There is an increasing demand for the use of self-leadership as a model for leadership
effectiveness. In the context of schools, self-leadership is an important element for the
improvement of teaching and learning, and leadership capacity building in schools. The
purpose of this study was to examine how self-leadership is used by principals in
secondary schools in the Kavango region in Namibia. The study also integrates
transformational, transactional, instructional and distributed leadership which hinges
well on self-leadership.
A qualitative research design underpin by interpretive paradigm was used in this study.
A purposeful sampling design was used to select eighteen participants, i.e. six
principals and twelve teachers from six secondary schools. The data was generated by
means of semi-structured interviews, observation and document analysis. Data
analysis utilized the content analysis to show the relationships between school
principals as the main unit of analysis and the teachers‟ performance as supporting unit
of analysis.
The findings show that school principals employ self-leadership in their work, especially
in their relations with teachers. The findings revealed that the school principals‟ potential
self-leadership virtues may be restrained by the hierarchical control processes of the
ministry of education that requires them to comply with directives and policies.
This study challenges the school principals in the Kavango region and Namibia in
general to re-examine their leadership styles in the context of self-leadership. School
principals should ask questions such as: how am I leading and how am I using selfleadership
to improve my practice in my day to day work?
This study therefore challenges all leaders to rethink on how they can become effective
leaders through the lenses of self-leadership.