Leadership Styles and Job Performance among Administrative Heads of Secondary Schools

The study was carried to predict leadership styles and job performance among administrative heads of Secondary Schools in North-Central, Nigeria. Three research questions and hypotheses were formulated for the study. The target population comprised of 7, 290 administrative heads in the selected school in North-central Nigeria. The stratified and purposive random sampling technique was used to draw a total of two hundred and thirty nine (239) respondents. The research instrument was a structured questionnaire title Leadership Style and Job Performance Questionnaire (LSJPQ), which was validated by experts in Educational Management and Measurement and Evaluation in Ahmadu Bello University and Benue State University respectively. The index with Cronbach alpha revealed an index of 0.89-0.92 which shows a strong reliability index. Data was collected on principals’ leadership style and job performance among administrative heads in the selected schools in North-central Nigeria. The target population of the study comprised all administrative heads (principals) in the 20 selected schools in the study area which was anlysed with simple regression analysis. The result revealed that autocratic leadership style, democratic leadership style and laissez fair leadership style significantly predict job performance among administrative heads. It was recommended among others that secondary schools principals in North-Central, Nigeria should adopt democratic leadership that gives every individual ample opportunity in secondary schools, as these leadership styles will enhance staff job performance and goal achievement in the schools.