Abstract
Background Students’ academic performance in public secondary schools remains a major education policy concern in Uganda, particularly in districts where schools face shortages of learning resources and challenges that affect teachers’ capacity to support learning. This policy brief examines teachers’ commitment and the availability of learning resources as predictors of students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Kasese District, Uganda. Policy and implications The brief draws on evidence from a convergent parallel mixed-methods study conducted in eight public secondary schools involving head teachers, teachers and Senior Four students. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis, while qualitative evidence was obtained through head-teacher interviews and student focus group discussions. The combined regression model was statistically significant and explained 28.6% of the variation in students’ academic performance (R = .535, R
2
= .286, adjusted R
2
= .235, F = 5.519, p = .001). School leadership was the strongest positive independent predictor (β = .519, p = .002), while learning resources also showed a significant positive contribution (β = .385, p