Connecting school leadership to student learning in Cameroonian Presbyterian schools

Abstract

Student learning is the main reason educational institutions exist. It explains why one of the main ingredients of successful schools is high-quality leadership, which allows principals to significantly and positively impact student learning and outcomes. Despite the emphasis on the crucial role of principals in ensuring effective teaching and learning, school environments are seldom conducive to student learning owing to the poor performance of principals. This situation shows a disconnect between principals’ leadership and student learning. This study investigated how principals connect their leadership to student learning in Cameroonian Presbyterian schools. This research followed a qualitative approach based on a case study design. Data collection strategies included interviews and documentation. The participants were principals, students, and teachers from six Presbyterian Church secondary schools in three regions in Cameroon. Collected data were manually coded, and analysed using thematic analysis. The study identified a gap between leadership and student learning because of unethical and substandard leadership measures. The study results indicate that principals and teachers of Presbyterian Church secondary schools in Cameroon lack professional skills, which contributes to their inability to relate appropriately with students. The study findings show that some principals do not understand the relationship that context has with student learning. The findings also show that principals do not have the best interest of students at heart as students’ rights are physically and emotionally abused regularly. The findings further reveal that, mostly, poor interpersonal relationships between employers and employees, principals, teachers, and students result in unsafe learning environments that negatively affect student learning. They further show that principals and teachers face challenges in executing their work, including policy and administrative issues. A framework was designed to assist leadership effectively and directly connect to student learning. Various recommendations were made to the government, Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, and principals.