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 aimed to expand inquiry into inhibitors of instructional leadership in Israeli principals. Data analysis uncovered that Israeli principals'…

Education systems, including South Africa's, were forced to embrace remote schooling and online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of this dramatic change, the principal's role as an instructional leader has also changed. The hard lockdowns in South Africa forced schools to be creative in ensuring education continuity through…

The purpose of this paper was to test the relationship between principals' instructional leadership and teacher collaboration around instruction to determine whether these measures were statistically related and whether, together, they were associated with academic achievement in elementary schools. Data were obtained from 1605 teachers in 96…

This research tested a theoretical model that links (directly and indirectly) principals' characteristics--principals' information-processing mechanisms (PIPMs) and instructional leadership (IL)--with organizational learning mechanisms (OLMs), the latter with teacher characteristics (teachers' affective commitment, collective teacher efficacy,…

As part of a larger study on school choice, researchers at the National Center on School Choice examined variation in leadership practices across school types, relying on a convenience matched sample of schools that included charter, magnet, private, and traditional public schools. A total of 284 schools agreed to participate in the study--116…

Although the literature points to principals' central role in enhancing school effectiveness, the demonstration of a causal relationship between their instructional leadership and student achievement is difficult. Researchers have suggested that instructional leadership can influence teaching and classroom practices through the establishment of…

The effects that principals' instructional leadership has on school achievement/outcomes were examined using questionnaire data from the principal and at least 4 teachers from 31 elementary schools and 25 high schools in California. Achievement outcomes can be predicted based on teachers' and principals' perceptions of instructional leadership.…

A study examined the relationship between the degree of a principal's instructional leadership and student achievement. Methodology involved regression analysis of the Basic Skills Assessment Program (BSAP) scores of over 7,400 eighth-graders in 104 schools in Mississippi. Questionnaires were also mailed to 104 principals, yielding a response rate…

This paper addresses the role of the school principal in school improvement through secondary analysis of data collected from 98 elementary schools in Tennessee that participated in the School Improvement Incentives Project between 1983 and 1986. The paper explores an instructional leadership model as operationalized in measures of selected school…

An exploration of the process by which newly hired high school principals learn instructional leadership roles is presented in this paper, which focuses on the effect of faculty and superintendent expectations on principals' leadership behavior. A triangularized methodology includes indepth interviews with new principals, (n=28) from a midwestern…

This article discusses the research concerning the relationship between the organizational and social context of schools and principal instructional leadership. The discussion centers on several contextual variables that include school level, staff composition, technical clarity and complexity, and district context. Particular attention is focused…

Research over the past 35 years consistently reveals that principals spend minimal amounts of time on instructional leadership activities. Similarly, we know very little about how principals might be trained to change their time allocation to focus more on instructional leadership tasks. The paper describes the implementation and the time use of…

Most validity studies of ISLLC standards and indicators rely heavily on focus groups and perceptual surveys. This study included self-report and observational data on principals' use of time. A content analysis tested ISLLC's descriptions of instructional leadership with a related set of Kentucky's Standards and Indicators for School Improvement…

Leadership at the high school level provide a unique challenge due to size and complexity. The study examines how successful principals, confront the necessity to support teachers as they grow their craft in thoughtful and deliberate ways. The study provides insight into the relationship between instructional and transformational leadership…

While such connection between an instructional leader and a vigorous teacher-leader team seems natural in the school with instructional effectiveness, the research evidence is surprisingly limited. To fill the gap, these factors are linked such that principals' effort on instruction will lead them to change the school's leadership structure by…