Relationship between Principals’ Democratic Leadership Style and Students’ Conformity to Rules in Public Secondary Schools in Nakuru County, Kenya.

Abstract

This study sought to examine the relationship between principals' democratic leadership style and students' conformity to regulations in public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the Social Control theory by Hirschi (1969). The study adopted a correlational research design. The target population was 338 principals, 338 deputy principals, 3426 teachers and 116,374 students in 338 public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. 100 schools were selected using stratified random sampling. Purposive sampling was used to select 100 Principals, while proportionate and simple random sampling was used to select 346 teachers and 383 students. Ten per cent of the Deputy Principals were selected. Questionnaires were used to collect data form Principals, teachers, and students, while interviews were used to collect data from Deputy Principals. Test-retest reliability revealed a coefficient of 0.70, indicating that the instruments were reliable. The findings revealed a statistically significant between principals use of democratic leadership style and students’ conformity to school rules (r=0.334; p< 0.05. It was concluded that the democratic leadership style, when used by principals in public secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya, enhances students' conformity to school rules. The findings will help school principals to fully embrace democratic leadership style to enhance students’ conformity to school rules. The study also recommends that the administration develops a process for handling students’ non-conformity issues in a calm, consistent and supportive manner. The study also recommends, principals should involve all stakeholders, for instance, teachers, students and parents in developing school rules and policies that affect students.