A Study Of The Impact Of Principals’ Leadership On Students’ Academic Achievement

Since the implementation of the "principal responsibility system" in primary and secondary schools in China,the power of school management has gradually shifted downwards,and the public’s attention and requirements for schools and principals are getting higher and higher.As the important leaders of schools’ development and change,the principals are the important factors affecting the development of the schools and the key to completing the duties of the principals.Paying attention to cultivating students’ abilities has always been an important goal of China’s basic education reform and development.Therefore,by empirical research,from the validity of the principal’s leadership,this research explored the influence of the principal leadership on the students’ achievement,clarified the principals’responsibilities,and provided advice for their work.By using PISA2015 data from Beijing,Shanghai,Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces and cities,taking 8893 students from 246 schools as a sample,this paper explored the influence of principal leadership on students’ achievement and the roles of teachers’ practice,class size and parental involvement through the analysis of multilevel structural equation mediating and moderating modeling.We found no direct effect of leadership on students;achievement,but a significant direct effect of it on teachers’ practice.The teachers’ practice had a significant effect on students’achievement.Therefore,principal leadership influenced students’ achievement through the teachers’ practice.And it was found that the class size can significantly moderate the influence of the principal’s curriculum leadership on the student’s academic achievement.The greater the class size,the weaker the influence of the principal’s leadership on the student’s academic achievement,and when the class size exceeds 51,the class size will no longer have such effect.It is also found that the principal leadership had an impact on students’ achievement through family-based parental involvement,but school-based parental involvement had no moderating effect on the influence of principal leadership.These findings have implications for principals and researchers:school leaders should attach great importance to the role of teachers,pay attention to the development of teachers,and improve teachers’ ability and quality;The principal,as the professional staff responsible for the performance of school leadership and management,should focus on the principal’s affairs,further clarify his own responsibilities and promote the reform and development of the school;The influence of the principal leadership on students’ achievement is not a simple direct relationship,but it does not mean that leadership is irrelevant.In the process of improving students’achievements,the school staff,including principals,should pay more attention to the various factors that may affect students’ physical and mental development.The class size has no significant impact on the student’s academic achievement,but it can moderate the effect of the principal leadership on students’ achievement.Therefore,regardless of the size of the schools or classes,principals and teachers should play active roles in promoting student development.It is also important for parents to encourage and support their children.And it is necessary for parents to communicate with teachers,pay attention to students’ learning and growth in schools,and to help the school to better promote students’ development.They can also make appropriate recommendations for school management,but they don’t need to pay too much sttention and time.Schools should actively integrate parents as important stakeholders into the organization,carefully plan their initial contact with parents.As the knowledge about the needs of parents and students grows,it is necessary to change plans by the situation to promote parental involvement in school activities.