The Influence Of School Leadership Styles On Students’ Academic Performance In Zanzibar’s Secondary Schools: A Case Of West District

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the influence of school leadership styles on students‟ academic performance in internal examinations. It was conducted in four schools in West district of Zanzibar. The study was meant to find out the leadership styles adopted by heads of schools, to examine the factors for the adoption of a particular leadership style and to examine the influence of school leadership styles on students‟ academic performance in school internal examinations. The study involved 4 heads of schools, 4 assistant heads of schools, 24 teachers and 40 students. The heads and assistant heads of schools were drawn using a purposive sampling technique while teachers and students were selected by using simple random one. The data were collected through questionnaire, interview and documentary review. The study deployed a cross – sectional research design with qualitative approach which was complemented by the quantitative one. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic and content analysis. The quantitative ones were presented in terms of tables and graphs for easy interpretation. It was found that autocratic, democratic, authoritative, and team leadership styles were practised in the said schools although they differed in the degree of dominance. The factors for their adoption included the nature of heads and subordinates, school size, motivation, educational qualifications of heads and subordinates, nature of the tasks involved and nature of the appointment of heads and assistant heads. The democratic leadership style led to better students‟ academic performance. The autocratic leadership style led to poor students‟ academic performance. The team and authoritative style led to moderate performance among students. It was recommended that the government should monitor the practices of the heads of schools in order to achieve desirable students‟ academic performance.