The Impact of Leadership Styles on Academic Performance in the Selected Primary Schools: A case of Nzega District.

Nyamutera, Amos (2023) The Impact of Leadership Styles on Academic Performance in the Selected Primary Schools: A case of Nzega District. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

This study investigated the influence of leadership styles on students’ academic performance in Nzega District. It was guided by four specific objectives which were: i) to identify the leadership styles exercised by head teachers, ii) to examine the head teachers’ instructional material supervision on curriculum implementation iii) to examine student’s involvement in decision making, and iv) to establish motivation ways of enhancing leadership styles in selected primary schools in Nzega district. The study used descriptive research design. The total population was 6,780 people, and the sample size was 100 respondents who included the head teachers, classroom teachers, and students. Quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 16.0 to obtain frequency, percentages and mean. In contrast, qualitative data were analysed by using a thematic method. The study found that democratic leadership style was the most widely used. The head teachers’ instructional supervision of curriculum implementation was rated as low (average mean=1.75). Additionally, students’ involvement in decision making was rated as High (average mean=4.02). Likewise, encouragement as motivation strategies that were being used by the head teachers to improve teacher and students’ performance was found to be satisfactory (average mean=3.54). The study concludes that the most predominant leadership style practised by head teachers was democratic leadership where both students and teachers were being highly involved in decision making and the head teachers were commonly using encouragement as the most applicable motivation strategy. The study recommends that head teachers should blend autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles and use each of them in specific situations on a specific group of individuals it also recommends that they should be effectively supervise instructional curriculum implementation at school and classroom, involve pupils in decision matters timely and head teachers should use both financial and non-financial incentives to inspire teachers and pupils. Keywords: Leadership, Leadership Styles, Academic Performance.

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