Exploring determinants of teacher performance in karachi’s private secondary schools: the roles of subject mastery, organizational leadership, experience, and communication skills

• Published in: Discover education Vol. 4; no. 1; pp. 1 - 23
• Main Authors: Safwan, Shazia, Shaheen, Fayyaz Ahmed, Zaidi, Syed Jaffar Abbas, Siddiqui, Saima
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 17.07.2025; Springer
• Subjects: Communication; Computers and Education; Education; Leadership; Professional competence; Secondary; Sociology of Education; Teachers; Leadership; Secondary; Teachers; Education; Professional competence; Communication
• ISSN: 2731-5525; 2731-5525
• DOI: 10.1007/s44217-025-00682-5

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.