An Investigation into Students’ Leadership Skills for Promoting Academic Achievements of Secondary Schools Students

Abstract

Secondary education aims to develop students’ communication, critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership skills that ultimately result in their successful academic and professional endeavors. Students' leadership helps them to develop collaboration in learning.  Hence, the study aims at analyzing the students' leadership skills in promoting their academic achievement at secondary school level. The present research was an experimental study of one school located in Charbagh district of Swat in the public sector secondary school of the study area. A pre and post-test pre-experimental research design was used. The number of secondary level students in the study was 40. Data was collected using a developed, validated and reliable Likert questionnaire that was pilot-tested to create items related to students' leadership and students' academic achievement. Pre-test was given and then intervention was provided for students' leadership. A post-test was given at the end of the intervention. Paired sample t-test which enabled the comparison of the difference of means among the students' performance in the pre and posttests was used in the analysis of the data. Large differences were obtained between the pre- and post-test mean values with the paired sample t-test.   A correlation between the pre- and post-mean values as well as the p-value for leadership skills in the post-test was p< .0001 and that of academic achievement was p<.001 which was very small. It concluded that the intervention worked well and with the improvement in leadership skills among students, their academic learning skills were promoted as well. It found that the changes were not random but because of the intervention that led to the improvement in students' leadership skills which consequently led to the improvement in academic learning skills. Elementary and secondary schools and administration must incorporate structured leadership development training based on projects for the enhancement of academic skills of students.