Instructional Leadership Role Research Articles

Perceptual inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals

ABSTRACTThe instructional leadership approach expects school leaders to give top priority to ongoing improvement of teaching quality and academic outcomes. Researchers have found that despite the top-down pressures to assume an instructional leadership role, school principals demonstrate limited direct involvement in such leadership. The current qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews, aimed to expand inquiry into inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals. Data analysis uncovered that Israeli principals’ perceptions served as key inhibitors of instructional leadership, identifying three main perceptual inhibitors: (1) perceptions regarding principal-teacher relationships; (2) perceptions regarding the role of the principal; and (3) perceptions regarding the goal of schooling. These findings expands the available knowledge by illustrating how for Israeli principals, the inhibitors of instructional leadership did not only involve the constraints and capabilities of school principals but also deep disagreements with the conceptual framework that underpins instructional leadership. Implications and further research are discussed.

A Study on Determinants Associated with Principals Instructional Leadership Role Behavior in General Secondary Schools

A Study on Determinants Associated with Principals Instructional Leadership Role Behavior in General Secondary Schools

School Management Teams’ Instructional Leadership Role in Closing the Achievement Gap in Impoverished Schools

Although the South African government has made numerous strides in addressing equity and social justice in education, significant inequalities still exist in learner performance, especially in many impoverished schools. One of the reasons cited for poor learner achievement is the ineffective leadership role of school management teams (SMTs). This article reports on a study that explored the instructional leadership role of SMTs of public schools with the view to closing the achievement gap in poor performing schools. To gain better insights into the SMTs’ realities and experiences of their work as curriculum leaders, qualitative research located within the interpretivist paradigm was undertaken. The findings revealed that SMTs of impoverished schools exhibit consistently low to moderate instructional leadership competencies which ultimately affect student learning. In order to close the achievement gap in poor performing schools, SMTs should play a more pronounced instructional leadership role by leading and managing core curriculum matters and educational resources effectively and efficiently.

Learning Outside the Classroom: How Principals Define and Prepare to Be Instructional Leaders

This qualitative study surveyed 50 practicing principals in a Rocky Mountain state to explore what elements of their responsibilities these educational leaders identified as part of their instructional leadership roles. The study also examined what experiences these principals identified as helpful in preparing them to assume the role of school instructional leader, specifically in the areas of teacher supervision and evaluation, the use of technology to support student learning, and the use of data to inform instructional practices. These areas have been identified through research as significant elements of instructional leadership. By identifying the specific actions that principals identify as their instructional leadership responsibilities, programs that prepare school leaders and state and district personnel who provide professional development for principals can develop learning experiences that could more effectively support principals’ success as instructional leaders.

Rethinking Instructional Leadership Roles of the School Principal: Challenges and Prospects

In most schools, the individual charged with the responsibility for overseeing the general running of the programs and events is the principal. According to Lunenberg (1995), "the principal's job is to help the school achieve a high level of performance through utilization of its human and material resources. More simply, the principal's job is to get things done by working with and through other people" (p. 3). In this sense , he argued, principals are universal and are essential to schools of all types and sizes - wealthy, poor, rural, urban, large, and small.This article argues that the principal's tasks, especially those associated with instructional leadership, in meeting the needs and concerns of ever-changing schools are numerous, complex, and challenging. In this argument, the principal's instructional leadership roles, the major constraints in the ro le of the principal as an instructional leader, and the strategies for alleviating the problems are examined.

Gender differences in instructional leadership: how male and female principals perform their instructional leadership role

ABSTRACTThe current qualitative study sought to examine how male and female principals enact their instructional leadership. Data were collected through 59 semi-structured interviews with 36 female principals and 23 male principals from Israel, and analysed in a four-stage process – condensing, coding, categorising, and theorising. Findings presented two main differences between male and female principals’ instructional leadership: (a) the source of authority nurturing their instructional leadership; and (b) the integration of instructional leadership with principal-teacher relationships. Gender theories were employed to explain these findings and further research possibilities in this realm are discussed.

Literature Review on Instructional Leadership Practice among Principals in Managing Changes

Various initiatives have been planned in an effort to improve the quality of education in each country to be consistent and relevant to the needs of globalization. In line with the success of this goal, principals as head of school are important people in spearheading change. To mobilize the implementation of education changes, principals need to practice instructional leadership that can have a positive impact, especially on the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning which is the mainstay of excellence in school. Recognizing this need, policymakers deeply emphasize the need for instructional leadership practices among school leaders to realize the major agenda of their respective countries' education. The role of instructional leadership is still influential and relevant in managing education changes in the 21st-century towards preserving the quality of education in the country. Principals can act as instructional leaders who prioritize teaching and learning in schools. In that regard, ongoing research and discussion to explore instructional leadership practices in schools is a necessity.

Review of conceptual models and methodologies in research on principal instructional leadership in Malaysia

PurposeOver the past several decades, instructional leadership has gradually gained increasing currency as a key role of school principals throughout much of the world. This is also the case in Malaysia where educational research, policy and practice have brought the instructional leadership role of the principal front and center. The purpose of this paper is to assess the conceptual models, research methods, and foci of scholars in the study of principal instructional leadership in Malaysia over the past 30 years.Design/methodology/approachSystematic methods were used to identify all studies conducted in Malaysia that had used the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) (Hallinger, 1982/1990/2015) as the data collection instrument. This search yielded a database of 120 studies completed between 1989 and 2016 written in both English and Bahasa Malay. Common data were extracted from the 120 research reports, coded and entered into a MS Excel spreadsheet for analysis. Quantitative methods were employed to analyze modal trends and synthesize patterns in the data across the studies.FindingsThe search identified 120 PIMRS studies, 90 percent of which had been conducted since 2005. This represented a surprisingly large corpus of studies. Over 75 percent of the Malaysian studies of principal instructional leadership had been conducted as graduate (master and doctoral) theses, relatively few of which had achieved publication in journals. The authors’ analysis found that most studies had used lower order (i.e. bivariate, direct effects) conceptual models and relied heavily on descriptive and simple correlational statistical tests. The lack of consistent results within the database of studies was attributed largely to limitations in research design and quality.Research limitations/implicationsThe 120 PIMRS studies conducted in Malaysia comprise a surprisingly large corpus of research on principal instructional leadership. Indeed, the Malaysian corpus is second only to the USA in terms of the number of PIMRS studies of principal instructional leadership. Nonetheless, limitations in the research models and methods employed in these studies suggest a need for stronger methodological training before Malaysian scholars can achieve the goal of contributing useful knowledge to the local and global knowledge base. Specific recommendations are offered for strengthening the quality of research.Social implicationsThe recent expansion of higher education in Malaysia – like other developing societies – has yielded progress in the scope of research production. However, numerous challenges remain in transforming the potential for useful knowledge production from graduate research into reality.Originality/valueThis is the first review of research on principal leadership conducted in Malaysia. The review follows efforts by scholars to systematically identify the boundaries of knowledge in educational leadership and management within East Asian societies (e.g. China, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong). Moreover, this is the first review of research that examines the use of the PIMRS in a single society.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLE IN IMPROVING STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF ILU ABABOR ZONE.

25Oct 2017 FACTORS THAT AFFECT INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP ROLE IN IMPROVING STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF ILU ABABOR ZONE. Dimo Didana Dinie , Tekalign Minalu Tirfe and Wubayew Dagne Ayenew. Lecturer , Department of Educational Leadership and Management Mettu University, Institute of Education and Professional Studies, Mettu, Ethiopia. Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Management Mettu University, Institute of Education and Professional Studies, Mettu, Ethiopia. Lecturer, Department of Educational Leadership and Management Mettu University, Institute of Education and Professional Studies, Mettu, Ethiopia.

Perspectives on principal instructional leadership in Vietnam: a preliminary model

PurposeWorldwide interest in principal instructional leadership has led to global dissemination of related research findings despite their concentration in a limited set of western cultural contexts. An urgent challenge in educational leadership and management lies in expanding the range of national settings for investigations of instructional leadership. The current study addressed this challenge in the context of Vietnam, a nation with a very limited formal knowledge base in school leadership (Hallinger and Bryant, 2013b; Hallinger and Truong, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to describe the perspectives of Vietnamese primary school principals toward their role as instructional leaders, illuminate instructional leadership practices perceived as important by the principals, and develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership within the Vietnamese education context.Design/methodology/approachThis study was a qualitative inquiry that sought to illuminate the perspectives of Vietnamese principals toward their role as instructional leaders. The research employed semi-structured interviews with 27 primary school principals. Data analysis employed grounded theory in order to synthesize results gathered from the principals into a preliminary conceptual model.FindingsThe study yielded a preliminary model of principal instructional leadership in Vietnam. The authors’ model evidences similarities to western models of instructional leadership by including dimensions focusing on setting direction, managing curriculum and instruction and developing the school learning climate. Differences also emerged in terms of two additional constructs, building solidarity and managing external relationships. Other distinctive practices of Vietnamese instructional leaders also emerged in the findings which the authors suggest can be linked to the institutional, political and socio-cultural context of education in this society.Research limitations/implicationsKey limitations arise from the focus on primary schools, small size of the sample, absence of data from the Northern region of Vietnam, and lack of verification of principals’ perspectives with data from other stakeholders.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first empirical studies of Vietnamese school leadership submitted for publication in international refereed journals and the first study that has that sought to conceptualize the instructional leadership role of principals in Vietnam. Moreover, the study illustrates how conceptualizations of school leadership are shaped by features of specific societies. This lends credence to scholarly admonitions concerning the lack of universality of leadership theories.

Instructional leadership structure in Singapore: a co-existence of hierarchy and heterarchy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the instructional leadership practices and structure in Singapore primary schools.Design/methodology/approachThe study employs a qualitative approach. Data were collected from interviews of 30 Singapore primary school principals and 25 working-day observations of five principals. A grounded theory method was utilized to analyze the qualitative data.FindingsThe instructional leadership roles of principals can be categorized into four key themes: vision development and implementation, physical and organizational structure, professional development, and leading and managing instruction. Importantly, the study illuminates a hybrid structure of instructional leadership in which both hierarchical and heterarchical elements exist.Originality/valueThe current study expands the global knowledge base on instructional leadership by providing indigenous knowledge of how instructional leadership is enacted in Singapore schools. Simultaneously, this study suggests an agenda for future research on instructional leadership.

The deputy principal instructional leadership role and professional learning

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report on a study examining the perceptions of secondary principals, deputies and teachers, of deputy principal (DP) instructional leadership (IL), as well as deputies’ professional learning (PL) needs. Framed within an interpretivist approach, the specific objectives of this study were: to explore the extent to which DPs are perceived as leaders of learning, to examine the actual responsibilities of these DPs and to explore the PL that support DP roles.Design/methodology/approachThe researchers used multiple perspective case studies which included semi-structured interviews and key school document analysis. A thematic content analysis facilitated qualitative descriptions and insights from the perspectives of the principals, DPs and teachers of four high-performing secondary schools in Sydney, Australia.FindingsThe data revealed that deputies performed a huge range of tasks; all the principals were distributing leadership to their deputies to build leadership capacity and supported their PL in a variety of ways. Across three of the case study schools, most deputies were frequently performing as instructional leaders, improving their school’s performance through distributing leadership, team building and goal setting. Deputy PL was largely dependent on principal mentoring and self-initiated but was often ad hoc. Findings add more validity to the importance of principals building the educational leadership of their deputies.Research limitations/implicationsThis study relied upon responses from four case study schools. Further insight into the key issues discussed may require a longitudinal data that describe perceptions from a substantial number of schools in Australia over time. However, studying only four schools allowed for an in-depth investigation.Practical implicationsThe findings from this study have practical implications for system leaders with responsibilities of framing the deputies’ role as emergent educational leaders rather than as administrators and the need for coherent, integrated, consequential and systematic approaches to DP professional development. Further research is required on the effect of deputy IL on school performance.Originality/valueThere is a dearth of research-based evidence exploring the range of responsibilities of deputies and perceptions of staff about deputies’ IL role and their PL needs. This is the first published New South Wales, Australian DP study and adds to the growing evidence around perceptions of DPs as instructional leaders by providing an Australian perspective on the phenomenon. The paper raises important concerns about the complexity of the DP’s role on the one hand, and on the other hand, the PL that is perceived to be most appropriate for dealing with this complexity.

Principals' perceptions of the influence of School Governing Bodies on instructional leadership: a South African study

This paper reports on an empirical on-going study concerning how School Governing Bodies (SGBs) influence the instructional leadership roles of school principals. The literature on instructional le...

Designing An Innovative School Library Environment To Facilitate 21st Century Literacy Skills

School librarians have an unprecedented opportunity to assume an instructional leadership role and create a facility that promotes instructional collaboration, inquiry and collaborative learning that will have a dynamic impact on academic achievement. Through the facilitation of these activities, school librarians provide a vital connection to student acquisition of 21st century literacy skills.

Determination of Instructional Leadership Administrators

This research, based on observations of teacher candidates in prep school educations and secondary schools the instructional leaders of executive managers who aim at investigating a research study descriptive nature. General screening model is used for the study. The research population in the Near East University in the Faculty of Education, teacher training course sections, the school experience (teaching to the practice of) 250 is composed of teacher candidates. Sisman (2004)’s Teaching Leadership Roles Scale, was used as a data collection tool. Instructional Leadership Role Scale which was developed by Sisman (2004) composed of 50 items and 5 subdimensions with 5 pieces of the Likert form. The mean (X), standard deviation (SD), independent groups t-test, one-way analysis of variance (Anova) technique have been used for the analysis of the data obtained. According to the findings, administrators to teachers' instructional leadership based on gender does not contain a statistically significant difference. According to sections of pre-service teachers in the instructional leadership of managers show a statistically significant difference.

Instructional Leadership and Its Effect on Students’ Academic Performance

Introduction: Leadership in schools has been a major cause for concern, not only in our Jamaican society, but on a global level. Leaders are metaphorically viewed as anchors, as they are totally responsible for the success of their organization. Objectives: The aim of the current research is to: evaluate the role of instructional leadership on academic performance of students; Assess how instructional leadership influence on teachers’ instructions; evaluate instructional leadership and typology of school, and explore instructional leadership in secondary educational institutions in St. Andrew, Jamaica. Methods: This research employed mixed methodology. Survey research and phenomenological research methodologies were employed to investigate the topic. The sample comprised of one hundred teachers and administrators at two secondary educational institutions in Kingston and St. Andrew. For the quantitative data, these were recorded, retrieved, and analysed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences for Windows (Version 21.0). The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic identifications and narrations. A p value of 5% was used to establish statistical associations. Findings: The majority of the respondents were females (69%), non-senior teachers (68%), and have been teaching for 4-10 years (43%). A positively weak statistical correlation existed between the performance of students and instructional leadership, with only 1.4% of the variance in academic performance students can be accounted for by instructional leaderships. Conclusion: The discourse of instructional leadership accounting for high academic achievement of students does not exist in this study, and this provides a platform for further examination of the issue from the perspective of instructional leadership and other variables.

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

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.

The Awareness of High School Teachers on their Instructional Leadership Roles

The aim of this study is to examine the level of high school teachers’ awareness on instructional leadership roles according to their perceptions. The sample of this study was composed of high school teachersin Beylikduzu and Buyukcekmece districts in Istanbul. The participants were administered by ‘Demographic Questionnaire’ and ‘The Instructional Leadership Roles of Teachers’ questionnaire developed by the researcher. The data were analyzed by SPSS 20 program. The questionnaire were converted to a scale by verifying reliability and validity statistics. The results includes the frequencies, the percentages and the means of the teachers’ awareness on instructional leadership roles. The variations of teachers’ awareness on instructional leadership roles according to demographic variables were tested by independent samples t-test and ANOVA. The results shows that high school teachers’ awareness on instructional leadership roles were high level in all sub dimensions. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n2p215

An Analysis of Instructional Facilitators’ Relationships with Teachers and Principals

This study examines the perspectives of Wyoming instructional facilitators, concerning three coaching constructs—namely, their instructional leadership roles, teachers’ instructional practices, and the support that they receive from principals and teachers. Findings suggest that instructional facilitators were positive about their instructional leadership roles and about the support received from principals yet were neutral concerning teachers’ autonomy about instructional practices. Instructional facilitators highlighted their roles in mentoring, coaching, and data analysis. Significant differences were found concerning the perceptions of technology instructional facilitators and high school instructional facilitators about their leadership roles, teachers’ instructional practice, and support received from principals.

Service marketing managers’ level of realizing their instructional leadership roles: the applied example on city of Istanbul for the effect on level of business success and performance

Today, manager and personnel profiles are continuously changing and developing. Managers and personnel in the field of service marketing should improve themselves in line with the continuous change and development. It is a non-negligible fact that managers undertake instructional leadership roles and they hereby provide their personnel and themselves an opportunity for sustainable training. The purpose of the study is to examine the attitudes and perceptions of managers working in different fields of service marketing for the continuous training of their personnel regarding performance, success and service quality. Moreover, the relation between training and marketing communication was analyzed within the scope of the research. In this context, a two-part questionnaire was applied to a total of randomly selected 950 managers from different service sectors in Istanbul. Data of the questionnaire were analyzed with PASW Statistic 18 package program. Following the reliability analysis, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was found as 0.963. T test was used in independent samples and variables, and one-way ANOVA in comparisons with more than two groups. Besides Chi-Square tests were utilized for independency research. As a result of the research, it was concluded that 78% of the managers have stated continuous training as obligatory in service enterprises. It was observed that managers with high level of education are more conscious regarding providing training for personnel with the purpose of increasing the service quality. It was also determined that educational background of managers is an effective factor on evaluation of efficiency, performance and training and on believing that sales and marketing is the most important factor of communication.