Exploring the mediation effect of instructional practice on teachers’ competencies and students’ academic achievement in Ethiopian secondary schools

This research was conducted to examine the influence of teacher competencies (TC) on student academic achievement (SAA) within the context of government-run secondary schools in Hawassa City. The methodological approach adopted was a descriptive survey design, situated within a quantitative research framework. The study’s population consisted of 415 teachers and among whom199 was selected through simple randomizing method, and data was successfully collected from 196 of them via returned questionnaires. The researchers used statistical software SPSS Version 27 and conducted a Mediation Analysis using Hayes Process Macro-Model 4, supplemented by analytical procedures powered by AI technology. The core findings revealed a particularly strong and positive correlation (0.601) between teacher competencies and instructional practices (IP), indicating these two factors are intimately linked. The relationship of both TC and IP with student academic achievement was found to be moderately positive, with correlation values of 0.323 and 0.334, respectively. Regression analysis established that teacher competencies are a powerful and statistically significant predictor of instructional practices, explaining 36.1% of the variance in IP. Within this model, instructional practices demonstrated a stronger direct impact on achievement (0.299 units per one-unit increase) compared to the direct effect of teacher competencies (0.103 units). The total positive effect of X on Y is 0.173. This effect is split into a significant direct effect of X on Y (0.103) and a significant indirect effect (0.070) through the mediator IP. Finally, mediation analysis confirmed that the effect of teacher competencies on student achievement is partially mediated by instructional practices.