of Nairobi County. Simple random, stratified, and convenience sampling were applied. A total sample size of 473 participants was used of which 60 took part in in depth interviews. Two adapted questionnaires were administered red to collect quantitative data. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. In addition, thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the qualitative data. Results showed that there was a strong influence of servant, transformational, and transactional leadership styles, on team effectiveness. Thematic analysis showed that transformational leadership was most evident among sampled schools. The study concluded that application of these leadership styles can help foster inclusivity, embrace distinctive opinions among teams, and inculcate strong moral code and emotions for accommodating work pressure. The study recommended adoption of transformational and transactional leadership styles for improving team effectiveness in secondary schools.