Follower Response and Leader Effectiveness in Selected Public Basic Schools in Ghana

Abstract

Collective responsibility that intertwines leadership and followership has been globally accepted as a viable means for attaining school goals. Yet, the influences of followers on the leader’s effectiveness in such a relationship have traditionally been neglected in leadership research and practice. The objective of this study was to expand the evidence on how the role characteristics of followers contribute to headteacher effectiveness in public basic schools in Ghana. Anchored on leader-follower reciprocity theory, a phenomenological research design was employed with a sample size of 110. The sample consisted of 10 school heads, 30 teachers, 30 parents, 20 executives of school management committees, and 20 learners. Multi-stage sampling techniques were employed and involved the purposive sampling of the various respondents, with the exception of teachers, who were selected through snowballing. Data was gathered through a self-administered questionnaire and face-to-face, in-depth interviews. The data was analysed thematically, revealing themes, patterns, and trends relative to role-based behaviours in leader-follower relationships. The findings of the study indicate the existence of ample clarity in terms of government policies on the representation of followers within the education system in Ghana, yet dormancy and unrepresentativeness characterise most school committees from which followers derive. The findings also indicate inadequate role understanding, abilities, and other follower behaviours, which were key barriers to leader effectiveness. Based on the findings, it is recommended that community and school committees from which followers are drawn be re-composed and trained in order to make them more representative and more responsive to school heads.