Principal Leadership Styles and Teacher Job Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Enugu State

This study examines the relationship between principal leadership styles and teacher job performance in public secondary schools in Enugu State, South East Nigeria. Leadership in educational institutions has attracted increasing scholarly attention, particularly regarding how administrative behaviour shapes instructional quality and teacher motivation. Despite numerous reform initiatives, many public secondary schools in Enugu State continue to record poor academic outcomes, and the role of school leadership in this pattern remains inadequately investigated at the undergraduate level. The study adopts a descriptive survey design, drawing on a sample of 320 teachers selected through stratified random sampling from 40 public secondary schools across the three senatorial districts of Enugu State. A structured questionnaire validated by education experts serves as the primary data collection instrument. Data are analysed using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson product-moment correlation. The study is anchored on the Path-Goal Theory of leadership. Preliminary findings suggest that transformational and democratic leadership styles are positively associated with higher levels of teacher performance, while authoritarian approaches correlate with reduced instructional commitment. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on school administration in South East Nigeria and offers practical implications for the selection and training of school principals. Recommendations include the institutionalisation of leadership development programmes within state ministries of education. Keywords: leadership styles, teacher performance, principal behaviour, secondary schools, Enugu State.