Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills
Abstract Background Teacher performance is a critical determinant of educational quality, although the factors influencing teacher effectiveness in specific contexts remain underexplored. Understanding these factors in private secondary schools in North Nazimabad, Karachi, is essential for enhancing...
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| Format: | Article |
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Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00682-5 |
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| author | Shazia Safwan Fayyaz Ahmed Shaheen Syed Jaffar Abbas Zaidi Saima Siddiqui |
| author_facet | Shazia Safwan Fayyaz Ahmed Shaheen Syed Jaffar Abbas Zaidi Saima Siddiqui |
| author_sort | Shazia Safwan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Teacher performance is a critical determinant of educational quality, although the factors influencing teacher effectiveness in specific contexts remain underexplored. Understanding these factors in private secondary schools in North Nazimabad, Karachi, is essential for enhancing the quality of education. Objective This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the performance of secondary school teachers in private schools in North Nazimabad Town, focusing on understanding the roles of subject mastery, leadership support, experience, and communication skills in teacher performance. Methods An interpretative phenomenological design guided 40 semi-structured interviews (30 teachers, 10 principals) from 10 systematically selected schools (English-medium, ≥ 250 enrolment, mid-fee). Participants’ median age was 34 years for teachers (range 24–53) and 45 years for principals (37–58); median classroom and leadership experience were 9 and 17 years, respectively. Verbatim transcripts were coded inductively, yielding 35 codes that collapsed into four teacher themes and five principal themes. A binary endorsement grid tracked whether each participant explicitly linked any driver to stronger student outcomes. Results The teachers reported that deep subject expertise, adaptability in lesson planning, and effective communication promoted stronger student engagement and improved the learning outcomes. Principals highlighted continuous training, transformational leadership, teacher skills, motivation and stakeholder engagement. Endorsement frequencies were high: deep subject expertise (teachers 87%, principals 80%), adaptable lesson planning (80%, 90%) and effective communication (93%, 90%). Supportive leadership was associated with a reported 15% rise in teacher participation in professional-learning communities and two fewer weekly disciplinary incidents per class. Conclusions Effective teaching in resource-constrained Karachi schools hinges on synergistic interactions among strong content knowledge, adaptive planning, high-quality communication and transformational leadership. Prioritising two subject-specific workshops per term, leadership training that cultivates individualised consideration and compulsory communication-skills modules could address teachers who feel under-prepared, raise teacher engagement and reinforce classroom climate, advancing equity-driven educational reform. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-303e2733cfba49cb8fb5343a5e4c3249 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2731-5525 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-303e2733cfba49cb8fb5343a5e4c32492025-08-20T03:05:56ZengSpringerDiscover Education2731-55252025-07-014112310.1007/s44217-025-00682-5Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skillsShazia Safwan0Fayyaz Ahmed Shaheen1Syed Jaffar Abbas Zaidi2Saima Siddiqui3Department of Education, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Hamdard UniversityDepartment of Education, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, Hamdard UniversityDigital Learning Centre, Dow University of Health SciencesDepartment of Medical Education, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Hamdard UniversityAbstract Background Teacher performance is a critical determinant of educational quality, although the factors influencing teacher effectiveness in specific contexts remain underexplored. Understanding these factors in private secondary schools in North Nazimabad, Karachi, is essential for enhancing the quality of education. Objective This study aimed to examine the factors influencing the performance of secondary school teachers in private schools in North Nazimabad Town, focusing on understanding the roles of subject mastery, leadership support, experience, and communication skills in teacher performance. Methods An interpretative phenomenological design guided 40 semi-structured interviews (30 teachers, 10 principals) from 10 systematically selected schools (English-medium, ≥ 250 enrolment, mid-fee). Participants’ median age was 34 years for teachers (range 24–53) and 45 years for principals (37–58); median classroom and leadership experience were 9 and 17 years, respectively. Verbatim transcripts were coded inductively, yielding 35 codes that collapsed into four teacher themes and five principal themes. A binary endorsement grid tracked whether each participant explicitly linked any driver to stronger student outcomes. Results The teachers reported that deep subject expertise, adaptability in lesson planning, and effective communication promoted stronger student engagement and improved the learning outcomes. Principals highlighted continuous training, transformational leadership, teacher skills, motivation and stakeholder engagement. Endorsement frequencies were high: deep subject expertise (teachers 87%, principals 80%), adaptable lesson planning (80%, 90%) and effective communication (93%, 90%). Supportive leadership was associated with a reported 15% rise in teacher participation in professional-learning communities and two fewer weekly disciplinary incidents per class. Conclusions Effective teaching in resource-constrained Karachi schools hinges on synergistic interactions among strong content knowledge, adaptive planning, high-quality communication and transformational leadership. Prioritising two subject-specific workshops per term, leadership training that cultivates individualised consideration and compulsory communication-skills modules could address teachers who feel under-prepared, raise teacher engagement and reinforce classroom climate, advancing equity-driven educational reform.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00682-5TeachersEducationSecondaryProfessional competenceLeadershipCommunication |
| spellingShingle | Shazia Safwan Fayyaz Ahmed Shaheen Syed Jaffar Abbas Zaidi Saima Siddiqui Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills Discover Education Teachers Education Secondary Professional competence Leadership Communication |
| title | Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills |
| title_full | Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills |
| title_fullStr | Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills |
| title_short | Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills |
| title_sort | exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi s private secondary schools the roles of subject mastery organizational leadership experience and communication skills |
| topic | Teachers Education Secondary Professional competence Leadership Communication |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00682-5 |
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