Challenges of leadership in the management of secondary schools in Uganda: A case study of selected schools in Kawempe division in Kampala district.

Abstract

The study was to establish the challenges of leadership in management of Secondary Schools. The major objectives of the study were to establish how to improve leadership styles in secondary schools, to identify management styles in Secondary Schools and to examine the challenges of leadership in the Secondary Schools so that the school can have conclusive learning environment. The study was conducted in four selected Secondary Schools within Kawempe Division both Private and Government Aided.

The researcher used a case study; both qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed. A sample size of 190 respondents was used from selected schools and cluster sampling technique was used. Both primary and secondary data was collected; primary data was collected by using questionnaires, interview guides and observations and secondary data was obtained from text books, News papers, research reports and dissertations in various Libraries like UNESCO, Makerere and Internet sources. Data collected was coded, tallied and reduced into frequencies and percentages using Computer packages. Analysis was done using SPSS for analysing quantitative data, EPI-DATA for analysing qualitative data and Microsoft Excel computer packages focusing on the responses from the research questions.

The findings indicated that the participatory leadership is commonly used in schools (majority (44%) This was attributed to the fact that leadership involved many people such as student leaders, deputy heads, team leaders, and class teachers. Democratic style of management was the commonly practiced style by the school managers. Regarding the challenges, majority of the respondents indicated that they were facing funds shortages, motivation of staff was generally low, and keeping the school’s safety was difficult.

The researcher recommended that there was need for students to take part in decision making, regular staff meetings, increase the funding of the schools, strict supervision and monitoring of the schools, so that the government may reduce the mismanagement of funds.