The Role of School Principal as Instructional Leader: The Case of Shambu Primary School

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the practices of primary school principal’s role as instructional leader—the case of Shambu Primary School. To investigate the issue under consideration, the study was guided by qualitative case study. The guiding questions for the study were: what are the practices of principal’s role as instructional leader at Shambu Primary School? How does principal fulfill his/her instructional leadership role? And which activities do principals as instructional leaders engage in so as to improve the instructional activities in the school? Semi-structured interview, focus group discussion, observation and document analyses were used as data gathering tools. On their contribution for the data sources, two principals, two heads of departments, two teachers and the school’s students’ council were selected using purposive sampling for interviews and group discussion. The finding of the study revealed that the administrative tasks took much of principals’ time rather than instructional activities. Furthermore, it was found that the principals gave less emphasis for: instructional supervision, extra-curricular activities, teachers’ training and development, provision of instructional materials and protection of teaching time. For school to be successful, the principal has to balance the administrative tasks and instructional tasks. Finally, it was recommended that the principals need to be trained in school management and leadership in order to be competent as instructional leader along with suggestions for further empirical investigation.