EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP ON QUALITY OF PRIMARY SCHOOL EDUCATION IN TANZANIA: A CASE OF SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN KIBAHA TOWN COUNCIL

This study examined the influence of educational leadership on the quality of primary school education in selectedprimary schools in Kibaha Town Council in Coast Region, Tanzania. The specific objectives were to determineeducational leadership style which influence students’ academic performance; to assess competence andprofessionalism of educational leaders in the provision of quality education in primary schools, to find outstrategies applied by heads of schools to enhance teaching and learning in their schools and to identify challengesand/or factors that hinder educational leadership in the provision of quality education in primary schools. Thestudy was guided by the Transformation Leadership theory, Management Leadership theory and Democratic orParticipative Leadership theory. The study adopted a qualitative approach utilizing a case study design in KibahaTown Council, Coast region in Tanzania. Purposive sampling was employed to get a sample of 48 respondentscomprising of head teachers, academic teachers, Ward Academic Officer, District Education Officer, DistrictAcademic Officer, District Assurance Officer, and members of the school committees. The methods used for datacollection included interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Observations and Documentary review. Datawere collected from head teachers, academic teachers, members of school committees, ward academic officers,and district education officer, Qualitative textual was used to analyses data collected from interviews and thematiccontent analysis was used to analyze data collected through focus group discussions. The findings revealed thathead teachers applied democratic- participatory and managerial leadership styles which had a fair influence onthe academic performance of the pupils and were highly recommended to be applied in primary schools. Theresearch findings strongly supported the notion that the leadership exhibited by head teachers was a critical factorin influencing provision of quality education in primary schools. The findings showed that instructional leadershipstrategy was highly applied by head teachers to enhance teaching and learning in primary schools. The findingsrevealed that there were factors that hindered provision of quality education which included poor infrastructurelike classrooms and lack of learning materials. The study recommends head teachers should be adequately trainedon education management to enable them provide professional development to teachers.