School leaders grapple with the challenge of balancing organisational management and instructional leadership, often alongside teaching responsibilities. The effectiveness of school leadership varies with activity type; for instance, teacher coaching and programme development correlate with student achievement gains, whereas informal classroom walkthroughs do not, especially if disconnected from overall improvement strategies. Effective time management and prioritised activities are crucial for leaders. Training in these areas, supported by clearly defined leadership standards, could enhance their focus on essential tasks.
Instructional and administrative leadership
School leaders balance responsibilities for instructional leadership, which focuses on teaching and learning, and administrative leadership, concerned with the operational aspects of running an educational institution.
Key messages
Redistributing school management, evaluation and leadership tasks can enhance effectiveness by assigning specific roles for operations, administration or student behavior, thus alleviating the instructional leader's burden. Encouraging teachers to assume leadership roles leverages their expertise and offers professional development opportunities. Additionally, schools could benefit from appointing more leaders, allowing them to tailor responsibility division to their unique needs and staff capabilities.
Considering the importance of instructional leadership in supporting the professional growth of teachers, training in instructional leadership should be viewed as a prerequisite for school leaders prior to taking up their duties. Furthermore, the training of school leaders in this area should be seen as an ongoing process, with principals also offered opportunities for professional development in instructional leadership after taking up their duties in order to further develop these skills. School principals could be given opportunities to participate in communities of practice in order to improve their instructional leadership.
Context
Instructional leadership
On average across the OECD, a considerable proportion of principals are invested in direct forms of instructional leadership. For example, 59% of principals report that they “collaborated with teachers to solve classroom discipline problems” and 50% report that they “provided feedback to teachers based on [their] observations”.
Principals’ leadership activities (2018)
Instructional leadership and engaging stakeholders
Principals who are able to involve staff, parents and students in school decisions and have a school culture of collaboration and shared responsibility are more likely to report higher levels of instructional leadership. These results suggest interconnectedness between a collegial school culture and leadership committed to improving teacher instruction and commitment.
Relationship between principals’ instructional leadership and participation among stakeholders in the school (2018)
