Women‘S Leadership Style And Teacher‘S Job Satisfaction In Governmental Primary Schools In Gelan Guda Sub-City Of Shegger City Administration, Oromia, Ethiopia.”

Abstract

The purpose of study was to examine the impact of leadership styles of female principals on teacher job satisfaction in governmental primary schools within Gelan Guda Sub-City Administration. Employing quantitative methods, the research explores the influence of transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire leadership styles on job satisfaction. A descriptive, correlational, and explanatory research design was employed to describe current leadership practices, examine the strength and direction of relationships between leadership styles and satisfaction, and explore possible causal linkages. The study targeted a population of 193 teachers working under female principals across seven selected primary schools. Census sampling eliminates sampling bias and allows a full view of teachers’ experiences under female principals. Data were collected through structured Likert-scale questionnaires and supplemented with semi-structured interviews conducted with female principals to provide additional context. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS software, involving descriptive statistics, reliability testing (Cronbach’s alpha), Pearson’s correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Findings indicate that transformational leadership, characterized by motivational communication, empathy, and intellectual stimulation, has the strongest positive effect on job satisfaction, with a correlation coefficient of 0.860 and an odds ratio of 1.444. Transactional leadership also positively correlates with job satisfaction, albeit to a lesser extent, with a correlation coefficient of 0.163 and an odds ratio of 1.343. Conversely, laissez-faire leadership demonstrates a significant negative correlation (-0.808) with job satisfaction, suggesting that passive leadership reduces teacher morale. The logistic regression model explains 36.2% of the variance in job satisfaction, underscoring the critical role of proactive and supportive leadership in enhancing job satisfaction. The study recommends targeted leadership development programs that prioritize transformational and transactional leadership while minimizing laissez-faire tendencies to optimize teacher job satisfaction in educational settings.