Mediating Effects of School Climate on the Link Between Leadership Self-Efficacy and Student Performance in Public Secondary Schools in West Shewa Zone

Abstract

In recent years, trends indicate that student academic achievement particularly national examination results in secondary schools has faced significant challenges, prompting the need for multiple interventions. The study investigates the effect of school leaders’ self-efficacy on student academic achievement, while exploring the mediating role of school climate. By analyzing how school leaders’ confidence in their role provision shapes the school environment and ultimately contributing to boosting student academic achievement. The study employed quantitative survey design by applying AMOS version 23 and SPSS version 25 for data analysis with 235 determined using multistage sampling method. The finding of the study revealed that self-efficacy has a direct positive effect on student academic achievement (β = 0.07, p = .001), confirming Hypothesis H1. Leaders’ self-efficacy also significantly influenced school climate (β = 0.38, p = .001), supporting Hypothesis H2. School climate itself was found to be a significant predictor of student academic achievement (β = 0.11, p = .001), thereby confirming Hypothesis H3. Mediation analysis further demonstrated that school climate partially mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and student achievement, with an indirect effect of β = 0.56, p = .001. Overall, the study underscores the critical role of school leaders’ self-efficacy in shaping positive school climates and driving students to success. It highlights the importance of strengthening leadership capacities as a strategic approach to addressing the current persistent academic achievement decline in public secondary schools.