To What Extent Does Distributed Leadership Support Principal Instructional Leadership? Evidence from TALIS 2013 Data

ABSTRACT

In the literature, studies examined either distributed leadership’s (DL), or principal instructional leadership’s (PIL) effect on student learning. However, few studies examined the relationship between DL and PIL, and it is unknown to what extent DL supports PIL. We explored this gap by examining both principals’ and teachers’ perception data of the two constructs from the TALIS 2013. The SEM and Multilevel SEM revealed consistent findings that DL supports PIL, with an impressive school-level effect size (r² = 30.1%, 95%CI = [27.8%, 32.4%]) based on aggregated teachers’ perception data. We provided implications regarding the research approach, leadership practice, and educational policies.

Acknowledgments

We thank three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).