The Influence of Leadership Attributes of the Principal on the Student's Academic Performance in Secondary Schools in Tanzania

Academic Paper from the year 2020 in the subject Leadership and Human Resource Management - Miscellaneous, , course: Leadership and Governance, language: English, abstract: This study assesses the influence of the leadership attributes of the head of school on the students’ academic performance in public and private secondary schools. An explanatory cross-sectional survey design with a concurrent mixed approach using both primary and secondary data was employed. A total of 202 teachers provided evidence on their heads of school’s attributes in influencing students’ academic performance using questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The collected data was analysed using SPSS version 23 for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data. A significant relationship between integrity and the students’ academic performance was revealed. However, inspirational attributes negatively correlated between students’ academic performance. In addition, the results reveal that there was weak, positive and significant relationship between competency and academic performance. The study concluded that integrity and competency attributes significantly influence the students’ academic performance, while inspiration negatively influences students’ academic performance.Therefore, the study recommends the government to allocate enough funds to the professional development of the aspirant and to review the educational policy on the training and development of teachers before and after their appointment into a leadership position.