Teachers’ opinion and experiences of the application of instructional leadership: evidence from history teachers

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this study, we sought from a sample of secondary school history teachers their opinions and experiences of instructional leadership. We adopt the mixed methods approach that involved 200 and 13 respondents each, for the quantitative and qualitative strands of data, respectively. Two instruments (survey questionnaire and focus group discussion protocol) were used for data collection. The results indicate a limit to the instructional leadership experienced by teachers in secondary schools. Despite the inadequacy in the leadership experienced, regular meetings on students’ performance were reported highest among the instructional leadership practiced in secondary schools. Findings from this study emphasized the distribution of leadership among formal and informal leaders, which include the teachers, to sustain the achievement of school goals and mission. We conclude that the practice of instructional leadership should be extended to other crucial stakeholders, especially history teachers. The study contributes to scholarship by arguing for collaboration between school leaders and teachers to make the achievement of school goals and mission easier. The study also argues for a flexible leadership framework that meets the local condition(s) peculiar to the research site of interest.