Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Education)

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    Investigating the nexus of leadership styles and teaching for learning in five secondary schools in the Zambezi region of Namibia.
    (University of the Western Cape, 2023) Maemeko, Eugene Litaba; Maarman, Rouaan
    Five secondary schools were selected from the Zambezi (then Caprivi) Region. It is situated in the north-eastern part of the country and is one of Namibia's eight educational regions. For the past 33 years, previously disadvantaged schools in the Zambezi region were upgraded. However, learning performance measured by examination results leaves much to be desired (Simasiku, Kasanda & Smit, 2015). Prior to Namibia's independence, enrolment levels were low in schools. Namibians were mostly enrolled for local and vocational jobs (Katjavivi, 2016). As such, education was aimed at preparing Namibians for menial positions. At the time, the Germans and the South African government needed this. However, according to the Ministry of Education (1993), there was an exception for a few individuals who became messengers, and clerks including other roles in the administrative system. This study investigated the nexus of leadership styles and teaching for learning in five secondary schools in the Zambezi region of Namibia. A qualitative approach was employed to provide rich data for deeper insight (McMillan & Schumacher, 2001) into the nexus of leadership styles and teaching for learning. This includes improving learners’ academic performance in the five secondary schools. The study employed a multiple case study method. A case study approach allowed for deeper insight into the leadership style of school principals in enhancing positive job performance by teachers and good academic performances by learners in the five schools (Leedy & Ormrod, 2010). Five secondary schools were selected, as this provided an accurate representation of the secondary schools to avoid the generalization of the findings (Christensen & Johnson, 2008). Convenient sampling was used which is a non-probability sampling technique. The study found that the democratic leadership style type of principals was the most employed in the schools. Furthermore, the study indicates that there is a relationship between leadership styles used by principals and teacher performance. The study concludes by examining whether the performance of teachers is superior in those schools where principals are using an autocratic leadership style as compared to those schools where principals adopted democratic leadership styles. It is recommended that principals use both autocratic and democratic leadership styles depending on situations in their schools to improve teachers' job performance. The study further recommends extensive research to be undertaken by other researchers in the leadership and management field as this is what is needed in the schools in the region.