Principals’ leadership behaviour and academic achievement in secondary schools of Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Currently, schools require effective principals who actualize the academic success of all students. As accountability of principal’s increases, many researchers are inspired to identify the effective types of leadership behaviours. Although these researchers reached an agreement on the decisiveness of leadership, they did not agree on the most effective type of leadership behaviour that promotes students’ achievement. The researcher was initiated to conduct this study because of the prevalence of low students’ achievement in the Zone and the observed controversies regarding the effective types of leadership behaviours. The study’s objective was to examine the effect of secondary school principals’ leadership behaviours on students’ achievement in Gedeo zone, Ethiopia, and thereby to identify effective type of leadership construct that enhances learners’ success. Explanatory Sequential Mixed Design was used. The Zone’s three least and three best achievers were chosen as sample schools using the maximum variation strategy. The source of data was 141 teachers and 180 students selected by proportional stratified technique as well as 18 interviewees who were chosen purposively. Data were collected using questionnaires, interviews, and document analyses. The quantitative data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, t-test, correlation, regression, and graphs. The qualitative data were analyzed through a content analysis approach. The findings of this study shown that effectively practicing instructional and transformational behaviours in integrative ways enhanced students’ achievement; exhibiting high task behaviours that focused on teaching-learning increases students’ success while high relationship intended to get mere affiliation deterred achievement; strong correlation exists between preserving of positive school climate and students’ achievement; principals’ leadership effect reaches learners through mediators indirectly and comprehensive leadership constructs preferred as effective style. Based on these findings, principals are recommended to employ integrative leadership which comprises ingredient of instructional, transformational, and positive school climate as their combined effect promote students’ achievement by strengthening teaching-learning, transforming members and sustaining success respectively. Principals are advised to exhibit high task behaviours as their engagement alert members to play their role in improving students’ learning. They also recommended making academic and affective environments favourable because such circumstances enhanced students’ achievement.