INFLUENCE OF HEAD TEACHERS’ LEADERSHIP PRACTICES ON SCHOOL CULTURE IN SELECTED SENIOR HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE KWAHU WEST MUNICIPALITY

ABSTRACT Recent educational reform efforts have focused on creating effective school environment as a means of improving students’ achievement. Against this backdrop, there have been a surge in concerns that claim that success of educational reforms cannot be guaranteed without paying attention to school leadership. The main objective of the study was to examine the effects of head teachers’ leadership practices on school culture using Senior High Schools in the Kwahu-West municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Primary data were collected from 207 respondents, comprising school Heads, Teachers and non-teaching staff in five SHSs in the Kwahu-West municipality. The results of the analysis revealed that the key School cultures were the involvement of parents in school management and development of effective coordination among staff, parents and students. Further analysis show that leadership practices positively correlated with school culture. The results further show that the effects of leadership practices on school culture was statistical significant at 5%. The study recommends that leadership of schools should be sensitive to the concerns of subordinates as this will result in positive school culture conducive for teaching and learning.