How Leadership Style influences Students’ Learning in Selected Community Secondary Schools in Temeke Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

This study explored the effect of school leadership style in students’ learning in community secondary schools. The study had three specific objectives, which were to examine the existing leadership styles practiced in the selected Community secondary schools, the effect of leadership style on students learning in selected community secondary schools and the effect of leadership styles on student’s academic performance in those schools. The research was conducted in Temeke Municipality in the Dar es Salaam region of Tanzania. The study relied on both qualitative (observation, interview, reflection) and quantitative (official statistics, questionnaires) approaches. The data were collected through interviews, questionnaires, document reviews, and observation. A sample of 27 teachers was considered together with 4 school heads and 117 students from four selected secondary schools. Data were collected and analyzed by descriptive statistics and content/thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the leadership style commonly applied in secondary schools in Temeke municipality is the democratic leadership style, which is used by head of schools to avoid being strict and firm in decision making. Unfortunately, this kind of leadership style does not support an effective teaching and learning process. This explained why the performance of students in selected secondary schools was still low and discipline was rather lax, while management of resources was poor. The study recommends that the authorities should make sure that the environment of the school is provided with all necessary materials for effective learning. In addition, teachers who were appointed in the position of head of school should be competent enough to supervise the teaching and learning activities and be given more authority to decide key school issues. For further research, it is recommended that a similar study be conducted in other parts of the country to show the effect of this style and an intervention be introduced to test better leadership styles in those schools.