Influence of Headteachers' Leadership Styles on Learners' Academic Performance: Examining Teaching Instruments of Catholic Grant-Aided Secondary Schools

STUDY The Handmaid Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary (HBVM)The congregation of the religious sisters of the HBVM was founded by Cardinal Adam Kozlowiecki, a member of the Society of Jesus (S.J.), also known as the Jesuits, in 1961 within the Archdiocese of Lusaka.The founder realised that women were not involved in any activity in society at that time.For this reason, he had to establish a congregation of the HBVM, whose mission is to bring Christ to the people through teaching and nursing.The congregation of the religious sisters was founded by Cardinal Adam Kozlowiecki, a member of the Society of Jesus (S.J.), also known as the Jesuits, in 1961 within the Archdiocese of Lusaka.The Constitution (1991, Article 69, P. 24) stated, "We understand the importance of education in schools for the future of the church and society at large."They work in various grant-aided, government, private, and community schools.MOE (1996) stated that a grant-aided institution is an institution that receives from the government a grant of 75% of the capital costs of approved projects, as well as an annual grant to support its running costs.According to Kelly (2015), missionary schools are called grant-aided, where the government provides funding for salaries and operational expenses.The study examined the influence of head teachers' leadership styles on learners' academic performance in selected Catholic grant-aided secondary schools over five years at the grade 12 level.According to Kochhar (2015), successful management enables the achievement of desired educational objectives within a particular community.The researcher examined the teaching instruments utilised by the head teachers in these grant-aided secondary schools where the study was done.Hambulo (2016) stated that in Zambia, almost everyone associates high standard and quality education with Catholic education because of aspects such as high teacher motivation, good leadership, high-quality students, high