PERCEIVED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRINCIPALS' LEADERSHIP STYLES AND SECONDARY SCHOOL COUNSELLORS' SELF-EFFICACY IN YOLA EDUCATION ZONE, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the perceived relationship between principals’ leadership styles and secondary school counsellors’ self-efficacy in Yola Education Zone, Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study was guided by four research questions and one research hypothesis. The study employed a survey research design. The population of the study comprised of 200 school counsellors of which census sampling technique was used to select all the population as sample for the study. A self-developed questionnaire titled “Principal Leadership Style and Counsellors’ Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PLSCSQ)” was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by two experts and trial tested on 20 counsellors from schools in Numan Education Zone. The reliability co–efficient was of 0.88. The data gathered were analyzed using mean, Standard Deviation and t-test analysis. The findings revealed that there was a low positive perceived relationship between principals’ democratic leadership style and counsellors’ self-efficacy in secondary schools. The study concluded that when principals adopt a democratic leadership approach, counsellors tend to have higher levels of confidence in their abilities. It was recommended that school principals should receive training and professional development in leadership styles.