Does instructional leadership mediate effects of student home resources on opportunity to learn and math reasoning skills? A cross-national comparison of 4^th grade students

ABSTRACT

For many countries, inequitable access to rigorous content and instruction at the early grades leads to the low academic performance for students with fewer resources at home. One way to assess these inequities, and identify possible mediators, is to consider the role of instructional leadership as a means for schools to set educational goals for teachers and students which might direct how learning is accessed. This study examines the extent that instructional leadership influences the mediated relationship between students’ home resources and opportunity to learn on math reasoning skills across a set of 53 participating countries. We applied a two-level structural equation model to data from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Using a nationally representative sample of schools and nested students for each participating country in TIMSS 2011, we demonstrate the variation in the extent and direction of these relationships by country context. For a few countries, instructional leadership mediated the relationship between home resources and opportunity to learn on math reasoning skills.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the American Educational Research Association [“AERA Grant Program” under NSF Grant #DRL-0941014];

Notes on contributors

Angela Urick

Angela Urick is Associate Professor in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Her research interests include principal and teacher perceptions of leadership styles, school climate, teacher retention and school improvement.

Yan Liu

Yan Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy and Instructional Technology at the Central Connecticut State University. Her research interests center around the impact of school leadership on teaching and learning through an international comparative lens. Her research has had a particular interest in the functional aspects of educational leadership as a shared asset by principals, teachers, as well as the community, and the use of data in promoting school improvement.

Timothy G. Ford

Timothy G. Ford is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He examines the role of school leadership in facilitating more collaborative work environments for teachers and in supporting teachers’ psychological needs as learners.

Alison S. P. Wilson

Alison S. P. Wilson is a doctoral candidate in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, at the University of Oklahoma. Her research examines school structures, policies, and practices that contribute to the opportunity gap to inform school leadership practice and education policy.