Perceptions of Israeli school principals regarding the knowledge needed for instructional leadership

Instructional leadership concerns the ongoing deep involvement of school principals in direct efforts to improve learning and achievement for all students. The goal of this study was to explore principals’ perceptions regarding the knowledge required for instructional leadership. Study participants were 38 Israeli school principals, representing the population of Israeli principals in terms of sex, age, seniority, academic degree and school level. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data analysis classified the statements of the study participants according to Shulman’s seven categories of knowledge needed for effective teaching. The findings suggested that General Pedagogical Knowledge plays a key role in instructional leadership, while somewhat reducing the importance of Leadership Content Knowledge. Implications and further research of this study are discussed.

Approaches to Instructional Leadership: Organizational Influences in Contexts of (Mis)match

Instructional leadership efforts are complicated when leaders and teachers do not share areas of expertise. Leaders work to bridge this divide through a number of approaches, such as collaboration with specialist personnel and the development of leadership content knowledge (LCK). The purpose of this study was to explore the organizational factors that help shape the ways school leaders enact instructional leadership when supervising in areas of (mis)match. Interviews with n = 31 teachers and school leaders indicated that organizational factors influenced the ways in which leaders understood and enacted their roles related to instructional supervision. Evidence also suggested the presence of organizational structures that could be reframed as robust, intentional supports to help school leaders develop LCK.

How to improve teachers’ instructional practices: the role of professional learning activities, classroom observation and leadership content knowledge in Turkey

PurposeThis study focused on the impact of principals' leadership content knowledge, evaluation practices and teachers' professional learning activities on classroom instruction.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 425 teachers who worked in 46 elementary and lower secondary public schools within two provinces in Turkey. Teachers were asked to fill out a questionnaire on principals’ leadership content knowledge, evaluation feedback, professional learning activities and changed instructional practices. This study employed multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) by using the Bayesian estimation method to analyze the research hypotheses.FindingsFindings indicate that if teachers perceive the evaluation progress as more useful, then they will participate in more professional learning activities, and they will be more effective in their classroom practices. This study also indicates that teachers' professional learning activities stimulate their instructional practices.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the number of schools and teachers allows using multilevel analysis, it limits the findings generalized beyond the sample. To compensate for this limitation, the author confirmed that the sample was representative of the larger population by examining the size of students and teachers, SES and teachers' job experience. The author also conducted a Bayesian estimator to strengthen the test of significance of effects.Practical implicationsThis study underlines the critical role of leadership content knowledge in evaluating practices and providing useful feedback perceived by teachers in elementary and secondary schools. Principals should lead to instruction by knowing how to address a lack of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and classroom practices. The Ministry of Education should support principals in becoming effective instructional leaders to observe teachers and provide them meaningful feedback on teaching.Originality/valueDespite increased interest in this construct, research on principals' and teachers' responses to adapt the recent form of teachers’ performance evaluation systems is scant, especially in developing countries’ context. Moreover, little is known about the paths through which principals can enhance classroom practices by providing useful feedback. Given these trends in policy and practice context, this study provides empirical evidence that principals can enact the teachers' performance evaluation that affects classroom instruction.

Leadership Content Knowledge

Drawing inspiration from Shulman’s (1986) construct of pedagogical content knowledge, we propose that leadership content knowledge is a missing paradigm in the analysis of school and district leadership. After defining leadership content knowledge as that knowledge of academic subjects that is used by administrators when they function as instructional leaders, we present three cases of instructional leadership—situated at different school and district levels—and examine each for evidence of leadership content knowledge in use. Based on a cross-case analysis, we argue that as administrative levels increase and functions become broader, leadership content knowledge becomes less fine-grained, though always anchored in knowledge of the subject, how it is learned (by adults as well as students), and how it is taught. We go on to suggest that all administrators have solid mastery of at least one subject (and the learning and teaching of it) and that they develop expertise in other subjects by “postholing,” that is, conducting in-depth explorations of an important but bounded slice of the subject, how it is learned, and how it is taught. We conclude with an exploration of how content knowledge and leadership knowledge might be intertwined and suggestions for further research.