Abstract:
Public secondary school teachers’ retention remains a critical challenge for employers and
employees and leadership styles is bedeviled by a wanton turnover challenge. The study
intends to investigate the influence of leadership styles on teachers’ turnover intentions in
local government authorities with evidence from secondary educational subsector in Meru
District Council. Specifically determine the relationship between autocratic, democratic and
laisser-faire leadership style and teacher’s turnover intentions. A mixed approach was used to
serve both quantitative and qualitative data in this study. A total population of 300 people,
comprising head of schools (H.O.S), teachers and school heads was used to get the sample.
The sample size for the study 75 participants and Questionnaires for 65 teachers was used in
collecting data from 10 Public secondary school teachers selected in Meru District. Both
questionnaires documentary review and interviews were used for data collection. Statistical
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS-Version 22) computer software was employed. Interviews
were analyzed using thematically, The findings underscore the critical importance of
leadership styles in shaping teachers' intentions to either stay or leave their current positions.
It found that each of these styles has distinct implications for teachers' job satisfaction, job
involvement, and, significantly, their intentions to stay or leave their positions. In conclusion,
leadership styles within local government authorities significantly influence teachers' turnover
intentions. The findings, suggest the importance of fostering a balanced and supportive work
environment that enables employees to find job satisfaction, a sense of ownership, and
personal fulfillment.
