Title: Compatibility of distributive leadership, teacher autonomy and school effectiveness in Nigeria

Authors: Karima Bashir; Gazi Mahabubul Alam

Addresses: Department of Education, Faculty of Education, Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, Aliero, Kebbi State, Nigeria; Department of Foundations of Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia ' Department of Foundations of Education, Faculty of Educational Studies, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract: Distributive leadership has been linked with teacher autonomy, school effectiveness and decentralisation. This study aims to explore the compatibility of distributive leadership with teacher autonomy and school effectiveness in northwest Nigeria. The paper employs a quantitative method, using a descriptive survey and adopting western designed instruments to make its argument. The selected sample includes 314 federal secondary school principals. The findings revealed that teachers vary in their perception regarding the application of distributive leadership and their autonomy and distributive leadership has a positive direct effect on school effectiveness (β = 0.645, P<0.001), while teacher autonomy has no direct effect on school effectiveness (β = 0.031, P = 0.678). These findings highlight that distributive leadership alone does not rectify school ineffectiveness. This paper responds to the call for more literature from a non-western perspective, providing insights on the paradox of distributive leadership, teacher autonomy and school effectiveness in a decentralised context in Nigeria.

Keywords: distributive leadership; teacher autonomy; decentralisation; context; school effectiveness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2024.139475

International Journal of Management in Education, 2024 Vol.18 No.4, pp.355 - 375

Received: 04 Dec 2023
Accepted: 04 Feb 2024
Published online: 02 Jul 2024 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article