ASSESSING THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLIMATE OF SCHOOL LEADERSHIP/ MANAGEMENT: STRATEGIES FOR BALANCE, COLLABORATION, AND SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

This study examines the psychological climate of school leadership, with a focus on privately owned schools in Enugu, Nigeria. Privately operated schools demand school owners maintain administrator responsibilities alongside financial management duties along with instructional leadership roles when they handle their obligations. Professional duties that merge with personal responsibilities create psychological strain as well as work-life imbalance and burnout in school leaders. The research investigates how school owners handle these obstacles as it examines their working dynamics with teachers and their approach to fostering efficient leadership and cooperative practices. The study used a survey approach through structured questionnaires which were distributed to owners and teachers within chosen private schools. Mean scores and standard deviations served as analysis methods to evaluate the results and the research established 2.5 as the threshold for accepting study findings. The research showed that school owners usually find it difficult to keep school leadership activities distinct from their commitments yet delegation stands out as their primary method of coping. The connections between school owners and their teachers existed on positive terms although shared decision-making functions within these relationships needed improvement. Results guided researchers to propose time management education along with structured delegation systems and better planning participation from teachers as well as mental health support facilities and performance measurement systems. This research proves why supportive psychological environments matter in school leadership while providing useful methods for maintaining long-term school administration success.