School Leadership Practices in School Improvement Programs in Yeka Sub-City Secondary Schools
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Date
2025-12-01
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study examines leadership practices in leading school improvement program in secondary schools of Yeka Sub-city. Employing both descriptive and explanatory research designs, the study targeted students, teachers and administrative staff (School Directors, Supervisors, Officers and Parent Teacher Association members). A total of 375 respondents were selected through random sampling with an additional 30 participants chosen purposively.
Data collection method includes questionnaires, structured interviews, focus group discussions, and document analysis. Reliability was confirmed through Cronbach’s alpha. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS and both quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed using concurrent triangulation approaches. The findings indicate that school leadership in Yeka Sub-city secondary schools is predominantly top-down, characterized by limited shared leadership, poor collaboration, and inadequate encouragement of innovation. Communication gaps eroded trust and hindered staff involvement. Key leadership functions such as clear vision setting, participatory goal-setting, data-informed decision-making, regular monitoring, and peer evaluations are perceived as weak. Leadership effectiveness is generally rated as unsatisfactory, with transparency and evaluation practices falling short, negatively affecting student achievement.
The finding of the study highlights that most of the students are failing Grade 12 National Examination in two consecutive years, and school quality ratings remain low. These indicate that school leaders have not successfully executed the SIP, ultimately failing to fulfill their core responsibility of improving school performance. Finally, school leaders in secondary school have no clear metric tools to measure their effectiveness/success in leading SIP. In conclusion, to enhance and sustain educational outcomes, leadership practices must evolve towards more collaborative, transparent, and data-driven models.
Targeted professional development and comprehensive system-wide reforms are vital to strengthen school leadership capacity and improve leadership effectiveness in leading school improvement program
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School Leadership School Improvement Program Effectiveness Secondary School