The role of transformational leadership in students’ academic performance: a case study in the Sidama Region of Ethiopia

Abstract

The study investigated how transformational school leadership affects students' academic performance in the Sidama Region of Ethiopia. Burns, Bass, and Leithwood Kenneth's transformational leadership theories and the development of the transformational leadership model in the context of education served as the foundation for the study's theoretical framework. The study was methodically planned using the pragmatic research paradigm with a convergent parallel mixed research design. This rigorous approach ensured comprehensive findings related to the research questions and objectives. The study's target population was 5956 teachers and 95 principals of public secondary schools in the Sidama region of Ethiopia. Three hundred sixty-two teachers and 91 principals from 24 public secondary schools participated in the survey, which was conducted using an acceptable sampling technique. Twenty teachers and ten principals took part in the qualitative phase. The subjects were selected using a purposive sampling technique, ensuring a diverse and representative sample for the study. The data collection process was robust, with a modified questionnaire based on the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) used in the quantitative phase and an open-ended semi-structured interview administered in the qualitative phase. This meticulous design and rigorous data collection process instill confidence in the validity of the study's findings. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the gathered data. A pre-test and expert opinion were considered to guarantee the validity of the instruments. Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the instrument's reliability; the result was a coefficient value of 0.93. While the qualitative data was presented verbatim, the analyzed quantitative data was displayed in tables and figures. The study found that principals in varying ranges understand and practice transformational leadership behaviors in their respective schools. The study additionally found that the principal's transformational leadership practices strongly and dramatically impact students' academic achievement. The linear multiple regression of principals’ perception revealed that changes in the principal transformational leadership practice account for 69.9% of the student's academic performance variation. The results, with a correlation value of r =.827 (p<.01) based on principals' perception and r=0.779 (p<.01) based on teachers’ perception, indicated that the principal's transformational leadership practice positively impacts the student's academic performance. The research additionally demonstrated that principals in higher-performing schools exhibit transformational leadership behaviors more often than in lower-performing ones.