Participatory Leadership Behaviour and Goal Attainment in Public Secondary Schools in Abia State, Nigeria

Participatory leadership behavior is essential for achieving goals, as it leverages the collective expertise and commitment of all team members. However, the primary challenge is balancing diverse perspectives to maintain cohesive and effective decision-making. Based on this, the study examined participatory leadership behaviour and goal attainment in secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. Expost-facto research design was adopted for the study. Two research questions guided the study. One research hypothesis was tested in the study. The population of the study comprised all the principals from all 303 public secondary schools in the three Education Zones in Abia State. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 160 principals from the 3 Education Zones (Strata) in Abia State, as sample for the study. The instrument for data collection was a self-structured questionnaire titled “Participatory Leadership Behaviour and Goal Attainment Questionnaire (PLBGAQ)†. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. Multiple Regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis at .05 alpha level. Result obtained revealed that the extent to which principals practice participatory leadership behaviour in public secondary schools in Abia State was low. It was also revealed that the extent of goal attainment in the schools was also low. Participatory leadership behaviour of the principals significantly predicted goal attainment in the schools. It was recommended that, the Ministry of Education in Abia State should implement regular training programs for principals, focusing on participatory leadership skills to enhance goal attainment in public secondary schools.