Leading To Success: Exploring The Link Between School Leadership Competence And Academic Outcomes In Sidama Region Secondary Schools

Abstract

main purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which school leadership competency is related to students’ academic achievement in the context of the Sidama regional state in 2024. Employing a correlational research design, the research engaged 497 participants (307 secondary school teachers and 190 school leaders) through simple random sampling techniques. The validity of the data collection instruments was confirmed by expert reviewers, and reliability was established via pilot testing (Cronbach's alpha = 0.827). Data were collected using questionnaires and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, correlation, and linear regressions. The results demonstrated a positive relationship between leadership competencies and student outcomes, with leadership having a significant impact on students’ academic achievement. Furthermore, the results indicated that school principals exhibited moderate professional competencies across key dimensions such as goal setting, instructional management, decision-making, problem-solving, communication, and staff capacity building. Consequently, the study suggests government intervention by implementing structured capacity-building training strategies to enhance school leaders' competencies in improving students' academic performance. In addition, there needs to be a paradigm shift from the concept of administrator to the concept of instructional leadership to transform the school leadership system and improve student academic achievement.