Instructional Leadership Research Articles

The impact of teacher's pedagogical leadership on student achievement: the mediating role of teaching methods

PurposeEducational accountability and student achievement polarization, which result in high dropout rates, pose significant challenges and pressures on teachers' pedagogical leadership. Whether pedagogical leadership, which originates in the Western educational environment, can significantly improve student achievement in Chinese high schools remains unclear. This concept has not yet been fully explored in the Chinese educational environment, and its direct impact on student achievement and the mediating role of English teaching methods remain to be investigated. However, existing research has concentrated on the effectiveness of principals' pedagogical leadership, with variations in teachers' pedagogical leadership practices. Many reform measures have been implemented in China to improve student achievement, but past educational practices have analyzed the impact on student achievement from a single instructional leadership, school capital or teaching method perspective. Furthermore, there is a lack of multidimensional and systematic assessments of the direct effects of teacher pedagogical leadership on student achievement and the mediating effects of English teaching methods.Design/methodology/approachTo address this gap, this study analyzed the impact of teachers' pedagogical leadership on student achievement and the mediating effect of English teaching methods with the support of the theory of action for teacher leadership, specifically using pedagogical leadership and English teaching methods models.This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 968 participants in Taian City, China, and quantitatively analyzed the data using SmartPLS structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThis study revealed that pedagogical leadership has a positive direct effect on student achievement. Meanwhile, among the four mediating factors, the Direct Method, Audio-Lingual Method and Communicative Language Teaching had significant mediating effects.Originality/valueThis study shows that the effective use of academic and professional capital allocation in pedagogical leadership, combined with effective measures of using multiple effective English teaching methods, helps achieve high-quality student achievement.

The impact of school- and teacher-related factors on teachers’ professional learning

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the effects of school- and teacher-related factors on teachers’ professional learning. A quantitative cross-sectional survey design was employed using the data collected from 810 teachers in Türkiye. Path analysis was used to examine the structural relationships among variables, including instructional leadership, learning climate, teacher self-efficacy, teacher enthusiasm, teachers’ attitudes towards professional development and teacher professional learning. Results validated a mediation model in which instructional leadership had direct and indirect effects on teacher professional learning. Results showed that the instructional leadership practices of school principals foster a positive learning climate that enhances teachers’ self-efficacy, enthusiasm, and attitudes, ultimately supporting their professional learning. Drawing on evidence from a non-Western educational context, this study contributes to the international knowledge base by demonstrating the effects of both school- and teacher-related factors on teachers’ engagement in professional learning.

Bienestar laboral y liderazgo pedagógico en el compromiso docente de los CEBAs

The purpose of the research was to determine whether work wellbeing and pedagogical leadership influence teacher commitment in the CEBAs of a UGEL in Metropolitan Lima, 2023. Due to its approach, this study was established as quantitative, adopting a non-experimental design with cross-sectional and descriptive explanatory type. The research work was carried out with a populationof 297 teachers from the CEBAs of a UGEL in Metropolitan Lima, from which a sample of 168 teachers was drawn. The survey technique was used to collect information through three questionnaires designed to measure each variable. The results obtainedthrough ordinal logistic regression showed a Nagelkerke R-value of 0.492, which indicates that 49.2% of the variability in teacher commitment can be explained by the independent variables, i.e., work well-being and pedagogical leadership. Based on this, it was concluded that labor welfare and pedagogical leadership influence teacher commitment in the CEBAs of a UGEL in Metropolitan Lima, 2023.

Influence of Head Teachers’ Leadership Practices on Pupils’ Learning Outcomes in Public Primary Schools in Narok North Sub County, Kenya

This study sought to investigate the influence of head teachers’ instructional leadership practices on pupils’ learning outcomes/expectations in public primary schools in Narok North Sub-County, Kenya. This was specifically addressed by seeking to establish the influence of instructional supervision and motivational strategies on pupils’ learning outcomes/expectations in public primary schools in Narok North Sub-County, Kenya. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The target population constituted 54 public primary schools in Narok North Sub-County presented by 54 headteachers and 100 grade 5 teachers. Random sampling design was used to sample 129 respondents (45 head teachers and 84 teachers) from the target population. The descriptive analysis was used to establish the perceived level of head teachers’ instructional supervision, motivational strategies and pupils’ learning outcomes. Multiple Linear regression analysis was used to establish the influence of head teachers’ instructional supervision, motivational strategies and resource provision on the pupils’ academic performance and if the influences explained was statistically significant. Multiple Linear regression analysis was used to establish the influence of head teachers’ instructional supervision and motivational strategies on the pupils’ academic performance and if the influences explained was statistically significant. The study revealed that headteachers’ instructional leadership practices consisted of classroom visitation, delegation of teaching duties, evaluation of records of work, holding conferences with teachers, lesson preparations and evaluation of pupils’ exercise books which considerably improved the learning outcomes of grade 5 Pupils in all the five subjects. Finally, the study recommended that Re-engineering workshops by the Ministry of Education should emphasize on curriculum instructional supervision leadership practices and learners’ motivational strategies with a view to improving the quality of Grade 5 Pupils’ learning outcomes in all the five subjects’ areas.

Instructional Leadership : Principal's Challenges and Solutions in Enhancing Students' Academic Performance

This study aims to investigate the principal's challenges and potential solutions for improving students' academic performance through instructional leadership. The qualitative approach is implemented by applying fragmentary observations, documents, and individual and group interviews The informants of this research were principals and teachers from two schools and one of the Indonesian community learning center. The data analysis technique used is thematic content analysis using ATLAS.ti software. The findings indicated that the principals' responsibilities in developing instructional leadership were categorized into five primary themes: concept, planning, program and execution, supervision, evaluation, and learning implication design. Challenges identified include schools' limited budget and the lack of teachers, students, and parents' problems. Some solutions discovered encompass optimizing the schools' budget, staff, and teachers, stakeholder collaboration and bipartite cooperation, student-teach-student, role modeling, counseling guidance, inspiring talks, and smart parenting. The principals recommended designing the school instructional leadership concept, formulating the planning, coordinating the program and its implementation, organizing the supervision and evaluation, constructing the learning implications, and identifying the challenges to secure solutions.

Integrating technology into school-wide adoption of flipped learning: Perceptions of a school principal

Integrating technology into teaching and learning is important for effective education in the 21st Century. School instructional leadership plays a crucial role in determining the success of school technological transformation. This paper focuses on the instructional leadership practice in a school-wide flipped learning adoption process. It examines a school principal’s instructional leadership practice in a middle-high boarding school in China. In-depth interviews and document analysis were used as tools for data collection. The findings reveal that involving teachers as researchers is a powerful technique for managing successful instructional reform when integrating technology into classroom practice. The school principal’s lived experiences and philosophy of education contribute to the commitment of the transformation process, which in turn motivated the principal to initiate and conduct instructional reform. Moreover, the school principal is expected to be a critical actor for the overall management when mobilising teacher engagement and other available resources in the school context. The implications for practitioners are discussed.

Physical Education Administrators’ Instructional Leadership Affecting Their Leadership Efficacy

This study explored the impact of teaching leadership on leadership effectiveness of sports managers at Hunan Normal University. Through teachers' evaluation of sports managers in promoting professional learning, building relationships, collaboration, organizational skills, and teaching practices, their effectiveness levels in content knowledge, teaching knowledge, classroom management, evaluation, and technology application were analyzed. The results show that there is a weak positive correlation between the teaching leadership practices of sports managers and their leadership effectiveness. Based on the research results, this paper puts forward suggestions on improving the leadership of sports managers, aiming to promote the professional development of teachers, strengthen collaboration, improve teaching quality, and ultimately improve students' learning outcomes.

A Systematic Review Analysis on Instructional Leadership Styles: Exploring Research Foci, Conceptual Models, Methodological Designs, and Geographical Distributions

Aims: This study explored the various literature on Instructional leadership of secondary school principals. This study aimed to answer the following questions based on (1) the geographic distribution of the distributed leadership literature published globally; (2) methodological designs (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) have been adopted and data collection tools used; (3) the nature of literature in terms of research foci; and (4) conceptual frameworks/models are predominant in the relevant literature publications between 2012 and 2022. Study Design: Systematic review analysis. Place and Duration of Study: The systematic review of existing literature was carried-out last 2023 and analyzed relevant studies on instructional leadership from 2012-2022. Methodology: This study utilized the systematic review analysis using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as the functional research design in answering the research questions. The study used the Google scholar and Eric as the main database search platform for seeking relevant literature. These databases have an advanced search method to set the desired operative words, the year of publication, and it provides the data based such as in-full text version, peer-reviewed, written in English, research design, etc. Results: As a result of the systematic analysis, this study exposed notable variations in terms of research design employed, and the locale of the study. Based on the synthesis of the various research studies, it was observed that instructional leadership is currently being studied against students, teachers, and school performances. Moreover, the widely used conceptual framework used was exploratory, and a direct effect model. Conclusion: Finally, the framework provided by this study and the overview of the challenges outlined here may help to improve the delivery of instructional leadership among secondary school principals and will serve as the foundation for future research projects and policy decisions.

A contemporary examination of instructional leadership activities and distributed leadership practices in elementary education

While the success of schools is often attributed to the efforts of principals, it is important to determine how schools can embrace distributed instructional leadership to enhance academic performance among learners. It is evident that instructional leadership alone is inadequate and necessitates complementation with a distributed leadership model. This study exclusively focuses on how instructional leadership aligns with distributed leadership, paying special attention to distributed instructional leadership implementation in primary schools in Zimbabwe. In this particular qualitative study, the interpretivist theory served as the guiding framework. The study involved observation and conducting interviews with school teachers and principals to gain insight into the instructional and distributive leadership activities that were taking place within their respective schools. The analysis of the data was approached through the lens of Hallinger and Murphy’s model of instructional leadership. The findings of the study highlighted the importance of active involvement from all members within a school for effective leadership. Furthermore, it was revealed that a holistic approach to school leadership styles is essential, emphasizing the interconnected nature of instructional and distributive leadership activities (distributed instructional leadership). The study ultimately determined that distributed instructional leadership is achieved through collaborative efforts in formulating school visions and embracing shared supervision practices among the members of staff. It was also identified that creating opportunities for staff development in the schools plays a pivotal role in reaching the goals of distributed instructional leadership.

Teachers’ professional learning: Do instructional leadership and teacher leadership make a difference in Turkiye?

Numerous studies have explored teachers’ professional learning, yet ongoing efforts persist to understand the influence of leadership factors on this concept. This study aims to analyse the relationship between school principals’ instructional leadership behaviours, teacher leadership and teachers’ professional learning. A structural model was created and tested using data from 346 Turkish teachers. Results confirmed that teacher leadership behaviours mediate the relationship between principals’ instructional leadership behaviours and teachers’ professional learning. In contexts where principals demonstrate instructional leadership, teachers tend to exhibit more teacher leadership behaviours, fostering positive attitudes towards professional learning. Teachers engaged in teacher leadership behaviours prioritise activities enhancing their professional learning. This study concludes that the impact of instructional leadership on teacher leadership and professional learning hinges on principals’ implementation of instructional leadership and teachers’ integration of professional learning into their practices, contributing to leadership literature.

The Effect of Perceived Principal’s Instructional Leadership on the Occupational Well-being among Rural Elementary and Middle School Teachers

The Effect of Perceived Principal’s Instructional Leadership on the Occupational Well-being among Rural Elementary and Middle School Teachers

Potential threats to implementing instructional leadership in Western Cape township secondary schools

This empirical study examines the factors that pose challenges to the implementation of instructional leadership in township secondary schools in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The study adopts Critical Emancipatory Research (CER), which promotes peace, hope, freedom, and social justice, as its theoretical framework. Participatory action research (PAR), utilising focus group interviews, is employed to collect data. PAR is situated within a transformative paradigm, and a qualitative research approach is chosen to align with this paradigm. Data is collected through focus group discussions with the school management team (SMT), consisting of the principal, two deputy principals, and six heads of department. These discussions aim to gather information on threats to instructional leadership and strategies to mitigate these threats. The findings reveal that the local community and its dynamics, along with the prevalence of violence in the neighbourhood, are external factors that significantly impede the smooth operation of the school and negatively affect the implementation of effective instructional leadership. Conversely, factors such as limited interference from the local community, reduced workload, adherence to compliance guidelines and requirements set by the Department of Education, and an unimpeded leadership role for the management team may contribute to the successful implementation of instructional leadership. Therefore, the study recommends promoting effective and transparent communication as well as open engagement among all stakeholders within the school.

The influence of leadership on factors related to teachers in Islamic boarding schools

This study examines the influence of leadership on factors related to teachers in Islamic boarding schools. Being a multicultural country that boasts harmony and peaceful living, Indonesia supports educational policies related to its citizens’ beliefs in the form of Islamic boarding schools. While harboring a sizeable Muslim population, the Islamic boarding school (IBS) with an exceptional curriculum parallel with Islamic teaching, namely pesantren, is developed and led by Kyai, who has a role like principal in regular schools. As the school’s central figure, Kyai’s leadership will inevitably determine the teaching quality of its students. The current study aimed to understand the association between Kyai’s leadership style and teaching team-related factors, mediated by collaboration and a supportive school culture. Questionnaire data was collected from 85 teachers at an Islamic boarding school in the West Java Province of Indonesia. Hypotheses in the tested model were analyzed using the SEM-PLS method. We found that supportive school culture is not associated with distributive leadership. Distributed leadership lacks the mediating role of school culture, while instructional leadership positively impacts job satisfaction and personal confidence. Furthermore, the data suggests that both teacher cooperation and school culture have a negligible influence on the comprehensive framework. Based on those results, in Islamic Boarding Schools, it is important for Kyai to foster a nurturing school environment and promote collaboration among Asatidz (teachers) in their educational roles; these elements have been shown to significantly correlate with the Asatidz’s sense of job fulfillment and their confidence in their teaching abilities.

School conditions and principal practices promoting instructional data use in high-stakes accountability systems

This study explores how school environments and principal behaviors enhance the use of data within Chile's high-stakes accountability systems. Emphasizing the importance of Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) for improving educational outcomes, this mixed-methods research analyzed data employment for accountability, improvement, and instructional purposes. Findings show that schools prioritize data use for enhancing instruction and school improvement over mere compliance with external accountability. Key leadership behaviors, notably instructional leadership, are crucial in promoting effective data utilization. The study identifies both minimal and organizational conditions as critical enablers for data use, although their impact varies with the type of data employed. The results advocate for a balanced approach that considers both quantitative and qualitative factors to optimize data use in educational settings. Future research should delve deeper into specific instructional practices and the factors that influence teacher decision-making to further improve data-driven instruction.

Principals’ Priorities, Teacher Evaluation, and Instructional Leadership

Instructional leadership has become the dominant paradigm in principal preparation and professional learning. In parallel, teacher evaluation has risen in prominence. Using interviews from 84 principals in 23 districts and three states, we asked how teacher evaluation influenced principals’ reported priorities and conceptions of instructional leadership. We found that although teacher evaluation loomed large in principals’ priorities, their implementation of it generally seemed far from robust. Although 81% of our sample noted teacher evaluation as a priority, only 24% reported integrating it into their efforts to improve teaching and learning. As one of the first studies to investigate how teacher evaluation factors into principals’ priorities and conceptions of instructional leadership and the resulting implications, our study extends prior research.

Raising the Floor or Lowering the Ceiling: Challenges to Instructional Leadership at Scale

In an effort to scale success, many schools codify various practices to replicate them across schools. While such codification and replication can help scale success, scaling success often comes with numerous negative externalities such as a reduction of autonomy and burdens on successful educators. Based on real events and educators, this case follows an instructional coach through his career at a charter school as it attempts to scale a successful small charter school to a larger Charter Management Organization (CMO).

Analysing The Influence of School Leadership Styles on Teacher Competency: A Case Study in China

This work thoroughly assesses the complex connection between various types of headships within schools and teacher ability in Chinese education. This study investigates the impact of instructional leadership, organisational culture and emotional intelligence on teacher professional development and work satisfaction by analysing a number of empirical studies conducted in China. The findings lay much stress on the subtle impact of cultural factors, especially power distance orientation as important moderators that influence instructional leadership strategies. Indeed, the study pinpoints a profound role of positive organisational culture aimed to provide supportive leadership practices and abundant learning opportunities for teacher’s professional development. The effective leaders training programmes should be designed taking into consideration the cultural peculiarities of China’s educational environment. The study offers some unique perspectives that are of relevance to educators, policymakers and scholars since it outlines the intricate connections at work. In turn, it facilitates the well-informed decision and encourages an effective leadership style that improves teachers’ competency thereby contributing to education evolution in China.

Pengaruh Kepemimpinan Intruksional Kepala Madrasah dan Komitmen Kerja Terhadap Kinerja Guru Madrasah Tsanawiyah Kabupaten Agam

Instructional leadership and work commitment are things that school principals must have. Teachers have an important role in education. Teacher performance also needs to be improved. Principals play an important role in shaping schools, especially in encouraging higher levels of institutional independence. The purpose of writing this article is to analyze the influence of the madrasa head's instructional leadership and work commitment on the performance of Madrasah Tsanawiyah teachers in Agam Regency. The research used by the author is Systematic Literature Review (SLR) with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta Analysis) method. The data used in this research is secondary data originating from national scientific articles in the period 2020 to 2024. The database used is Google Scholar. The keywords used are work commitment, leadership, teacher performance. The results of this research are: The results of this research show 15 articles that show a positive relationship between instructional leadership and work commitment to performance. The conclusion is that instructional leadership and work commitment influence performance, where the better the application of leadership and commitment to the organization, the more performance will improve. This relationship indicates that factors such as good leadership and high work commitment play a crucial role in maximizing individual and team performance in the organization.

The Factors Affecting the Impacts of Using the School Improvement Plan (SIP) on Students' Academic Achievement in Malaysia

While professional learning communities are hailed as the solution to raising teacher quality in Malaysia, other nations, such as the UK and Canada, have started to deprivatize teaching. This theory is predicated on the notion that teaching is a collaborative endeavor in which educators grow as individuals and professionals. Rather, it is a cooperative process in which teacher learning enhances student learning. Furthermore, the traditional classroom is rapidly changing to accommodate the needs of students in the twenty-first century while also encouraging the deprivatizing teaching approach. Consequently, this study presents a curriculum-change implementation strategy one school uses to meet Malaysia's evolving understanding of learning in and for the twenty-first century. Narrating a series of anticipated strategic events clarifies the importance of using distributive leadership as an essential tool for supporting educational enhancement and highlights the benefits of consultative techniques. This study aims to determine the variables that influence how the School Improvement Plan (SIP) affects Malaysian students' academic performance. Using a Google Form approach, this study used a quantitative research design, an effective and systematic way to collect quantifiable data. According to this survey, teacher leadership factors have the most significant impact on students' academic success compared to the other two factors. The results of this study suggested a theoretical framework that forecasts the related factors—principal instructional leadership, teacher leadership, and conducive school environment—that influence the effects of implementing the School Improvement Plan (SIP) on students' academic achievement in Malaysia.

School Heads' Experiences on the Conduct of Classroom Observation

This phenomenological study examines the experiences of school heads in the Panabo South District during classroom observations, an essential aspect of their instructional leadership. Using frameworks like the Results Performance and Management System and National Competency-Based Teacher Standards, the study explores how these school heads promote quality teaching, supervise learning, and coordinate curriculum implementation. Through Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions, the study explores how these school heads use classroom observations to improve teaching quality, promote professional development, and ensure effective curriculum implementation. Data were gathered through in-depth major Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions, then analyzed thematically to discover and interpret significant themes and patterns in the participants' experiences. The data show that classroom observations have a significant impact on improving teaching practices and student outcomes while also promoting teacher development. Despite problems such as balancing responsibility and supportive leadership, the study emphasizes the importance of observations in aligning teaching methods with curriculum objectives. Practical ideas are made to improve observation techniques and strengthen instructional leadership.