Relationship between Leadership Practices of Headteachers and Learners’ Academic Achievement in the Public Basic Schools in Asokwa Municipality

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the leadership practices of headteachers and their relationship with learners’ academic achievement in the Asokwa Municipality. The study was grounded in the positivist paradigm linked to the quantitative research approach. Specifically, the study employed a descriptive survey design. The sample for the study was 311, comprising 22 headteachers and 289 teachers. Guided by a census frame, all the headteachers were involved in the study, while a proportionate stratified random sampling technique was employed to sample the teachers. A structured questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Service Solution (SPSS) version 28. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, and frequencies as well as inferential statistics such as Pearson Product Moment correlation. The study established that the headteachers highly practised all the leadership in the Path-goal leadership theory (supportive directive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership). However, the findings suggested that the headteachers practised supportive leadership mostly, followed by directive leadership, and participative leadership, while achievement-oriented leadership was least practised among the headteachers. Therefore, the study recommended that the Asokwa Municipal Education Directorate of the Ghana Education Service should organise in-service training programmes on the effective application of the Path-Goal leadership theory for the headteachers to enable them to enhance the academic achievement of the learners.