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ABSTRACT
The study investigated principals’ leadership styles and their relationship with staff interpersonal relationship in Ondo State secondary schools. It also sought to find out the significance of variables such as postgraduate professional qualification, gender and location of principals with their leadership styles. To this end, eleven research questions were raised while nine hypotheses were formulated for the study.
The research was correlational using Ex-post Facto design. The population was nine thousand two hundred and twenty-seven (9,227) teaching staff including principals and vice principals in the two hundred and sixty-nine public secondary schools in Ondo State. The study sample was nine hundred and twenty-three (923) randomly selected teachers and principals. This number represents 10% of the study population. Data were collected with the use of a pre-tested questionnaire. The cronbach alpha test was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument which was 0.59. Data were analyzed using, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Z-test.
The results of the study showed that the predominantly adopted leadership styles by principals in the administration of schools were: exploitative authoritative, benevolent authoritative and consultative leadership style. It was also revealed that a strained interpersonal relationship existed between a large number of staff members 407, (51%) and their principals. The difference between the leadership styles of professionally experienced and less experienced principals in urban and rural schools was found not to be statistically significant. However, it was discovered that, the sex of principals and those that have post-graduate professional qualification (M.Ed) degrees showed significant difference in their leadership styles. Consequent upon the findings, some recommendations were made which include appointing principals with M.Ed degree to manage schools and the need to constantly organize workshops for school mangers for effective and efficient management of schools.
