Effective Schools–Effective Superintendents: The Emerging Instructional Leadership Role

Abstract

The national commission reports, which launched the most intensive and sustained effort to improve schools in America's history, confirmed the importance of instructional leadership. Although the role of the principal was initially emphasized, research studies on instructionally effective schools indicate that superintendents use their “bureaucratic” positions in the formal organization to improve instruction. They enact their instructional leadership roles through a broad array of activities including staff selection, principal supervision, establishing clear instructional goals, monitoring instruction, and financial planning for instruction to improve instruction. The concept of instructional leadership has moved beyond a simple description of the principal's role to understanding it as a multi-level, multidimensional, and highly interactive activity that may require a more consultative leadership style.