ENHANCING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN GHANAIAN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EFFECTIVE PRACTICE
Abstract
Leadership is considered to be significant for the success of any institution. The present study focused on Enhancing Leadership Development in Ghanaian Senior Secondary Schools. The study employed an exploratory analysis research which was qualitative in nature. Sample included principals, teachers, administrative staffs and some workers from the Ministry of Education. Purposive sampling procedure was employed. Data were collected through semi-structured interview protocols. An interpretive approach was used to analyze the data and generate meaning and conclusions. The following findings were observed; some of the leadership challenges faced by principals in the Ghanaian senior high schools include financial challenges, inadequate logistics, and lack of infrastructure, indiscipline among students, unskilled / uncooperative personnel, and lack of motivation. Some of the requisite leadership skills observed were communication, managerial, instructional and social skills. It was further observed that the modes for leadership development capability included In-service training, mentoring, coaching, feedback, seminar and workshop. Both theoretical and practical content was observed for the approaches employed in leadership development delivery. Finally, with regards to support, it was observed that some of the schools had to generate their own internal support due to inadequate or no support coming from the governmental level. The study concluded that given the importance of educational leadership, the development of effective leaders should be a deliberate process designed to produce the best possible leadership for schools and colleges. In this view, it was recommended that a continuous leadership development program of activities which focus on recruitment of candidates from preparation level to succession level. It was further recommended that Senior High Schools in Ghana should organize in-service training to cover need and context and also ensure suitable variety modes for effective training through a broad body of knowledge supported by practices that identify the content, design and methods of effective programs.
Article visualizations:
Keywords
References
Afful-Broni, A, 2012. Conflict Management in Ghanaian Schools: A Case Study of the Role of Leadership of Winneba Senior High School, International Journal of Educational Planning Administration, 2 2, 65-76. ISSN 2249-3093.
Avolio, B, J, 2005. Leadership development in balance: Made/born. Mahwah, New-Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
Barton, D, Grant, A, Michelle, Horn, M, 2012. Leading in the 21st century. McKinsey Quarterly
Bass, B, M, 1985. Leadership and Performance beyond Expectations, New York: Free Press,
Bass, B, M, 1990. From transactional to transformational leadership: Learning to share the vision. Organizational Dynamics, winter, 19-31.
Beatriz, P, Deborah, N, Hunter, M,, 2008. Improving School Leadership, Volume 1 Policy and Practice: Policy and Practice Vol, 1. OECD publishing,
Bird, C, 1940. Social Psychology. New York: Appleton-Century.
Bimpeh, S, 2012. Factors Influencing Leadership and Teacher Performance in the Senior High Schools in the Ho Municipality of the Volta Region of Ghana, Ghana
Blake, R, R, Mouton, J, S, 1964. The Managerial GriD, Houston, TX: Gule,
Bolam, R, 1999. Educational administration, leadership and management: Towards a research agenda, In Educational management: Redefining theory, policy and practice, Ed, T, Bush, L, Bell, R, Bolam, R, Glatter, and P, Ribbins, 193–205. London: Paul Chapman
Burns, J, M, 1978. Leadership, Harper and Row, New York, NY.
Bush, T, Chew, J, 1999. Developing human capital: training and mentoring for principals, Compare, 29: 1: 41-52.
Bush, T, Glover, D, 2003. Leadership Development: A Literature Review, Nottingham, National College for School Leadership,
Bush, T, D, Glover, 2014. School leadership models: What do we know? School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation, 45:553-571. doi: 10.1080/13632434.2014.928680.
Bush, T, Jackson, D, 2002, Preparation for school leadership: international perspectives, Educational Management and Administration, 30: 4: 417-429.
Bush, T, 2008. Leadership and management development in education. London, England: Sage Publications,
Bush, T, 2009. Leadership development and school improvement: contemporary issues in leadership development, Educational Review, 61 4, 375-389. ISSN 0013-1911
Chong, K, C, K, Stott, Low, T, G, 2003. Developing Singapore school leaders for a learning nation. In reshaping the landscape of school leadership development: A global perspective, Ed, P, Hallinger, 163–74. Lisse, the Netherlands: Swets and Zeitlinger,
Creswell, J, 2003. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications
Creswell, J, W, 2007. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among the Approaches, 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks, C, A: Sage.
Davis, S, Darling-Hammond, L, LaPointe, M, Meyerson, D, 2005. School leadership study: Developing successful principals Review of Research. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Stanford Educational Leadership Institute.
Day, D, V. 2001. Leadership development: a review in context, Leadership Quarterly, 11: 4581–613.
Day, D, V, Halpin, S, M, 2004. Growing leaders for tomorrow: An introduction. In D, V.
Day, S, J, Zacarro, S, M, Halpin Eds, Leader development for transforming organizations: Growing leaders for tomorrow pp, 3–22. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum & Associates
Day, C, Leithwood, K, Eds, 2007. Successful principal leadership in times of change: An international perspective. Dordrecht, UK: Springer.
Day, D, V, Harrison, M, M, Halpin, S, M, 2009. An Integrative Approach to Leader Development: Connecting Adult Development, Identity, and Expertise. New York, NY: Psychology Press,
Deal, T, Peterson, K, 1999. Shaping school culture: The heart of leadership, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass,
Dimmock, C, 1998. Restructuring Hong Kong’s schools: the applicability of western theories, policies and practices to an Asian culture. Educational Management and Administration, 26: 4: 363 – 377.
Dimmock, C, 1999. Principals and school restructuring: conceptualizing challenges as dilemmas, Journal of Educational Administration, 37:5: 441–62.
Drath, W, McCauley, C, Palus, C, Van Velsor E, O’Connor, P, McGuire, J, 2008. Direction, alignment, commitment: toward a more integrative ontology of leadership, The Leadership Quarterly, 196:635–53.
Dressler, B, 2001. Charter School leadership, Education and Urban Society, 33 2, 170–85.
Eisenhardt, K, M, 1991. Better stories and better constructs: The case for rigor and comparative logic, Academy of Management review, 163:620-627.
Estyn, 2014. Twelve secondary school Improvement Journeys, Cardiff: Estyn. [Online]. Available from: http://wwW,estyn.gov.uk/english/docViewer/297105.9/twelvesecondary-school improvement- journeys-december-2013 [Accessed 20 October 2016]
Fiedler, F, 1967. A Theory of Leadership EffectivenesS, New York: McGraw- HilL,
Fletcher, J, K, Käufer, K, 2003. Shared leadership pp, 21-47. C, L, Pearce, J, A, Conger Eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Glynn, M, A, Defordy, R, 2010. Leadership through an organizational behavior lens: A look at the last half-century of research. In: Handbook of leadership theory and practice, N, Nohria and R, Khurana, Eds, Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press, pp: 119-158.
Goldring, E, Greenfield, W, 2002. Understanding the evolving concept of leadership to education: Roles, expectations, and dilemmas, Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, 1011, 1-19.
Green, L, 2001. Practicing the art of leadership: A problem-based approach to implementing the ISLLC standards, Columbus, Ohio: Prentice-Hall.
Gronn, P, 1995. Greatness re-visited: The Current Obsession with Transformational Leadership, Leading Managing, 11: 14-27.
Hallinger, P, Murphy, J, 1985. Assessing the instructional management behaviour of principals, The Elementary School Journal, 862:217–47
Hargreaves, A, Fink, D, 2006. The Ripple Effect, Educational leadership, 638: 16-20.
Harris, A, 2004. Distributed leadership and school improvement leading or misleading? Educational Management Administration Leadership, 321: 11-24.
Heifetz, R, A, Laurie, D, L, 1997. The work of leadership, Harvard business review, 75: 124-134.
Hersey, P, Blanchard, K, 1988. Management of Organizational Behavior: Utilizing Human Resources, Englewood Cliffs NJ: Prentice Hall International,
Hill, P, 2001. What Principals Need to Know about Teaching and Learning, University of Melbourne, paper presented to the National College for School Leadership Think Tank, London.
Hirsh, W, Carter, A, 2002. New Directions in Management Development, IES Report 387, Brighton: Institute for Employment Studies,
Hooijberg, R, Bullis, R, C, Hunt, J, G, 1999. Behavioral complexity and the development of military leadership for the twenty-first century. Out-of-the-box leadership: Transforming the twenty-first-century army and other top performing organizations, 11: 1-130.
Johnston, J, Pickersgill, S, 1992. Personal and interpersonal aspects of effective team oriented headship in the primary school, Educational Management and Administration, 20: 4: 239–48.
Jones, S, Lefoe, G, Harvey, M, Ryland, K, 2012. Distributed leadership: a collaborative framework for academics, executives, and professionals in higher education. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 341, 67-78.
Kvale, S, 2007. Doing Interviews, Sage, London
Keys, B, Wolfe, J, 1988. Management education and development: Current issues and emerging trends, Journal of Management, 142: 205-229.
Langely, N, Jacobs, M, M, 2014. 5 Essential Skills for Successful School Leaders; Moving from Good to Great, 2nd edn. Rowman Littlefield Publishers
Leithwood, K, Jantzi, D, Steinbach, R, 1999. Changing leadership for changing
Times, Open University Press, London.
Leithwood, K, Seashore L, K, Anderson, S, Wahlstrom, K, 2004. A, how leadership influences student learning: A review of research for the Learning from Leadership Project, New York, NY: The Wallace Foundation.
Leithwood, K, Seashore L, K, Anderson, S, Wahlstrom, K, 2004B. Executive Summary: How leadership influences student learning, New York, NY: The Wallace Foundation.
Leithwood, K, Day, C, Sammons, P, Harris, A, Hopkins, D, 2006. Seven strong claims about successful school leadership, Nottingham, National College for School Leadership
Martinez, R, 2002. Leadership practices and diversity in higher education: Transitional and transformational frameworks, Journal of Leadership Organizational Studies, 83:53.
Mayring, P, 2000. Qualitative Content Analysis [28 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 12, Art, 20, http://nbnresolvinG,de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0002204
McCauley, C, D, Moxley, R, S, Van Velsor, E. Eds,. 1998. The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass,
Mulford, B, 2003A. School Leaders: Changing roles and impact on teacher and school effectiveness, Commissioned paper by the Education and Training Policy Division, OECD, for the Activity “Attracting, Developing and Retaining Effective Teachers”. Paris: OECD, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/61/61/2635399.pdf
Mulford, B, 2003B. The role of school leadership in attracting and retaining teachers and promoting innovative schools and students, Commissioned paper by the Commonwealth Department of Education Science and Training for their “Review of Teaching and Teacher Education”. http://www,dest,gov.au/nr/rdonlyres/161eeec9-713a-40cd-9e872e5aca1e19a3/1661/leadership.pdf
Mulford, B, 2007B. Successful school principalship in Tasmania, In C, Day, K, Leithwood, Eds, Making a difference: Successful school leadership in eight countries, London, Springer,
Murphy, J, Hallinger, P, 1992. The principal ship in an era of transformation. Journal of Educational Administration, 30:3:77–88.
Murphy, J, Louis, K, S, 1999. Handbook of research on educational administration. A project of the American Educational Research Association. Jossey-Bass, Inc, Publishers, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.
National College for School Leadership NCSL, 2006D. New models of headship: Secondary or special school executive heads, Nottingham: Author,
National College for School Leadership 2001B. Leadership Development Framework, Nottingham, NCSL,
Northouse, P, G, 2011. Introduction to leadership: Concept and practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc,
Oduro, G, T, K 2009. The missing ingredient: head teacher leadership development in Sub-Saharan Africa, Commonwealth Education Partnerships,
Ofsted, The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, 2014. Framework for school inspection. Manchester, England, Retrieved from http://wwW,ofsteD,gov.uk/resources/framework-for-school-inspection [Accessed 24 October 2016]
Patton, M, 1990. Qualitative evaluation and research methods pp, 169-186. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Patton, M, Q. 2002. Qualitative research and evaluation methods 3rd edn. New Delhi: Sage.
Peterson, R, S, Smith, D, B, Martorana, P, V, Owens, P, D, 2003. The impact of chief executive officer personality on top management team dynamics, Journal of Applied Psychology, 88:795–808.
Pinder, C, C, 2008. Work motivation in organizational behavior, 2nd edn. New York; Psychology Press,
Southworth, G, 2002. Instructional leadership in schools: reflections and empirical evidence, School Leadership and Management, 22:1: 73–92.
Schleicher, A, 2012. Ed, Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders for the 21st Century: Lessons from around the World, OECD Publishing, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264xxxxxx-en
Starratt, R, J, 2001. Democratic leadership theory in later modernity: An oxymoron or ironic possibility? International Journal of Leadership in Education, 44:333-352.
Taylor, M, De Guerre, D, Gavin, J, Kass, R, 2002. Graduate Leadership Education for Dynamic Human Systems, Management Learning, 333:349-369.
West-Burnham, J, O’Sullivan, F, 1998. Leadership and Professional Development in Schools, London, Financial Times, Prentice Hall.
West-Burnham, J, 2001. Interpersonal leadership, NCSL Leading Edge Seminar, Nottingham, National College for School Leadership,
Zubeviel, T, 2012. Improving Educational Outcomes: The Leadership Imperative. Feature Article of Saturday, 17 March 2012. Retrieved on https://www.ghanaweb.com
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.1030
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2018 Gifty Abena Ampong, Martin Gyambrah, Joel Schmidt, Christian Werner
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright © 2015-2023. European Journal of Education Studies (ISSN 2501 - 1111) is a registered trademark of Open Access Publishing Group. All rights reserved.
This journal is a serial publication uniquely identified by an International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) serial number certificate issued by Romanian National Library (Biblioteca Nationala a Romaniei). All the research works are uniquely identified by a CrossRef DOI digital object identifier supplied by indexing and repository platforms. All authors who send their manuscripts to this journal and whose articles are published on this journal retain full copyright of their articles. All the research works published on this journal are meeting the Open Access Publishing requirements and can be freely accessed, shared, modified, distributed and used in educational, commercial and non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
