Font Size: 

This study exploits the existence of various leadership types in a sample of lower secondary school principals across Italy (N=1,073). Information is derived by a questionnaire provided by INVALSI (National Evaluation Committee for Education) about instructional practices and leadership perceptions. Employing a Latent Class Analysis (LCA), we identify three subgroups of school leaders. We then analyze if some principal’s individual characteristics and school context factors are statistically correlated with the probability of having a certain leadership styles’ attitude. Finally, we provide evidence that schools where the principal is adopting an “instructional†approach report lower academic test scores.