Addressing Challenges of Large Class Sizes in Public Universities through Transformational Leadership and Power Dynamics

Large class sizes in public universities present significant challenges for lecturers, influencing their well-being and the quality of instruction. This study explores the intersection of transformational leadership and Foucault’s theory of power dynamics, offering a framework to address these challenges within the context of Ghana’s higher education sector. Transformational leadership emphasizes inspiration, empowerment, and collaboration and is critical in effectively supporting lecturers to manage large classrooms. In parallel, Foucault's theory provides insights into how institutional structures and mechanisms of control may either facilitate or hinder effective leadership practices. Adopting a qualitative research design rooted in interpretive assumptions, this study examines the experiences of 18 lecturers from three prominent Ghanaian universities who teach classes of over 300 students