The principal as instructional leader: Guiding schools to improve instruction

Abstract

School leaders are increasingly being challenged to take a more instructionally focused role in their schools. As pressure for improving student performance in the current standards-based accountability environment swells and test results are increasingly scrutinised, school principals are being urged to focus efforts on the core business of schooling – teaching and learning. This article focuses on school principals who are successful in improving teaching and learning in their schools. Six principals contributed their time, stories and experiences as instructional leaders as well as how they have improved teaching and learning in their respective schools. The article describes the strategies of principals who practise exemplary instructional leadership, and how these principals have influenced teaching and learning. The principals in this sample sought to focus their time and efforts on instructional improvement by shifting their priorities towards teaching and learning. Literature on instructional leadership was the primary source of information used in the construction of interview schedules. The interview schedule was semi-structured to provide flexibility for the respondents to give detailed responses. The article also gives a summary of the findings and recommendations.

Keywords:

• instructional leadership
• teaching and learning
• instructional order
• curriculum excellence