Effects of Principal’s Leadership on Student Achievement at Cambodian Primary Schools : A Multi-level Model Analysis

This paper examines the effects of principal’s leadership on the academic achievement of sixth-grade students at Cambodian public primary schools. The survey research study randomly selected 54 sixth-grade teachers from 38 primary schools in Phnom Penh of Cambodia. Teachers who participated in this study were asked to score the survey questionnaire items that reflected the principal’s school leadership. The survey data were merged with students’ test scores. The Multi-level Model (MLM) approach was utilized to address the issue of group similarity of variance created by the multi-stage random sampling selection because of the data’s nested and hierarchical structure. When other factors are held constant, the study’s findings show that the principal’s leadership positively and substantially enhances the school’s average student achievement in Cambodian primary schools. On the other hand, teacher education and experience, as school-level factors, do not affect student achievement. The findings provide empirical evidence for Cambodia’s Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to consider the importance of effective school leadership for school improvement and effectiveness. Policy implications and future research are discussed in light of the study’s findings.