Government Secondary School Teachers’ Preferred and Perceived Leadership Styles, Professional Commitment, Retention and Job Satisfaction in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: The Path-Goal Theory in Focus

Abstract

By using a correlational design, this study examined the relationship among leadership style, teachers' professional commitment, teacher retention and job satisfaction in Addis Ababa government secondary schools. Data was collected from a random sample of 293 teachers drawn from 11 government secondary schools using three standardised measures after adopting them for use in the present context. The collected data was analysed using t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis. The results indicated a significant positive correlation with moderate magnitude between job satisfaction on the one hand and professional commitment, leadership style and teacher retention on the other. The findings also showed that (i) teachers’ job satisfaction is significantly better under participative leadership than directive leadership; (ii) whereas participative leadership is by far the most preferred style, the leadership style practised, as perceived by most teachers, is directive leadership followed by participative leadership; (iii) participative leadership style, professional commitment, teacher retention, achievement-oriented leadership style, length of teaching service and educational qualification are significant predictors of teachers’ job satisfaction. Whereas the variables jointly accounted for 53 percent of the variance in teachers’ job satisfaction, participative leadership alone accounted for 33.6 percent of the variance in job satisfaction. It may be concluded, based on the findings, that participative leadership is the strongest predictor of teachers’ job satisfaction and a leadership style a large majority of teachers prefer. Directions for future research are suggested.