Pupils' Academic Performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination and Its Relationship With School Leadership in Kono District, Sierra Leone

Résumé fourni par la source

This study examined the relationship between school leadership and pupils' academic performance in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Kono District, Sierra Leone. A mixed-methods cross-sectional design was adopted, integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches. Quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires administered to 17 principals and 151 teachers, while qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 17 Chairpersons of the Councils of Teachers' Associations (CTAs). Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations) summarized respondents' perceptions. Spearman's rank-order correlation, examined relationships among leadership variables and academic performance, while binary logistic regression, identified predictors of high academic performance. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed that principals generally perceived WASSCE performance as poor (overall performance: M = 2.47 ± 1.33), whereas teachers rated performance as moderate, with the highest rating for WASSCE pass rates (M = 3.52 ± 1.08). Teachers were identified as the major contributors to high academic performance (53.6%), while inadequate parental involvement was considered the leading contributor to poor performance. Leadership motivation of teachers and principals' support for WASSCE preparation received the highest ratings (M = 4.10). Spearman correlation analysis revealed weak, non-significant relationships between academic performance and leadership variables, with transformational leadership showing the strongest positive association (ρ = 0.13). Logistic regression further indicated that leadership effectiveness (OR = 0.89; p = 0.781), teaching quality (OR = 1.13; p = 0.463), and democratic leadership (OR = 0.84; p = 0.215) did not significantly predict high academic performance. The study concludes that while effective school leadership enhances teacher motivation, instructional supervision, and examination preparation, WASSCE performance is influenced by multiple contextual factors beyond leadership alone. It recommends strengthening instructional leadership capacity, increasing parental engagement, improving teaching and learning resources, expanding boarding facilities where feasible, and implementing comprehensive interventions that address both school- and community-level factors to improve academic performance in Kono District and similar educational settings.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.