Instructional Leadership

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Instructional Leadership Instructional leadership differs from that of a school

administrator or manager in a number of ways.

Principals who pride themselves as administrators are too preoccupied in dealing with strictly administrative duties compared to principals who are instructional leaders.

The latter role involves setting clear goals, allocating resources to instruction, managing the curriculum, monitoring lesson plans, and evaluating teachers.

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Instructional Leadership In short, instructional leadership are those

actions that a principal takes, or delegates to others, to promote growth in student learning (Flath, 1989).

The instructional leader makes instructional quality the top priority of the school and attempts to bring that vision to realization.

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Instructional Leadership More recently, the definition of instructional

leadership has been expanded to towards deeper involvement in the core business of schooling which is teaching and learning. Attention has shifted from teaching to learning, and some have proposed the term "learning leader" over "instructional leader" (Richard DuFour, 2002).

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Instructional Leadership The National Association of Elementary School

Principals (2001) defines instructional leadership as "leading learning communities". In learning communities, staff members meet on a regular basis to discuss their work, work together to problem solve, reflect on their jobs, and take responsibility for what students learn.

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Instructional Leadership They operate in networks of shared and

complementary expertise rather than in hierarchies or in isolation. People in a learning community own the problem and become agents of its solution.

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Instructional Leadership

Instructional leaders also make adult learning a priority; set high expectations for performance; create a culture of continuous learning for adults and get the communitys support for school success.

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Instructional Leadership

Blase and Blase, (2000) expressed instructional leadership in specific behaviours such as making suggestions, giving feedback, modeling effective instruction, soliciting opinions, supporting collaboration, providing professional development opportunities, and giving praise for effective teaching

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Inherent in the concept of an instructional leader is the notion that learning should be given top priority while everything else revolves around the enhancement of learning which undeniably is characteristic of any educational endeavor. Hence to have credibility as an instructional leader, the principal should also be a practicing teacher. For example, in the United Kingdom, most principals spend an average of 20 percent of their time in a week on teaching (Weindling 1990).

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Instructional leaders need to know what is going on in the classroom; an opportunity to walk the factory floor. Many a time, principals are not in touch with what is going on at the classroom level and are unable to appreciate some of the problems teachers and students encounter.

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The tendency is to address instructional issues from the perspective when they were teachers. Principals need to work closely with students, developing teaching techniques and methods as a means for understanding teacher perspectives and for establishing a base on which to make curricular decisions.

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Also, a teaching principal strengthens the belief that "the sole purpose of the school is to serve the educational needs of students" (Harden, 1988, p. 88). Whitaker (1997) identified four skills essential for instructional leadership.

First, they need to be a resource provider. It is not enough for principals to know the strengths and weaknesses of their faculty but also recognize that teachers desire to be acknowledged and appreciated for a job well done.

Secondly, they need to be an instructional resource. Teachers count on their principals as resources of information on current trends and effective instructional practices. Instructional leaders are tuned-in to issues relating to curriculum, effective pedagogical strategies and assessment.

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Thirdly, they need to be good communicators. Effective instructional leaders need to communicate essential beliefs regarding learning such as the conviction that all children can learn and no child should be left behind.

Finally, they need to create a visible presence. Leading the instructional programme of a school means a commitment to living and breathing a vision of success in teaching and learning. This includes focusing on learning objectives, modeling behaviors of learning, and designing programmes and activities on instruction.

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Instructional leadership

Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS)-(from Hallinger)

8 instructional leadership functions Framing the schools goals

Communicating the schools goals

Supervision and evaluation of instruction

Curricular Coordination

Monitoring student progress

Visibility/accountability

Developing academic standards

Promoting instructional improvements and professional development

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While it is generally held that the principal is both manager-administrator and instructional leader in many countries, including Malaysia; principals tend to be more manager-administrators oriented while that of instructional leader is most often delegated to the assistant principal.

Even then, the label instructional leader is seldom assigned to any one person but is assumed to be the responsibility of all teachers.

Nonetheless, it is interesting to note that the trend is towards

insisting that the principal assume the prominent role of an instructional leader.

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It will be a formidable task convincing principals to relinquish their image as manager-administrator and take on the role of instructional leader. Generally, principals do not see themselves as instructional leaders and many are of the belief that anything that has to do with teaching and learning is best assigned to teachers. I

In some cases, principals feel inadequate to initiate and develop instructional programmed given the assortment of subject areas taught with each having its own pedagogical uniqueness. For example, teaching reading is different from teaching science and would it be fair to expect the principal to be knowledgeable about instructional strategies for each of the subject areas.

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Despite these apprehensions, proponents of the idea that the principal should be an instructional leader, is gaining serious attention. If that be the case then the principal needs to have up-to-date knowledge on three areas of education, namely; curriculum, instruction and assessment.

With regards to curriculum, principals need to know about the changing conceptions of curriculum, educational philosophies and beliefs, knowledge specialization and fragmentation, curricular sources and conflict, curriculum evaluation and improvement.

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With regards to instruction, principals need to know about different models of teaching, the theoretical reasons for adopting a particular teaching model, the pedagogy of the internet, the theories underlying the technology-based learning environment.

With regards to assessment, principals need to know about the principles of student assessment, assessment procedures with emphasis on alternative assessment methods and assessment that aim to improve rather than prove student learning.

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Besides having knowledge in the core areas of education, the principal must possess certain to carry out the tasks of an instructional leader. These skills are; interpersonal skills, planning skills, instructional observation skills, skills in research and evaluation.

Interpersonal or people skills are essential for the success of being a principal. These are skills that maintain trust, spur motivation, give empowerment and enhance collegiality. Relationships are built on trust and tasks are accomplished through motivation and empowerment wherein teachers are involved in planning, designing and evaluating instructional programmed.

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Empowerment leads to ownership and commitment as teachers identify problems and design strategies themselves. Collegiality promotes sharing, cooperation and collaboration, in which both the principal and teachers talk about teaching and learning.

Planning begins with clear identification of goals or vision to work towards as well as induce commitment and enthusiasm. Next is to assess what changes need to occur and which may be accomplished by asking the people involved, reading documents and observing what is going on.

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Observing instruction (supervision) aims to provide teachers with feedback to consider and reflect upon. But teachers should make their own judgment and reach their own conclusions.

Research and evaluation skills are needed to critically question the success of instructional programmed initiated and one of the skills most useful would be action research.

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The task of being an instructional leader is both complex and multidimensional. If principals believe that growth in student learning is the primary goal of schooling, then it is a task worth learning. If a principal possesses these knowledge and skills he or she are likely become an effective leaders - sharing, facilitating, and guiding decisions about instructional improvement for the betterment of student's education.

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If principals are to take the role of instructional leader seriously, they will have to free themselves from bureaucratic tasks and focus their efforts towards improving teaching and learning.

Instructional improvement is an important goal, a goal worth seeking, and a goal when implemented, allows both students and teachers to control their own destiny in making a more meaningful learning environment.

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Brewer (2001) suggests that the role of the instructional leader be expanded to incorporate a shift away from "management" (working in the system of administrative tasks) toward "leadership" (working on the system) and in the case being argued it is instructional leadership.

To achieve this quest, it takes more than a strong principal with concrete ideas and technical expertise. It requires a redefinition of the role of principals, one that removes the barriers to leadership by eliminating bureaucratic structures and reinventing relationships.

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The Seven HabitsFrom The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic by Stephen R. Covey, Simon and Schuster, 1989

1. BE PROACTIVE: Between stimulus and response in human beings lies the power to choose. Productivity, then, means that we are solely responsible for what happens in our lives. No fair blaming anyone or anything else.

2. BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND: Imagine your funeral and listen to what you would like the eulogist to say about you. This should reveal exactly what matters most to you in your life. Use this frame of reference to make all your day-to-day decisions so that you are working toward your most meaningful life goals.

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3. PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST. To manage our lives effectively, we must keep our mission in mind, understand whats important as well as urgent, and maintain a balance between what we produce each day and our ability to produce in the future. Think of the former as putting out fires and the latter as personal development.

4. THINK WIN/WIN. Agreements or solutions among people can be mutually beneficial if all parties cooperate and begin with a belief in the third alternative: a better way that hasnt been thought of yet.

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5. SEEK FIRST OT BE UNDERSTANDING, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD. Most people dont listen. Not really. They listen long enough to devise a solution to the speakers problem or a rejoinder to whats being said. Then they dive into the conversation. Youll be more effective in you relationships with people if you sincerely try to understand them fully before you try to make them understand your point of view

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6. SYNERGIZE. Just what it sound like. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. In practice, this means you must use creative cooperation in social interactions. Value differences because it is often the clash between them that leads to creative solutions.

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7. SHARPEN THE SAW. This is the habit of self-renewal, which has four elements. The first is mental, which includes reading, visualizing, planning and writing. The second is spiritual, which means value clarification and commitment, study and meditation. Third is social/emotional, which stress management includes service, empathy, synergy and intrinsic security. Finally, the physical includes exercise, nutrition and stress management.

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Tips for Working in GroupsBy Randy Pausch, for the Building Virtual Worlds course at Carnegie Mellon, Spring 1998

Meet people properly. It all starts with the introduction. Then, exchange contact information, and make sure you know how to pronounce everyones names. Exchange phone no, and find out what hours are acceptable to call during.

Find things you have in common. You can almost always find something in common with another person, and starting from that baseline, its much easier to then address issues where you have difference. This is why cities like professional sports teams, which are socially galvanizing forces that cut across boundaries of race and wealth. If nothing else, you probably have in common things like the weather.

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Make meeting conditions good. Have a large surface to write on, make sure the room is quiet and warm enough, and that there arent lots of distractions. Make sure no one is hungry, cold, or tired. Meet over a meal if you can; food softens a meeting. Thats why they do lunch in Hollywood

Let everyone talk. Even if you think what theyre said is stupid. Cutting someone off is rude, and not worth whatever small time gain you might make. Dont finish someones sentences for him or her; they can do that for themselves. And remember: talking louder or faster doesnt make your idea any better.

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Check your egos at the door. When you discuss ideas, immediately label them and write them down. The labels should be descriptive of the idea, not the originator: the troll bridge story, not Janes story.

Praise each other. Find something nice to say, even if its a stretch. Even the worst of ideas has a silver lining inside it, if you just look hard enough. Focus on the good, praise it, and then raise any objections or concerns you have about the rest of it.

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Put if in writing. Always write down who is responsible for what, by when.

Be concrete. Arrange meetings by email, and establish accountability. Never assume that someones roommate will deliver a phone message. Also, remember that politics is when you have more than 2 people with that in mind, always CC (carbon copy) any piece of email within the group, or to me, to all members of the group. This rule should never be violated; dont try to guess what your group mates might or might not want to hear about.

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Be open and honest. Talk with your group members if theres a problem, and talk with me if you think you need help. The whole point of this course is that its tough to work across cultures. If we all go into it knowing thats an issue, we should be comfortable discussing problems when they arise after all, thats what this course is really about. Be forgiving when people make mistakes, but dont be afraid to raise the issues when they come up.

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Avoid conflict at all costs. When stress occurs and tempers flare, take a short break. Clear your heads, apologize, and take another stab at it. Apologize for upsetting your peers, even if you think someone else was primarily at fault; the goal is to work together, not start a legal battle over whose transgressions were worse. It takes two to have an argument, so be the peacemaker.

Phrase alternatives as questions. Instead of I think we should do A, not B, try What if we did A, instead of B? That allows people to offer comments, rather than defend one choice.