The Influence of School Leadership Styles on Academic Performance of Primary Schools' Pupils in Kigoma Municipality, Tanzania.

The study investigated the influence of School Leadership Styles on Academic Performance of Primary Schools' Pupils in Kigoma Municipality, Tanzania. The three objectives guided the study including to identify the commonly used leadership style in Kigoma Primary schools and their influence on pupils’ performance, to compare the leadership styles in government and private schools and their influence on pupils’ performance in Kigoma Municipal, and to assess the relationship between autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles on primary school pupils’ academic performance in Kigoma Municipal. This study employed a mixed approach and based on survey research design, data were collected through questionnaires, interviews, and documentary reviews. The quantitative data collected were analyzed using a statistical package for social sciences software. While qualitative data from interviews and documentary reviews were analyzed through content analysis. The study found that autocratic, democratic, and laissez-faire leadership styles were used by head teachers in Kigoma Municipal schools. Democratic and autocratic leadership styles had a positive influence on the performance of the pupils in public-private schools. Whereby laissez-faire had a negative influence in private schools. However, both of the styles were related to pupils’ academic performance. The study recommends the use of varieties of leadership styles according to the environment of a given school. The study concluded that primary school performance requires head teachers to adopt different styles. Keywords: Leadership Styles, Academic Performance, Primary Schools, Tanzani