The Moderating Effect of Lecturers’ Immediacy Behaviors on Authentic Leadership and Students’ Academic Performance at the University of Kinshasa, DRC.

Abstract

Students‘ academic performance remains a major concern in higher education institutions globally and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite numerous interventions aimed at improving academic outcomes, many university students continue to experience low academic achievement, poor grade point averages, delayed completion rates, and underperformance. At the University of Kinshasa, factors such as corruption, poor student well-being, inadequate leadership practices, and lecturers‘ behaviors have been identified as contributors to students‘ academic challenges. Although leadership has been recognized as an important determinant of educational outcomes, limited research has examined how lecturers‘ authentic leadership influences students‘ academic performance, particularly when reinforced by lecturers‘ immediacy behaviors. This study, therefore, investigated the moderating effect of lecturers‘ immediacy behaviors on the relationship between authentic leadership and students‘ academic performance at the University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. The study was grounded in Ethical Leadership Theory, Behavioral leadership Theory, and Theory of Academic Performance. A mixed-methods explanatory design was adopted involving 213 students and 23 lecturers. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS 27 through Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and moderation analysis, while qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis with MAXQDA. The results showed that authentic leadership, supported by lecturers‘ immediate behaviors, had a favorable effect on students' grades. This study contributes to leadership scholarship in higher education by demonstrating that authentic leadership, particularly self-awareness and relational transparency significantly enhances students‘ academic performance when reinforced by lecturers‘ immediacy behaviors. It introduces a relational framework that links authentic x leadership with classroom engagement, showing how immediacy practices such as praise, questioning, and teaching clarity transform leadership influence into improved learning outcomes. The findings highlight that effective educational leadership extends beyond administrative roles to everyday lecturer–student interactions that promote fairness, motivation, and trust. The study benefits multiple stakeholders: lecturers gain insight into how immediacy behaviors strengthen authentic leadership; students experience more supportive and engaging learning environments;administrators can design leadership development initiatives that foster authentic, student-centered teaching; and policymakers can draw on the results to inform leadership and quality assurance frameworks. Overall, the study concludes that authentic leadership, reinforced by immediacy behaviors, provides a transformative model for enhancing academic achievement and nurturing ethical and relational learning environments. Future studies should evaluate digital immediacy behaviors, repeat the findings in different situations, and investigate the long-term benefits of authentic leadership on student outcomes.