Leadership Styles and Performance of Universal Primary Education Schools: The case of Selected Schools in Tororo District, Uganda

Abstract

The study explored the relationship between leadership styles and performance of UPE schools in Uganda: the case of selected schools in Nagongera sub-county, Tororo district. The problem of the study was the inability of UPE schools to perform as per their mandate. The objectives of the study were to examine the relationship between Laissez faire leadership styles, democratic leadership styles, and autocratic leadership style on performance of the selected schools in Nagongera sub-county. The study employed a descriptive case study research design using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study sample comprised of 167 respondents. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey, face to face interview and document review. The quantitative data were presented using descriptive statistics. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, ANOVA and the qualitative data were presented using content and thematic analyses. The results revealed that: i) a laissez fare leadership styles has a significant positive effect on the performance of UPE schools in Uganda. ii) democratic leadership style has a significantly positive effect on performance of UPE schools in Uganda. iii).an autocratic leadership styles have a significant positive effect on the performance of UPE schools in Uganda. Overall, the findings revealed that leadership styles had a role to play in the performance of UPE schools in Uganda, indicating that leadership style can affect the performance of UPE schools in Uganda. The study recommended that an improvement in leadership styles by way of improving leadership management style, leadership relationship management and public relations is a must for UPE School to achieve its desired objective as mandated.