Abstract:

The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the influence of four leadership styles in high school management. Qualitative studies use inductive approaches in generalising theory. Meaning from data is discerned from the narratives of the research sample. For our study, the focus was on how democratic, autocratic, affiliative and coaching are complementary and applied by the principal of a selected Lesotho high school. Data were thus, purposely collected from one female principal and six teachers through a semi-structured face to face interview and a focus group interview, respectively. Participation was voluntary and transparent. The participants were assured of confidentiality and anonymity before they consented by signing consent forms. Data were analysed thematically through quality content analysis. This enabled the researchers to make sense of how school principal enacted leadership through preferred leadership styles. The results showed that the principal’s democratic leadership style influenced and encouraged teachers’ and learners’ participation in decision-making. Inversely, the autocratic leadership style was effectively used in the school management. The affiliative leadership style helps in promoting transparency and building trust among teachers and the students. The coaching leadership style allowed the principal to challenge teachers in their work. This encouraged them to strive for success through hard work and dedication. Thus, social context impacts on school leadership. The study concludes that the female principal mostly use democratic, autocratic, affiliative and coaching in managing the school. In most cases, it was deduced that female principals employ multiple leadership styles in different social circumstances. Our study recommends that for effective teaching and learning to be realised, a school principal is encouraged to integrate the various leadership styles in school management since they are perceived complementary.

Keywords:

Leadership styles, school management, democratic, affiliative, coaching, autocratic, Lesotho.