The role of traditional leaders in education development in the Asante kingdom

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the role of traditional leadership (chieftaincy) in educational development within the Asante Kingdom. The objectives were to examine the contributions of traditional leaders towards Education, assess the perception of their community members on Traditional Leadership role in the development of education, identify factors that impede traditional leaders‘ contributions towards education and examine traditional leadership styles and their influence on their roles in their communities towards educational development. Relevant literature was reviewed along the theories of indigenous knowledge system, leadership theories, and socio-functional theory. A mixed methods design comprising qualitative and quantitative approaches using a questionnaire and guided interviews. The target population for the study was all the chiefs and their subjects of the 68 traditional areas in the Asante Kingdom. Using Multi-stage sampling a sample of Asante chiefs were selected. The response rate was 98.0% (N=214) respondents comprising 200 people (Subjects), 4 paramount chiefs and 10 opinion leaders for the study. The study found among other things that chiefs assist in the provision of good drinking water, provision of electricity, provision of proper places of convenience and demarcate proper site for refuse disposal in the communities. Asante traditional leadership enjoys high favourability in Leader Member Exchange (LMX). Part of the recommendations includes the idea that fund should be distributed to the traditional leaders (chiefs) to develop their communities. The study further recommends that the Government should give some legislative and judicial powers to back and reinforce the role of the chiefs in exercising their duties in the communities.