1.1  Background to the study:

In educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance, or how well a student meets standards set out by local government and the institution itself. As career competition grows ever fiercer in the working world, the importance of students doing well in school has caught the attention of parents, legislators and government education departments alike. (Bossaert et al; 2011).

Grading systems came into existence in America in the late Victorian period, and were initially criticized due to high subjectivity. Different performance in school is evaluated in a number of ways. For regular grading, students demonstrate their knowledge by taking written and oral tests, performing presentations, turning in homework and participating in class activities and discussions. Teachers evaluate in the form of letter or number grades and side notes, to describe how well a student has done. At the state or national level, students are evaluated by their performance on standardized tests geared toward specific ages and based on a set of achievements students in each age group are expected to meet. (Tomas; 2011).

Organizational theorists have long reported that paying attention to culture is the most important action that a leader can perform. Educational theorists have likewise reported that the principals’ impact on learning is mediated through the climate and culture of the school and is not a direct effect (Hallinger and Heck 1998). Watson (2001) warned us that if the culture is not hospitable to learning then student achievement can suffer. Fink and Resnick (2001) reminded us that school principals are responsible for establishing a pervasive culture of teaching and learning in each school.

A closer look at the relationship of specific aspects of school culture to student learning is needed, however. This study identified three categories of schools based on academic achievement of students. These categories are ‘Exemplary’ schools, ‘Recognized’ schools and ‘Acceptable’ schools, as measured by the State of Texas Accountability Rating System. These three categories of schools are then compared on the 10 dimensions of school climate as measured by the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI).

For over thirty years, the effect of schooling on student performance has been one of the

major themes in educational research. Coleman’s study on equality of educational  pportunity in the United States (Coleman, Campbell, Hobson, McPartland, Mood,

Weinfeld & York, 1966) is often conceived as the starting point of what became later

known as the school effectiveness research tradition (see, e.g. Creemers, 1994a; Scheerens

& Bosker, 1997; Teddlie & Reynolds, 2000a). Coleman’s aim was to delineate factors that contribute to differences in achievement between students from various ethnic groups.

One of the main findings was that differences between schools account for only a small part of the total variance in student achievement. Differences in student achievement between schools were found to be considerably smaller than within-school differences.

Every time The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) releases examination results, there is more panic in the country than excitement, and after receiving these results the burden of accepting failure sets in for those that have not made it. The depth of poor academic performance is viewed differently by different people, but many points to poor leadership of the school in question while others blame it on student’s weakness, others on genetic limitations, mental incapacity, and others on lack of career guidance.

In 2007, Uganda became the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to introduce Universal Secondary Education. Coming 10 years after it introduced Universal Primary Education; it represented a bold step by President Yoweri Museveni’s government. At the time, a UN report said Africa had the worst secondary school enrolment rates in the world. Only 34% of secondary school-age children were enrolled in class. Girls and poorer young people comprised the bulk of those locked out of school by financial and cultural constraints.

Under the secondary scheme, students who got specific grades in primary school-leaving exams study free in public schools and participating private schools. The government pays the schools an annual grant of up to UShs 141,000 ($52) per student, spread over three school terms. Parents, though, have to provide the students’ uniform, stationery and meals.

According to Nsubuga (2003) director of basic and secondary education at the ministry of education, before the secondary scheme, barely 50% of primary school-leavers went on to secondary education annually. Within a year of the scheme being introduced, that figure rose to 69%. Similarly, the number of Ordinary level candidates in the country rose from 172,000 in 2006 to almost 265,000 last year, an increase of 54%.

Nsubuga (2003) further asserts that government has increased funding for secondary schooling, which has meant more teachers being recruited, more classrooms and labs being built, and more textbooks. The government policy is to build at least one public secondary school in each Sub-County.

The scheme faces the same difficulties as primary and tertiary education: there may be increased access, but education standards have not improved (Overseas Development Institute Report, 2010). This has mainly been due to inadequate infrastructure – schools, classrooms, laboratories, and libraries.  The government has partnered with about 640 private schools. But the system is fraught with problems: inadequate teaching space and materials, a shortage of teachers, and inadequate and late disbursement of government funds.

Examination results give a hint of this decline. In 2006, nearly 95% of O-level candidates achieved at least the minimum pass rate to qualify for a national certificate, in 2007 a 54% increase in candidates, 80% qualified for the certificate ( UNEB Data; 2006). Within these levels of scores and the highly experienced results, in most cases, Busia District is one of the Districts that produce challenging results interms of numbers of the people (candidates) who pass. This perhaps may be because of the influence of school leadership in Busia. The researcher will need to find out the level to which this is possible in Busia in relation to the influence of school leadership .

Another challenge that has not been highlighted in a paper or report on academic performance is the possibility of luck of skilled leaders in these schools to promote staff development and enhance academic performance. This proposed study once approved, will concern itself specifically on leadership in secondary schools and enhanced academic performance.

• Problem statement:

Although student’s academic performance is measured through rigorous summations, or numerical methods, there is no standard assessment of school leadership to track their performance so that improvements are made annually.

Recruitment of school leaders and managers (Headmasters and Headmistresses) largely depends on experience, qualifications and sometimes through nepotism or political “godfathering”. With the liberalization of education, education entrepreneurs automatically assume the role of a school leader, not because of their abilities but by the power of their cash. Lack of a harmonized, comprehensive and strict leadership code march futures of hundreds of children, good school establishments started on an academic foundation.

Having strong, skilled leaders in secondary schools is a benefit that must be embraced by both government and private schools for improved academic performance in all schools in Uganda and Busia in particular.

1.3 GENERAL OBJECTIVE

The general objective of this study is to investigate the influence of ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE ON ACAMIC PERFORMANCE.

1.3.1 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• To establish how school culture influences academic performance
• To establish how school culture motivates and inspires school staff

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

School culture and school performance

In this study, we will explore one of these theoretical strains by focusing on the culture ofschools, and on the relationship between culture and performance. In the effectiveness enhancing factors Edmonds (1979) has identified, as well as the models of school effectiveness developed by Scheerens (1992) and Creemers (1994b), factors emerge that reflect a school’s culture, like achievement orientation, a shared ideology or mission, cohesion and collaboration among teachers. In other frequently cited reviews of studies into school effects similar conclusions have been drawn (Levine & Lezotte, 1990; Sammons, Hillman & Mortimore, 1995).

Levine and Lezotte (1990) identified nine characteristics of unusually effective schools. The first they mention is a productive school climate and culture. More specifically, effective schools are characterized by an orderly environment. According to both authors, an orderly environment is rather associated with interpersonal relationships, than with regulations. As they note, “discipline derives from ‘belonging and participating’ rather than ‘rules and external control’” (p. 9). Other effectiveness-enhancing factors reflect a similar point of view. For instance, ‘faculty cohesion, collaboration, consensus, communications and collegiality’ were identified as a crucial feature of effective schools. Staff members have to work as a team to ensure a sense of unity and consistency in their relation with students. Furthermore, faculty input in decision-making was identified as an effectiveness-enhancing factor. This refers to a more participatory approach of decision-making, which is likely to enhance the commitment of faculty members. As Levine and Lezotte indicate, the commitment of staff members, and  impetus for collaboration and communication has to be directed towards student achievement. Not only do staff members need to be committed to a shared and articulated mission focused on achievement, Levine and Lezotte argue, but also a schoolwide emphasis on recognizing positive performance is indispensable.

Attendance is defined as participation in a programme of educational activities arranged and agreed by the school. In addition to actual attendance within the school premises, this encompasses a range of other activities within the category of attendance (out of school but marked present). Rockoff, (2007)

Oxford advanced learners dictionary defines culture as the customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group. Cultural practices therefore need to be moderated to reflect the dynamism of our society today and embrace change as an inevitable reality.

Culture is everything. Culture is the way we dress, the way we carry our heads, the way we walk,

the way we tie our ties, it is not only the fact of writing books or building houses, Aimé Césaire (1913)

The quality of the grade and the number of candidates who pass in various grades determine the level of academic performance in a given class or institution in a given period in a particular examination, be it internal or public (Ferguson, 1990). Supporting regular attendance at school is a priority because of its impact on teaching and learning and on levels of attainment. There are well proven links between regular attendance at school and levels of individual pupil attainment.

The current Ugandan education structure has been in place since 1963 and came as a result of recommendation made by the Castle Commission. The country’s formal education system starts with seven years of primary school (ages 6-12), which is ‘supposedly’ compulsory and free according to the current universal primary education program me. It is followed by six years of primary education for ages 13-18, which is also free and compulsory, though the last two for S.5 and 6, Government is under way to make it universal. This level is succeeded by three to five years of university or tertiary education depending on the profession selected by the individual (Kakuru, 2003).

2.1 Types of Leadership in Secondary School:

According to Achua, (2001) leadership, a critical management skill, is the ability to motivate a group of people toward a common goal. These items will help you develop your skills as a leader.  The ability to lead effectively is based on a number of key skills (Adair, 1983).  These skills are highly sought after by employers as they involve dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and build respect. Ideally a leader wants people to follow them because of the trust and respect they have earned – not because they are told to.  Leadership roles are all around us, not just in a work environment, and although these pages focus on leadership skills from the perspective of working in an organization, the skills can be applied to any situation where you are required to take the lead (Balunywa, 2000).  Weiss (2004) assert that people with vested interests in the subject of leadership (academics and those offering leadership training or literature of some sort) are convinced that leadership skills can be taught.  Many successful leaders however have never had any formal training; for them it is a state of mind, their personalities and personas that make them successful leaders.  You can of course learn about effective leadership skills and practices but being able to implement them yourself may require an altogether different set of skills and attitudes.

The question “Can leadership be taught?” has no simple answer and we do not want to argue for one side or the other, but rather keep an open mind on the subject and provide information about the skills good leaders need. For Litze (2007) he stipulated that the most important skill a leader needs is to be able to make decisions; leadership is all about having a vision of where you want to be and making decisions along the way to get closer to achieving this vision.  Decision-making in leadership however involves other people as leaders need followers, so the decision-making process will usually have an impact on your team of followers.  With this in mind, a good leader also needs strong ‘people skills’ since a leader needs to be able to communicate the vision and motivate the team to follow.

According to Armstrong (2004) along the way to achieving the vision the leader will come upon many problems, hence problem solving is therefore another key leadership skill.  Problems come in all shapes and sizes, from those related to the people in your team when mediation skills may be needed, to those of a more strategic nature and everything in between (Balunywa, 2000).  A good leader will not be afraid of problems and, with trust and respect, followers will not be afraid to discuss problems or potential problems. With a positive attitude, problems can become opportunities and learning experiences.  A leader’s biggest asset is information as the more information a leader possesses about the how to achieve the vision or individual goals along the way, the more the leader learns about the direction needed to get there.   Problems provide information and therefore good problem solving is a very powerful skill for the leader (Anderson. & Dexter, 2005).

As with anything in life, things do not always go according to plan and leadership is no exception (Anderson. & Dexter 2005). . The direction a leader takes in order to realize their vision is likely to change.  Strong leaders embrace change and can adapt quickly and efficiently to new situations since they learn to balance opportunity and risk while being aware of their (and their team’s) strengths and weaknesses.

A leader also needs to be a strong facilitator – that is providing the support necessary for the team to achieve their goals.  Support may be as simple as words of encouragement or a specific tool needed to perform a task.  By listening to team-members, a leader can often learn about the barriers preventing a goal from being achieved and, through facilitation, find a way to an appropriate solution. According to Balunywa (2000) a common mistake of a leader is to try to do everything themselves.  A good leader will delegate responsibility to team members and, with the help of motivation and facilitation, aim to enable success.  Delegation also allows the leader to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the team members and therefore make better informed decisions about individual roles and responsibilities.

2.2       culture and  Academic Performance in Secondary School:

According to Armstrong (2004) educators have long considered professional development to be their right—something they deserve as dedicated and hardworking individuals. But legislators and policymakers have recently begun to question that right. As education budgets grow tight, they look at what schools spend on professional development and want to know, does the investment yield tangible payoffs or could that money be spent in better ways? Such questions make effective evaluation of professional development programs more important than ever. Attwood (2001) traditionally, educators haven’t paid much attention to evaluating their professional development efforts. Many consider evaluation a costly, time-consuming process that diverts attention from more important activities such as planning, implementation, and follow-up. Others feel they lack the skill and expertise to become involved in rigorous evaluations; as a result, they either neglect evaluation issues completely or leave them to “evaluation experts.”

Believing that interviews or surveys of individuals left too much room for personal bias Rodler, Kirchler, and Holzl (2001) turned to the examination of obituaries in their quantitative analysis of leadership qualities that individuals were perceived to have as identified by their former employees or co-workers. These obituaries had been written by the corporations within whom the deceased individual had a leadership role and were published within four different German newspapers. Originally conducted to determine if there was a difference in perception based on the gender of the deceased, this article is still useful to the research as it identifies no less than 58 different descriptive categories of words or terms which were used to describe the deceased individual’s leadership by their former employees. The following nine categories are ranked according to the reported percentage of frequency as they appeared within the obituaries over the 24 year span examined (p. 833). Despite the vast amount of research on leadership, there is still more to be learned. The study of leadership commenced in the late 19th century with the focus on “Great Men” (Bass, 1974). This theory examined the lives of great leaders in history. Primarily these were men; however, some women leaders were included in these studies. Some examples are figures such as Moses, Winston Churchill, Thomas Jefferson and many others who have shaped the course of history for good or evil (1974).

From these early studies of great leaders of history, researchers and theorists in the early 20th century identified traits that set these great leaders apart from the average person (Adair, 1983). Later empirical evidence revealed that these lists of traits were inconclusive and failed to capture the essence of leadership or provide a solid framework to identify effective leaders (Johns & Moser, 1989). Through the rest of the 20th century to the present time, researchers have formulated variety of theories in an attempt to explain how leadership works and what distinguishes effective leadership from the ineffective. These theories addressed questions of leadership behavior, effects of situations on leadership, and the relationship between leaders and followers. Among these were those that focused on the leader, on how the leader influences the followers, and how the leader effects change and is changed personally through the process of leadership (Van Seters & Field, 1990).

Leadership continues to be a subject of study in the modern world (Zaccaro, 2007). The extensive research during the past six or seven decades has not exhausted the topic of leadership, on the contrary, it has discovered new aspects of leadership and opened uncharted territory for further study and research (Bennis, 2007).

To set the stage for the study of the leadership approach of Steve Jobs, this chapter reviews the development of leadership theory. Peter Northouse (2004) in his book, Leadership: Theory and practice, provides a chronological overview of leadership theory. This chapter follows the chronology of leadership theory development set out by Northouse, however, it also organizes leadership theory into thematic categories. Leadership theory developed over time but with much overlap. Thus, presenting a truly chronological review of leadership theory development is difficult. Nevertheless, it is helpful to combine both chronological and thematic aspects of organization in this review of leadership theory development.

2.3       culrture and staff development:

Involvement in decision-making concerning staff development is a practice by which both superiors and subordinates jointly sit together to discuss the way to run the organization (Okumbe, 1998). Involvement in decision-making is a typical characteristic of participatory type of leadership. While lack of involvement in decision making portrays autocratic leadership style, laissez-faire is portrayed when leaders may reluctantly involve subordinates in decision making process. Webster (2002) defines participative leadership style as a way of involving individual participation in decision-making. While Chandan (1987) defines democratic leadership style as one where subordinates are consulted and their feedback is taken into the decision making process.

This is in line with House (1968)’s Path-goal theory that stipulates that both leaders (head teachers) and subordinates should involve themselves in decision making if an organization is to achieve its goals. He added that when goals are set together, the subordinates (teachers) become committed; self confident and knowledgeable about the set goals thus making them perform well.

Love (1993) identified that teacher performance as being negatively affected by lack of teachers’ participation in decision-making. Love (1993) study in England indicated that some head teachers handle their staff badly for example teachers’ decisions are not considered when staff meetings are organized and teachers are undermined in whatever they do. She pointed out that this has made teachers lose morale to perform well and even some resign from the teaching profession. Though Love’s (1990) findings were good, her study was carried out in England but not Uganda . This left a contextual gap for this study to fill.

While carrying out a research study in Kabalore District, Kayizzi (1990) discovered that teacher performance and effectiveness were  closely linked to school management and administration.

He established that teachers who are better motivated will perform well. He further fought out that when teachers are involved in decision making meaning that head teachers who interact directly with their teachers or involve them in activities of decision making of the day to day administration of the school like taking turns on weekly duties. Supervision of preps and chairing departmental meetings. This makes the teachers feel important thus motivating them to perform school activities to achieve the school goals. He further found out that assigning such duties will make teachers perform against school odds and challenges because of the esteem derived from good working relations. His findings were good, but his study did not look at leadership styles and teacher performance in secondary schools in Busia District thus leaving a gap for the current study to undertake.

Oxford (2005) defines communication as a process of passing on information from one person to another. Mintzberg (1979) defines communication as a way of passing on information from one level to another. This may be from bottom to top or top to bottom levels of management.

Hannagan (2002) defines communication as a way of passing on information about the effectiveness of particular work behaviours and it is thought to perform several functions. For example, it is directive, by clarifying specific behaviours that ought to be performed; it is motivational, as it stimulates greater effort; and it is error correcting, as it provides information about the extent of error being made. However, the importance of communication in institutions of learning has in most cases been undermined especially in secondary schools in Busia District.

Pritchard and others (1988) as quoted in Hannagan (2002) indicates that communication by itself can lead to higher level of performance if it is properly used. He further asserts that communication allows the person to track how well he/ she is doing in relation to the goal, so that if necessary, adjustments in effort can be made. He further indicates that communication may be in form of memos, telephone calls, messages, posting notices, writing letters and sending E-mail or fax. Unfortunately, these modes of communication are not properly applied in fields of education more particularly in secondary schools in Busia District.

The concept of communication in leadership is highly internalized by Armstrong and Baron (1998). They endeavored to describe how it is used, operated and thus stressed its importance

They argued that information is usually communicated to employees in form of memos, meetings and telephone calls to enhance their performance. These ideas are supported by Handy (1996) who expressed that for performance to be effective, it is important for employers to communicate on what is to be done and how it is to be done. He added that communication may be presented directly or indirectly to individuals to boost up their performance. However, he emphasized that good counseling and guidance for individual may come as a result of good and open communication provided by heads of human resource departments or heads of institutions like head teachers. This concept of communication is supported by House (1968) path-goal theory that stipulates that for subordinates to perform well the leader has to guide or direct them through verbal or written communication in form of notices, memos or meetings. The theory further stresses that through communication errors are identified and corrected. It also helps one to know how well or bad he or she is performing a given task. This enhances performance in any organization or institution of learning.