Abstract: This study explored the mechanisms of school leadership used to enhance teacher performance in public secondary schools in Rumonge District, Burundi. This study is guided by instructional and transformational leadership theories, and adopts a qualitative case study design to generate an in-depth, comprehensible understanding of leadership practices in a real school context. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data with fifteen participants, among whom were school heads and teachers, and were complemented by document analysis. To identify key leadership mechanisms and contextual challenges affecting teacher performance, thematic analysis was used. Therefore, the findings reveal that instructional supervision, professional support, teacher motivation, and participatory leadership are the primary mechanisms through which school leaders influence teacher performance. In general, teachers perceived leadership practices positively, particularly when supervision was supportive, recognition was fairly applied, and decision-making was inclusive. However, large class sizes, limited teaching resources, heavy administrative workloads and centralised decision-making structures are contextual challenges which constrained the effectiveness of these leadership mechanisms. The contribution of this study is to the limited empirical literature on educational leadership in Burundi by providing context-sensitive insights into how leadership mechanisms operate in public secondary schools. It offers practical implications for school leaders and policymakers seeking to strengthen leadership capacity for improving teacher performance in resource-constrained and post-conflict education systems.
Keywords: school leadership; teacher performance; instructional leadership; transformational leadership; participatory leadership; Burundi; Sub-Saharan Africa.
Title: Exploring School Leadership Mechanisms for Enhancing Teacher performance: A case study of Public Secondary Schools of Rumonge District, Burundi
Author: Mr Jean HABONIMANA, Mr Pascal NDAYISABA, Mr Theoneste NKURUNZIZA, Mr Ignace HABAKWIZERA
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
Vol. 14, Issue 4, October 2026 - December 2026
Page No: 178-187
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 20-October-2026
