Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Pedagogy - The Teacher, Educational Leadership, University of Dodoma (College of Education), course: Educational Management and School Administration, language: English, abstract: Abstract This paper endeavors to explain head teachers' leadership styles and students' academic achievement by looking into the role of the head teachers in promoting academic performance. The paper discusses the meaning of leadership, the importance of leadership, characteristics of leaders, characteristics of high-performing schools and leadership theories .Furthermore, the paper gives details about traits and skills associated with effective leadership, dimensions of leadership practices and activities linked to student outcome, leadership styles, the relationship between leadership styles and academic achievement and recommendations.