Principals' Instructional Leadership in Secondary Schools in Bohlabela District: A Matter of Concern

Abstract

In the wake of falling academic standards witnessed in recent times in South Africa, ameliorating academic achievement in schools has become the major preoccupation of stakeholders in education. Every organization aims at better performance; this has made the situation more serious as stakeholders see a gloomy future of school leavers. It thus become imperative that researchers, educational planners and policy makers, inter alia, take a well though steps to uplift academic performance of learners. This paper deliberates on the concerns raised about instructional leadership practices in secondary schools in the Bohlabela Education District in the Mpumalanga Department of Basic Education, South Africa. Through literature review and oral interview conducted with selected principals, discussion is focused on such common themes as interpretations of instructional leadership, administrative support to teachers towards effective teaching and learning, and the readiness of the school and the principals’ practice of instructional roles. The study adopted the qualitative design where four(4) principals, one(1) deputy principal, two (2) heads of departments and one (1) experienced teacher were sampled using purposive sampling technique. One major finding emanating from the study indicates that albeit principals understand the concept of instructional leadership, they simply are not dedicated to such role with or without reasons, and this has militated against the teaching and learning process. It was also found that lack of communication skills, uncooperative attitude of teachers and learners, lack of teaching and learning materials, too much work on principal from department, conflict, insufficient knowledge of the curriculum, and lack of training, hampers the schools’ readiness and principals practices of instructional leadership. The relevance of this study lies in its recommendations as to how principals can improve on their instructional leadership practices to occasion better teaching and learning.