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.

Between Venus and Mars: Sources of gender differences in instructional leadership

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haim Shaked ◽  
Zehavit Gross ◽  
Jeffrey Glanz
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Female Principals ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Gender Theories ◽  
Gap Data

Instructional leadership can be explained as an educational leadership approach whereby the school principal engages in a wide range of activities aiming to improve teaching and learning for all students. A recent meta-analysis found that female principals engaged in more active instructional leadership than male counterparts. The current qualitative study sought to understand this gender gap. Data were collected through 59 semi-structured interviews with 36 female principals and 23 male principals from Israel. Data analysis was a four-stage process – condensing, coding, categorizing, and theorizing. Findings showed that female participants, more frequently than their male counterparts, reported possessing two capabilities that are necessary for instructional leadership: (1) instructional expertise; (2) attention to relationships. Gender theories are employed to explain these findings. Practical implications and further research are discussed.

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.

The deputy principal instructional leadership role and professional learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Leaf ◽  
George Odhiambo
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Team Building ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a study examining the perceptions of secondary principals, deputies and teachers, of deputy principal (DP) instructional leadership (IL), as well as deputies’ professional learning (PL) needs. Framed within an interpretivist approach, the specific objectives of this study were: to explore the extent to which DPs are perceived as leaders of learning, to examine the actual responsibilities of these DPs and to explore the PL that support DP roles. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used multiple perspective case studies which included semi-structured interviews and key school document analysis. A thematic content analysis facilitated qualitative descriptions and insights from the perspectives of the principals, DPs and teachers of four high-performing secondary schools in Sydney, Australia. Findings The data revealed that deputies performed a huge range of tasks; all the principals were distributing leadership to their deputies to build leadership capacity and supported their PL in a variety of ways. Across three of the case study schools, most deputies were frequently performing as instructional leaders, improving their school’s performance through distributing leadership, team building and goal setting. Deputy PL was largely dependent on principal mentoring and self-initiated but was often ad hoc. Findings add more validity to the importance of principals building the educational leadership of their deputies. Research limitations/implications This study relied upon responses from four case study schools. Further insight into the key issues discussed may require a longitudinal data that describe perceptions from a substantial number of schools in Australia over time. However, studying only four schools allowed for an in-depth investigation. Practical implications The findings from this study have practical implications for system leaders with responsibilities of framing the deputies’ role as emergent educational leaders rather than as administrators and the need for coherent, integrated, consequential and systematic approaches to DP professional development. Further research is required on the effect of deputy IL on school performance. Originality/value There is a dearth of research-based evidence exploring the range of responsibilities of deputies and perceptions of staff about deputies’ IL role and their PL needs. This is the first published New South Wales, Australian DP study and adds to the growing evidence around perceptions of DPs as instructional leaders by providing an Australian perspective on the phenomenon. The paper raises important concerns about the complexity of the DP’s role on the one hand, and on the other hand, the PL that is perceived to be most appropriate for dealing with this complexity.

scholarly journals Instructional Leadership in Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (6S3) ◽  
pp. 537-547
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
The Right ◽  
Improving Student Achievement

Leadership of school leaders regardless principals or headmasters is among the key factors that can affect the academic achievement of students directly or indirectly. Based on previous research, a strong relationship between student achievement and leadership of school leaders was proven. The Ministry of Education Malaysia (MoE) has outlined three approaches to improving student achievement through the improvement of school leaders' performance. One of the approaches is school leaders should act as instructional leaders who are actively involved in teacher development activities by planning, coordinating and evaluating the teaching and learning process (T&L) at school. This concept paper will discuss several matters related to instructional leadership such as background and development of instructional leadership, instructional leadership definitions, the development of instructional leadership concepts, instructional leadership models and the issues and challenges that exist in implementing this leadership styles. The analysis was done in the context of Malaysia and abroad. The paper is written based on extensive secondary data analysis. After analyzing matters relating to instructional leadership, it can be concluded that instructional leadership is a form of leadership that every school leader needs to practice for excellence achievements in a school. With a lot of challenges nowadays, it needs to be addressed so that the direction of the school is on the right track and students’ achievement can be enhanced.

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 KEGIATAN BTA SEBAGAI PEMBENTUKAN KARAKTER SISWA YANG ISLAMI DI SMP MUHAMMADIYAH 4 SAMBI BOYOLALI

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-119
Author(s):  
Putri Gayatri Ramadhanty ◽  
Indah Wahyuni
Keyword(s):  
Grade Level ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Good Life ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Work Program ◽  
Life Habits ◽  
The Right

The implementation of Al-Qur'an reading and writing activities at SMP Muhammadiyah 4 Sambi Boyolali is carried out from Tuesday to Thursday, which is carried out after teaching and learning activities. This activity must be carried out by all students and students based on their abilities. For reading and writing Al-Quran Iqro 'takes place in each student's class, while for reading and writing Al-Quran and Tahfidz takes place in the mosque around the school. Application of Read and Write Al-Quran is the right way to form an Islamic character in oneself. Among the series of activities to read and write Al-Qur'an, the teacher always provides motivation, guidance and responsibility to students. The person in charge of reading and writing Al-Qur'an activities is the walikelas who holds each grade level. The series of activities to read and write Al-Qur'an are mandatory for students at SMP Muhammadiyah 4 Sambi because it is a work program of the school principal himself to shape the behavior and character of students who draw closer to Allah SWT. Islamic student character can be formed in a student by practicing good life habits and always worshiping Allah SWT.

scholarly journals Perception of Teachers towards School Principal as Instructional Leader

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-96
Author(s):  
Hikmat Dahal
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Teacher Job Satisfaction ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Instructional Leader ◽  
Instructional Leaders ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
Academic Qualification ◽  
Significant Difference

The title of the article is 'Perception of Teachers towards School Principal as Instructional Leader'. Instructional leadership has become one of the most widely researched topics. This type of  leadership has been connected to teacher growth and development, teacher job satisfaction, student achievement, and improving school climate in general. The objective of the study included to determine the role played by principals as instructional leaders in schools through the perceptions of teachers. To achieve this purpose quantitative research methodology was used and the study was survey type in nature. The sample consisted of 436 school teachers of Kathmandu district. A self developed questionnaire was developed using Google Forms and sent to the respondents via email and social networking sites. The data were collected from teachers in emails and social media. The data were analyzed by using different descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings of the study indicated that school principals support creativity, innovation and practice of new skills in the classroom. They also praised to those teachers who use creativity in classrooms to enhance the learning of students. They held meetings with teachers to discuss the students’ performance and solve the problems of teachers as an instructional leaders. The findings suggested that there is no significant difference on perception of instructional leadership of principals on the basis of gender of teachers and subjects they teach but have a significant difference on perception on the basis of their academic qualification. It is recommended that principals may be trained that they can use new innovative methods and ideas to discuss with teachers and they help out the teachers to make the dull topics interesting. Principals may motivate teachers by giving different incentives in the shape of awards for bringing innovation in school.

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.

Principals’ perceptions of school identity: logo, vision and practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1170-1184
Author(s):  
Geva Iftach ◽  
Orly Shapira-Lishchinsky
Keyword(s):  
School Choice ◽  
National Policy ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Vision Statements ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Principals Perceptions ◽  
Perceptions Of School ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of the concept “school identity” as reflected in principals’ perceptions of their school logo, vision and practice. Design/methodology/approach In-depth interviews were conducted with 24 principals from Israeli elementary, junior high and high schools. The content analysis of principals’ interviews, including open, axial and selective coding and confirmatory qualitative analysis was used to examine the principals’ perceptions regarding the school’s logo, vision and practice. Findings The principals’ perceptions of the logo, vision and practice comprised five main features: academic, traditional, national, organizational and social-ethical. Different types of relationships were found between these features: correspondence by appearance, correspondence by non-appearance and incongruence. Research limitations/implications The study suggests a new theoretical model for generating the concept of school identity. The study demonstrates that incongruent findings may be viewed as complementary rather than conflicting when establishing a school’s identity. Practical implications The findings can promote an understanding of the function of school logos and vision statements in school practice, and help develop and maintain school identity. All these may affect the surroundings that come in contact with the school principal, such as parental decision on school choice and governmental activities. Originality/value To date, no study has investigated the meaning of school identity based on the principals’ perceptions regarding the school logo, vision and practice. The findings can facilitate the development of an ecological approach, which can help in understanding the meaning of school identity and its effect on students, staff, parents, wider community and national policy.

Blockchain for business

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rohith P. George ◽  
Brad L. Peterson ◽  
Oliver Yaros ◽  
David L. Beam ◽  
Julian M. Dibbell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Practical Guidance ◽  
The Right ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose To introduce blockchain in simple terms for business lawyers to be able to spot the right issues and ask the right questions. Design/methodology/approach This article provides an overview of blockchain, identifies two example use cases, and highlights some of the most pressing legal issues, including issues to address in on-chain programming, off-chain agreements and other issues when determining whether to implement a blockchain solution. Findings This article concludes that there has been a significant growth in investment and interest in blockchain. Numerous companies across different sectors have developed blockchain proof-of-concepts, with some heading towards production deployments. At this point, commercial blockchain is largely in the pilot or proof-of-concept stage across a wide range of use cases, with payments and supply chain being two of the most promising use cases. This article also identifies possible legal issues associated with blockchain. Practical implications Despite the growing interest in blockchain, it is still a novel topic to many business lawyers. It is very important that lawyers are able to identify the right issues and ask the right questions. Originality/value Practical guidance from experienced lawyers in the Technology Transactions and Financial Services Regulatory & Enforcement practices.

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