Leadership Styles and Employee Engagement: A study of Public Secondary Schools in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organizations give companies crucial competitive advantages. A discrepancy exists between the perceived importance of engagement and the actual level of engagement in organizations today. Leadership styles are thought to influence employee engagement. There is limited literature in school leadership on what leaders must not do that they are currently doing and the implications of such behaviors for individuals and organizations. The purpose of this research study was to establish the effect of leadership styles on teacher engagement in public secondary schools of Murang’a County, Kenya. The general objective was to investigate the effect of leadership styles on teacher engagement in public secondary school of Murang’a County. The specific objectives were; to determine the effect of transformational leadership on teacher engagement, to assess the effect of Transactional leadership on teacher engagement, to determine the effect of authentic leadership on teacher engagement, to establish the effect of dark leadership on teacher engagement. A survey research design was used. A sample of 368 respondents was selected from a target population of 3,860 teachers in 306 public secondary schools using systematic random sampling followed by use of random numbers. Data was collected using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistical methods like mean and standard deviation, and inferential statistical methods like correlation, regression, analysis of variance, F-test and t-tests were used for data analysis. The study findings showed that the four leadership styles had a significant effect on employee engagement. It is recommended that school principals be trained to apply the leadership styles that positively influence employee engagement and avoid dark leadership style which was found to have a negative effect on employee engagement. It is also recommended that strategies be put in place by the Ministry of Education through the Teacher’s Service Commission to ensure application of appropriate leadership styles by leaders. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in the leadership–behavioural outcomes domain that are significant to school leaders and recommends strategies that will enhance employee engagement.