An Assessment of the Practice of Leadership Succession Planning in Selected Public Senior High Schools in Ghana

Abstract

Public senior high schools in Ghana face numerous challenges. Some of these challenges include leadership identification, preparation and appointment. Leadership succession planning which forms the basis of leadership preparation has also been another controversial issue that is also having negative impact on schools improvement and performance in senior high schools in Ghana. This study examined how school leadership succession is being practiced in senior high schools and explored the challenges hindering the practice of leadership succession planning. The study also examined how leadership succession planning could be practised in schools to promote continuity of leadership agenda and programmes.
To investigate how leadership succession is practised in schools the study adopted qualitative research design. While the data was gathered through the use of one-on-one, face-to-face interviews. The data was gathered from head teachers and their assistant head teachers in all the participated schools. The two directors of education in the district in which the participated schools were located were also interviewed, as well as the regional director of education in the region in which the participating schools exist.
The findings revealed that while leadership succession planning occurs through the Ghana Education Service, it is largely practised in an informal way and deviates from best practices outlined in literature, such as structured identification, training, and preparation of future leaders. Instead, succession planning is typically based on rank of teachers, number of years in the profession, and performance in a selection interview. The study also identified religious favouritism, political interference, among others as some of the factors that impede the effective implementation of succession planning. The study concludes that school leaders recognize the importance of leadership succession planning and advocate for the GES to adopt it and back it with a policy framework to guide its practice effectively.

Date of Award	30 Sept 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Michael Fertig (Supervisor) & Andres Sandoval Hernandez (Supervisor)