The Ghana Project

The study will take place in the Central Region of Ghana, which is in the area of the Education University of Winneba. The Ghana Education Service (GES) emphasizes the need for school leaders to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools by creating a vision of success for the school, organizing and evaluating instructional programs, improving the quality of learning, and providing a safe school environment. This research will improve the quality of teaching, learning and leading. Conducting research in this semi-urban area provides an
opportunity to explore how school leadership is evolving within this socio-political context and how these practices are helping to advance the GES mandates This study seeks to add these voices, if in a small way, but nonetheless relevant.

The study is guided by the following research questions:
a) How do Ghanaian school heads get socialized into leadership roles?
b) How do Ghanaian school heads perceive their leadership roles?
c) What factors shape Ghanaian school heads’ practices? And their leadership development?
d) How do school leaders in Ghana perceive their leadership opportunities to become effective.

School heads in Ghana occupy a unique position in the running of schools and the attainment of educational goals (Amakyi & Ampah-Mensah, 2020). The expectations of the role of school heads in Ghana are determined by the Ghana Education Service GES) HeadTeachers’ Handbook (2010). The handbook outlines two main roles for the school head. The first role of the school head is to manage the school by ensuring proficiencies in managing people, instructional time, co-curricular activities, teaching and learning resources and school finances. The second role places responsibility on the school head to improve the quality of learning by having proficiencies in increasing school intake and attendance, assessing student performance, assessing teacher performance, facilitating staff development and improving relations between school and community.

In addition to the HeadTeachers’ Handbook, the GES appraisal instrument for evaluating the performance of school heads provides insights into the role of expectations of school heads (Zame et al., 2008). In the GES school, leadership is important, but faces challenges in school leaders as basic school performances in some areas continue to be weak (Edwards & Aboagye, 2015). This has highlighted the need for more leadership development and preparation in Ghana (Amakyi & Ampah-Mensah, 2020). The absence of emphasis on research or theoretical knowledge in school administration in Ghana leaves school heads with a reliance on artistry or craft knowledge to function (Amakyi & Ampah-Mensah, 2020).