Empowering public secondary school principals to perform instructional leadership roles in the Amhara region, Ethiopia

Abstract

This Thesis draws on mixed methods survey research conducted to examine how public secondary school principals can be empowered to perform instructional leadership roles in the Amhara region, Ethiopia. This approach allows for the concurrent analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. The study relies on related literature review along with primary data collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The units of analysis were 358 teachers and 76 principals for quantitative data as well as 6 head principals and 12 owners of core processes for teachers, principal, and supervisors development (OCPTPSD) for qualitative data. These subjects were selected on the basis of inclusion criteria to make them eligible subjects. Therefore, 378 eligible teachers 92 principals who matched the selection criteria were identified by the researcher. Teachers and principals were selected using random and convenience sampling methods respectively for quantitative data as well as 6 head principals and 12 OCPTPD were selected through available sampling techniques for the qualitative informants. Detailed reviewing of related literature to give profound insights about the research problems and objectives, a structured questionnaire made up of categorical and scaled questions and the semi-structured interviews widely used supplement and extend our knowledge about individual thoughts, feelings and behaviours, meanings, and interpretations obtained from quantitative data were included as tools of data collection. While quantitative data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), Version 20, qualitative data were analysed using verbatim transcripts. The results gained from quantitative and qualitative data were integrated and interpreted using nested or concurrent transformative procedures. This study identified that principals credited much of their empowerment to access for resources and support from supervisors, they also attributed much of their perceptions to themselves. Empowerment is a very significant tool in promoting principals’ performance thereby improving overall school performance. Measures of structural empowerment; psychological empowerment; and leadership behaviour have significant relationships with effective instructional leadership role performance of principals. Inadequate top management support, lack of awareness, absence of clear regulations on ways and tools of empowerment and insufficient funds, undue interference of top leaders, intimidation of principals and promoting unnecessary reshuffle of school principals were identified as major challenges of empowering PSSP in the ARSE. From the dimensions of structural empowerment (access to support and opportunity for resources); psychological empowerment (meaning); and leadership behaviour (delegation of authority, skill development, and coaching for innovative performance) were found to be significant predictors of empowerment. It was also identified that principals experience more empowered when they have more sociopolitical support from top management, subordinates, peers, superiors and even customers. The researcher recommended that principals required professional freedom to effectively perform instructional leadership roles. If this is not to be happened, the principal feels unhappy and returns to his or her old ways of working. Therefore, policy makers are required to formulate and implement empowerment process model for principals of public secondary schools so that this study challenges all leaders to rethink on how they can empower school principals to effectively perform instructional leadership roles in the region.