Principals’ Leadership Styles and Secondary School Teachers’ Organizational Commitment in Ethiopia

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the perceived relationship between principals’ leadership styles and secondary school teachers’ organizational commitment in Ethiopia. A descriptive survey research design was employed. A total of 287 sample teachers were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using two standardized questionnaires, namely Bass & Avolio’s (1997) Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) and Allen & Meyer‘s (1990) Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ). The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results revealed that the transactional leadership style was predominantly practiced in Ethiopian secondary schools. On the other hand, the findings showed that transactional and transformational leadership styles had positive and statistically significant relationships with the organizational commitment dimensions. Nonetheless, the laissez-faire leadership style was found to be negatively related to teachers’ normative commitment. Finally, results were discussed, and recommendations were forwarded to improve teachers’ commitment.