Inclusive Leadership Practices and Sustainable School Improvement in Kaduna State Secondary Schools, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined inclusive leadership practices and sustainable school improvement in public secondary schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study determined the extent of inclusive leadership practices among principals and the level of sustainable school improvement, while examining the relationships between four dimensions of inclusive leadership—openness and accessibility, recognition and valuing of contributions, availability and support, and stakeholder participation in decision-making—and sustainable school improvement. A correlational survey research design was adopted. The population comprised principals and teachers in public secondary schools across Kaduna State, from which 400 respondents were sampled using a multi-stage sampling technique. Data were collected using the Inclusive Leadership and Sustainable School Improvement Questionnaire (ILSSIQ), which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.84. Of the 400 questionnaires administered, 384 were validly returned, representing a 96% response rate. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson Product Moment Correlation, and regression analysis. Findings revealed that inclusive leadership was generally practiced to a high extent (grand mean = 2.61), although stakeholder participation in decision-making was low (M = 2.39). Sustainable school improvement was also rated at a high overall level (grand mean = 2.53), but institutionalization of collaborative structures was low (M = 2.41). All four dimensions of inclusive leadership had statistically significant positive relationships with sustainable school improvement, with recognition and valuing of contributions showing the strongest relationship (r = 0.61, p < .05). The study concluded that inclusive leadership is important for sustaining school improvement and recommended institutionalizing stakeholder participation and strengthening collaborative structures in schools.