Strategic leadership and distributed leadership of school leaders mediated by pedagogical skills of teachers on school-performance of secondary school leavers in the Republic of Maldives

Abstract

The Republic of Maldives faces distinct educational challenges arising from its extreme geographic dispersion and the imperative to ensure equitable, high-quality secondary education across its 186 islands. Despite sustained government investment and policy reforms, secondary school performance remains uneven, with persistent concerns regarding students’ academic outcomes and holistic development. Although international scholarship underscores the critical role of school leadership in shaping educational quality, empirical evidence from the Maldivian context remains limited, particularly regarding how leadership practices interact with teachers’ pedagogical skills to influence school performance. Addressing this gap, the present study examined the relationships among Strategic Leadership Practices, Distributed Leadership Practices, Teachers’ Pedagogical Skills, and School Performance in Maldivian secondary schools, with a specific focus on both direct effects and the mediating role of pedagogical skills. A quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive–correlational design was employed. Data were collected through a cross-sectional survey administered to a stratified random sample of 372 school leaders, including principals, deputy principals, and heads of departments, drawn from secondary schools across 20 atolls. The study utilized a validated questionnaire adapted from established instruments, and the proposed measurement and structural models were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with AMOS software. The findings indicate that Strategic and Distributed Leadership Practices are implemented at moderate levels, while Teachers’ Pedagogical Skills and overall School Performance are perceived to be high. SEM results reveal that both leadership styles exert significant positive direct effects on school performance. Moreover, teachers’ pedagogical skills significantly mediate the relationships between both leadership practices and school performance. Notably, Distributed Leadership demonstrates a stronger influence on pedagogical skills than Strategic Leadership and yields a more substantial indirect effect on school performance. The study concludes that while strategic leadership provides essential direction, a distributed leadership approach that empowers teachers plays a more decisive role in strengthening pedagogical competence and enhancing school performance. These findings offer robust empirical implications for educational policymakers in the Maldives, emphasizing the need to prioritize professional development initiatives that foster collaborative leadership and pedagogical autonomy to sustain long-term school improvement.