ABSTRACT

The study investigated the influence of leadership styles of principals on academic performance students in public secondary schools in Abia state. Expo-facto design was used for the study. The area of study was Abia state. Five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. A sample size of 609 respondents comprising 374 teachers and 235 principals in public secondary schools in Abia state were drawn through the use of proportionate stratified random sampling technique from a target population of 3,970. A 4-point responses of very high extent, high extent, low extent, very low extent were used to rate the questionnaire with face and content validity ascertained by three experts from; Measurement and Evaluation, Educational Management in the College of Education Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. Reliability index of 0.71 with the use of 10 principals and 40 teachers respectively as a measure of internal consistency which result was obtained through Cronbach Alpha method. The 609 copies of questionnaires were administered with the help of three briefed research assistants through direct delivery and recovery method. All the 609 copies of the instrument were returned after three months and used for data analysis. Research questions were answered using mean scores, while the hypotheses were tested using z-test at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the findings revealed that autocratic and laissez-fair leadership styles to a high extent influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Abia state. The findings also revealed that democratic and contingency leadership styles to a low extent influence academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Abia state.  Based on the findings, recommendations were made and include; that State Ministry of Education should organize regular inspection to schools to monitor the style of leadership used by principals that could enhance better academic performance among students. Since not all the Principals leadership styles have significant influence on academic performance of students, it was recommended that principals should apply the adequate leadership styles to ensure positive influence on academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Abia State. Conclusively, leadership styles of principals in public secondary school in Abia State influences the academic performance of students.