A teaching-and-learning approach to principal supervision

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-57
Author(s):  
Meredith I. Honig & Lydia R. Rainey
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Central Offices ◽  
Principal Supervision ◽  
The Way

Principal supervisors often find themselves drawn into managing logistical and operational matters, instead of helping principals become more effective instructional leaders. Yet Meredith Honig and Lydia Rainey contend that principal supervisors need to make principals’ instructional leadership their primary focus. Drawing on their work with central offices, they explain how the principal supervisors who were most effective at promoting equity and improved instruction took a teaching-and-learning approach to their work with principals. They helped principals lead their own learning and used modeling and other instructional moves to help them along the way.

scholarly journals Exploring principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia: insights and implications

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Harris ◽  
Michelle Jones ◽  
Kenny Soon Lee Cheah ◽  
Edward Devadason ◽  
Donnie Adams
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Leadership Practice ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline the findings from a small-scale, exploratory, study of principals’ instructional leadership practice in Malaysian primary schools. The dimensions and functions of instructional leadership, explicitly explored in this study, are those outlined in the Hallinger and Murphy’s (1985) model. Design/methodology/approach This study is part of a larger international, comparative research project that aims to identify the boundaries of the current knowledge base on instructional leadership practice and to develop a preliminary empirically based understanding of how principals conceive and enact their role as instructional leaders in Hong Kong, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 primary school principals in Malaysia. The sample comprised principals from 14 Government National schools (SK), nine principals from Chinese schools (SJKC) and seven principals from Tamil schools (SJKT). The qualitative data were initially analysed inductively, and subsequently coded using ATLAS.ti to generate the findings and conclusions. Findings The findings showed that the Malaysian principals, who were interviewed, understood and could describe their responsibilities relating to improving instructional practice. In particular, they talked about the supervision of teachers and outlined various ways in which they actively monitored the quality of teaching and learning in their schools. These data revealed that some of the duties and activities associated with being a principal in Malaysia are particularly congruent with instructional leadership practices. In particular, the supervision of teaching and learning along with leading professional learning were strongly represented in the data. Research limitations/implications This is a small-scale, exploratory study involving 30 principals. Practical implications There is a clear policy aspiration, outlined in the Malaysian Education Blueprint, that principals should be instructional leaders. The evidence shows that principals are enacting some of the functions associated with being an instructional leader but not others. Originality/value The findings from this study provide some new insights into the principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia. They also provide a basis for further, in-depth exploration that can enhance the knowledge base about principals’ instructional leadership practices in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Teachers’ and middle managers’ experiences of principals’ instructional leadership towards improving curriculum delivery in schools

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Chabalala ◽  
Parvathy Naidoo
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Middle Managers ◽  
Mission Statement ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Learning Climate ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Curriculum Delivery

Background: This study was designed to explore teachers’ and middle managers’ experiences regarding their principals’ instructional leadership practices aimed at improving curriculum delivery in schools. Literature on instructional leadership indicates how failing schools can be turned around to become successful if principals consider instructional leadership to be their primary role within schools. The authors, therefore, argue that it is the responsibility of principals to ensure that learners’ results are improved through intervention and support provided by the principals to capacitate teachers and middle managers in delivering the curriculum effectively. Globally, literature promotes the significance of the continued professional development of teachers, and many scholars allude to the pivotal role principals or school heads play in teachers’ skills advancement.Aim: The aim of this article was to identify principals’ instructional practices that improve curriculum delivery in schools, which are examined through the experiences of teachers and middle managers.Setting: The study was conducted in two schools in the Gauteng province of South Africa.Method: The researchers employed a qualitative approach, utilising three domains of instructional leadership as its framework, and these are defining the school mission statement, managing the instructional programme and promoting a positive school learning climate. Four teachers and four middle managers were purposefully selected at two schools for data collection conducted through semi-structured individual interviews, which were analysed using thematic content analysis.Results: Three themes emerged, namely, understanding good instructional leadership practices, teacher development as an instructional practice and instructional resource provisioning.Conclusion: The study highlights the importance of teachers and middle managers in understanding that principals are merely not school managers or administrators, but rather instructional leaders whose primary role is to direct teaching and learning processes in schools. Principals need to create time within their constricted schedules to become instructional leaders, which is their main purpose in schools. If the roles and responsibilities of middle managers are not explicit, their ability to simultaneously perform the dual task of being teachers and middle managers will be compromised.

scholarly journals On Leadership: Who are the real experts in your school system?

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-61
Author(s):  
Joshua P. Starr
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
School System ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Literacy Program ◽  
The Real ◽  
Central Offices ◽  
Wrong Place

Experts have long sought systems to spur improvements in teaching and learning. PDK’s Joshua P. Starr reflects on how, in the 1990s, his Plainfield, New Jersey, district implemented walk-throughs to determine how well teachers and schools were implementing the district’s literacy program. Classroom visitors had a list of items to look for, and they made recommendations to school leaders based on what they saw. Although such a system has merit, Starr now questions whether it placed the expertise in the wrong place. Central offices have evolved to focus more on compliance and operations than on instructional leadership. As districts make decisions about how to get students back on track after the COVID-19 pandemic, they might be best served to look to teachers for understanding about how best to serve students.

scholarly journals Curriculum Evaluation: Inputs for Principal’s Instructional Leadership

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-161
Author(s):  
Gilbert S. Arrieta
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Curriculum Evaluation ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Education Leaders ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Instruction And Curriculum ◽  
The Times ◽  
Administrative Tasks

One of the most important components in education is the curriculum. It undergoes evaluation and development to be responsive to the needs of the times. It adapts to the kind of teachers and learners because teaching and learning are dynamic. The main drivers of the curriculum are the education leaders primarily the principals who are the instructional leaders. The main task of the principal is instructional leadership which means overseeing the teaching and learning process starting with the curriculum. However, the administrative tasks of the principals deprive them of becoming effective instructional leaders. This study aims to present the experiences of the researcher in curriculum evaluation under different principals in a private sectarian school in Manila and seeks to identify how principals can take a strong leadership presence in the challenges in instruction and curriculum evaluation. A critical reflection which is an extension of “critical thinking” and asks us to think about our practice and ideas and then it challenges us to step back and examine our thinking by asking probing questions was used as the method in this study. The researcher looks back into his experiences and identifies the key points in curriculum evaluation vis-à-vis the tasks of instructional leadership. It found out that curriculum evaluation, primarily an integral part of instructional leadership. The principals have to do curriculum evaluation as a collaborative task and process. Moreover, curriculum evaluation with instructional leadership should be giving importance to professional development and mentoring of academic heads and teachers.

scholarly journals Latina/o School Principals as Instructional Leaders

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Niño ◽  
Frank Hernandez ◽  
Fernando Valle ◽  
Jon McPhetres
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Principals ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Student Discipline ◽  
Instructional Time ◽  
Cultural Wealth ◽  
Relational Aspect

Focusing on the fundamental purpose of schools as student learning, this exploratory study attempts to better understand the role of Latino principals’ activities that are centered on the teaching and learning process. Specifically, the authors were interested in comparing the instructional leadership literature (what do instructional leaders do) and analyze the time and tasks that describe how Latino principals spend their time, and then compare these activities to Yosso’s (2005) cultural wealth model. Findings from our study revealed how principals create structures to prioritize instructional time by focusing on the relational aspect of the profession. Top activities where Latina/o principals spend most of their time include 33% in classrooms, 25% connecting with students, 23% pushing paperwork, 18% planning, 16% in meetings, 15% teaching training, and 14% in professional development. Additionally, our study highlights barriers for Latino school leaders indicating activities to reduce their time in meetings, student discipline, paperwork, and teacher administrator discipline.

Supporting principal supervisors: what really matters?

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 445-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith I. Honig ◽  
Lydia R. Rainey
Keyword(s):  
Learning Theory ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Cultural Learning ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Quality Teachers ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Principal Supervision

Purpose Districts across the country are calling on their principal supervisors to shift from mainly focusing on operations and compliance to dedicating their time to help principals grow as instructional leaders. Learning theory elaborates that such support for principals demands that supervisors take a teaching-and-learning approach – which the authors define as consistently using particular strategies that are characteristic of high quality teachers and mentors across various apprenticeship settings – to their work with principals on their instructional leadership. Prior research on leadership supports these shifts but does not examine the conditions under which principal supervisors are able to persist and grow in taking a teaching-and-learning approach specifically. What are those conditions? The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This paper addresses that question through a re-examination of data from two studies with socio-cultural learning theory as the conceptual framework. The authors primarily use observation data (approximately 760 hours), supplemented by 344 interviews and reviews of hundreds of documents. Findings Contrary to extant research the authors did not associate high quality outside coaching with the positive cases of principal supervision. Nor did hiring principal supervisors with requisite prior knowledge explain why some principal supervisors regressed and grew. Findings underscore the importance of supervisors of principal supervisors (SPSs) being principal supervisors’ main mentors and principal supervisors not over-relying on others for assistance but actively leading their own learning, especially through work with colleagues and protecting their time themselves. Originality/value This analysis distinguishes conditions that support principal supervisors in taking a teaching-and-learning approach to their work with principals. The authors elaborate key roles for chief academic officers and others who supervise principal supervisors typically overlooked in policy and research on district leadership. Findings reinforce the importance of mentoring to learning and also district leaders serving as main mentors for each other, rather than relying on outside coaching.

Why Principals Sidestep Instructional Leadership

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 517-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haim Shaked
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Principal Behavior ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Definition Of

Principal educators‘ and policy makers’ predominant expectation from school principals to serve as instructional leaders—who engage primarily in a wide range of activities that clearly focus on improving teaching and learning for all students—has scarcely been applied in practice by principals in today's schools. Researchers have found several reasons for this gap between professional recommendations and actual principal behavior. The current qualitative study, based on semi-structured interviews with 41 Israeli principals, suggests one more explanation for today's reality of principals‘ limited engagement in instructional leadership: Some principals uphold a non-academic definition of schools’ major goal—focusing on students‘ well-being, social skills, values, etc.—and thereby claim that improvements in teaching and learning should not be at the top of the school administrators’ priorities. This goal as a possible mechanism underlying principals' noncompliance has not been investigated to date.

Ensuring Teachers’ Job Suitability: A Missing Component of Instructional Leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 427-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haim Shaked
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Teacher Hiring ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Right ◽  
Principals Perceptions ◽  
Practical Implications

Instructional leadership can be defined as an educational leadership approach whereby the school principal is involved in a wide range of activities aiming to improve teaching and learning for all students. Surprisingly, the literature about instructional leadership practices has not mentioned school leaders’ practices for hiring appropriate teachers and for determining whether existing teachers are the “right people” for the job. This suggests that instructional leaders are not necessarily expected to ensure that the right people are on board. The current study’s goal was to explore principals’ perceptions regarding their role in ensuring teachers’ job suitability and its relation to instructional leadership. Data collection included interviews with a diverse sample of 59 Israeli principals. Data analysis revealed that school principals perceived the issue of teacher hiring/firing as complicated. Therefore, they often regarded related tasks—such as deciding which attributes are most important for effective teachers, determining how such effective teachers can be proficiently screened for hire, and executing dismissal of ineffective teachers—as impossible or impractical. The current study suggests that this perception led principals to refrain from considering the activities involved in ensuring teacher suitability as means to improve teaching and learning. Practical implications and further research are discussed.

PENERAPAN PENDEKATAN CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING (CTL) BERBANTU MDIA GAMBAR UNTUK MENINGKATKAN HASIL BELAJAR IPA SISWA KELAS VI SD NEGERI 007 KAMPUNG BARU KECAMATAN GUNUNG TOAR KABUPATEN KUANTAN SINGINGI

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamnidar Hamnidar
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Research Subjects ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Average Grade ◽  
Complete Category ◽  
Contextual Teaching

This research was motivated by the learning outcomes of students' natural sciences that were still low. The purpose of this study was to improve student learning outcomes with the application of the Contextual Teaching And Learning approach. This research is a classroom action research consisting of II cycles with research subjects in class VI of 007 Kampung Baru State Primary School Gunung Toar District, Kuantan Singingi Regency. The results showed that, judging from the basic score, the lowest value of students was 50 while the highest score of students was 85 with an average grade of 62.78 with an incomplete category. in the first cycle the lowest value of students was 65 while the highest value of students was 90 with an average grade of 74 with a complete category. For learning outcomes in cycle II, the lowest value of students is 75 while the highest value of students is 100 with the average value of class 84.47 with complete categories. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the application of the Contextual Teaching And Learning learning approach assisted by media images can improve the learning outcomes of Natural Sciences students of class VI 007 Public Primary School Kampung Baru, Gunung Toar District, Kuantan Singingi Regency.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document