Educational stress has emerged as a global pivotal fear affecting students
academic performance and psychosocial wellbeing, particularly in performance
driven systems like Uganda. This paper examines how leadership can be reframed to
mitigate educational stress and promote student wellbeing within the environment of
performance oriented education system in Uganda. Depicting on documentary
analysis of recent studies, policy reports, and empirical research between 2020 and
2025, the article scrutinizes the sources, impacts, and mitigation of educational stress
as well as the role of school leadership in promoting students wellbeing. Findings
indicated performance pressure, high stakes examinations, socioeconomic challenges,
and institutional practices contribute significantly to student stress. Available
evidence exhibited that stress negatively impacts students mental health, engagement,
and social relationships as most school leadership remained focused on performance
outcomes other than student wellbeing. The paper revealed urgent need for a
paradigm shift from performance oriented leadership to holistic leadership that
integrates psychosocial support, inclusive policies, and student centred leadership
practices. It recommends strengthening leadership capacity, entrenching wellbeing
structures in school leadership, and promoting supportive learning environments.
The study concluded by drawing attention on the core values of school leadership in
balancing academic excellence with student wellbeing in Uganda.
School Leadership, Student Wellbeing, Educational Stress, Uganda, Performance