TRANSACTIONAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES OF HEADTEACHERS FOR IMPROVEMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN ONITSHA EDUCATION ZONE OF ONITSHA EDUCATION ZONE OF ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine headteachers’ transactional leadership practices for primary schools’ improvement in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The study was conducted in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State, South-East, Nigeria. The population of the study comprised all the 91 headteachers from the 91 public primary schools in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State. The entire population was studied. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and it is titled ‘Headteachers’ Transactional Leadership Practices Questionnaire’ (HTLPQ). HTLPQ items were on a 4-point rating scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D), and Strongly Disagree (SD). The instrument was subjected to face validation using three experts from the Department of Educational Foundations. The reliability was determined by administering copies of the questionnaire to 10 headteachers in public primary schools in Ogidi Education Zone of Anambra State. The data collected from the pilot test were subjected to internal consistency reliability test using Cronbach Alpha and the reliability coefficients of 0.87 and 0.84 were obtained for staff professional development practices and community engagement practices respectively. The mean and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions and to determine the homogeneity or otherwise of the respondents’ views. The findings revealed that headteachers in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State, Nigeria strongly apply transactional leadership practices (staff professional development and community involvement) for school improvement. The findings also revealed that the mean transactional leadership practices scores of primary school headteachers were clustered around the mean scores which show homogeneity of primary school headteachers’ response. The study concluded that for schools to improve astronomically, headteachers must actively and continuously adopt transactional leadership practices in the administration of their schools. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that policy makers should strengthen support for school leadership training programmes that emphasize transactional leadership practices, particularly staff professional development and community engagement. Headteachers, teachers, students, and community members should collaborate actively to sustain and enhance these practices for continuous school improvement and overall educational outcomes.