Instructional leadership, connoisseurship and critique: using an arts‐based approach to extend conversations about teaching

Abstract

Recent teacher effectiveness research supports the notion that students learn best from teachers who can be characterized as managing both the craft and the artistic dimensions of learning. Additionally, there is a body of research that has examined possible strategies instructional leaders might use to support the development of the craft dimension. It is less clear, however, in what ways leaders might address the artistic dimensions of the classroom performance when working with teachers. Rooted in a theory of qualitative inquiry, the author presents a model for instructional leadership practice as connoisseurship and couples that private practice with the Feldman Method for art criticism to make public what is observed in classrooms. The results from a pilot study focusing on the level of implementation of arts‐based leadership are included.