The impact of principal leadership behaviors on instructional practice and student engagement

TLDR

Educators have long emphasized the principal’s role as instructional leader, a relationship observed in schools engaged in systemic improvement. The study aimed to identify how principal leadership behaviors relate to teacher instructional practice descriptors. The study surveyed teachers in 24 U.S. schools (8 elementary, 8 middle, 8 high) on principals’ instructional leadership and collected student and teacher engagement data via school‑wide observations with the instructional practices inventory.

Abstract

For decades educators have espoused the importance of the principal as the instructional leader of the school. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between principal leadership behaviors and teacher instructional practice descriptors. This relationship was observed among schools participating in a systemic school improvement process. The study included eight elementary, eight middle, and eight high schools in the USA. Teachers in each school were surveyed on the principal’s instructional leadership abilities. Student and teacher engagement data were collected through school‐wide observations using the instructional practices inventory. Instructional leadership dimensions were found to correlate highly with instructional practice descriptors. This study confirms the significance of instructional leadership and provides specific insight into the nature of that leadership.