Overview

Original Research

PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLES AND STUDENTS’ DISCIPLINE IN PUPBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

FAREMI, MARGARET FUNKE 1, OLASEINDE, FELICIA OLUFEMI 2, BOLARINWA, DAPO ALONGE 3, BELO, FAWZIYAH ABIMBOLA 4 and OGUNLADE, ABIGAIL TOYIN 5

Vol 20, No 08 ( 2025 )   |  DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16892197   |   Author Affiliation: Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Management, Osun State University, Osogbo, Nigeria 1, Faculty of Education, Department of Arts and Language Education, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 2, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Management, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 3, aculty of Education, Department of Educational Foundations and Management, College of Education, Bamidele Olumilua University of Education, Science and Technology, Ikere-Ekiti, Nigeria 4, Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Management, Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria 5   |   Licensing: CC 4.0   |   Pg no: 119-129   |   Published on: 18-08-2025

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the level of discipline; and the relationship between principals’ leadership styles and students’ discipline. The population of the study consisted of 7,538 teachers and all the students in 206 public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The sample for the study consisted of 105 respondents. Multistage sampling procedure was used for the study. The first stage involved the use of simple random sampling technique to select seven Local Government Areas out of 16. The second stage involved the use of simple random sampling technique to select 15 schools from each of the Local Government Areas. The third stage involved the use of proportionate sampling technique to select 49 teachers and 56 students because; the schools did not have the same number of teachers and students. The instruments used were Principal’ Leadership Style Questionnaire and Students’ Discipline Questionnaire and the reliability (r) coefficients were 0.78 and 0.84 respectively. A 4-point rating scale was employed for the instruments. The null hypotheses formulated for the study was tested at 0.05 level of significant. The study revealed that the level of students’ discipline in public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria was high; there was significant relationship between principals’ autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire leadership styles and students’ discipline.

Keywords

Leadership, Leadership Styles, Discipline, Students’ Discipline, Principals’ Leadership Styles.