Purpose: Instructional leadership has been identified as a key responsibility of principals who achieve promising results for school improvement. This study investigated how the national context has influenced the adoption of instructional leadership as a defining role responsibility for Israeli principals. Research Methods: Participants in this…

The purpose of this study is to understand and describe patterns of principal instructional leadership practice in Iranian primary schools and to then assess whether there are differences between the high- and low-rated principals. A mixed methods design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from principals and teachers within…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to add to an emerging literature on educational leadership and management in Vietnam by addressing several goals. First, the study sought to translate, adapt, and validate an existing measurement instrument, the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) Teacher Form, for use in Vietnam. Next, it…

In recent years, policy changes in American education have refocused a spotlight on principal instructional leadership. Although in previous eras the professional literature exhorted principals to "be instructional leaders," there were few sanctions if they failed to do so. In the current policy context, however, instructional leadership has…

Over the past two decades, debate over the most suitable leadership role for principals has been dominated by two conceptual models: instructional leadership and transformational leadership. This article reviews the conceptual and empirical development of these two leadership models. The author concludes that the suitability or effectiveness of a…

High school principals assume direct responsibility for selected instructional leadership functions, but must delegate partial or full responsibility for other functions. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale helps shift principals' attention to the most appropriate areas. The key component is a systematically developed leadership…

This paper examines the changing role of principals in Thailand using a cultural lens. Global educational trends and new expectations for school improvement have placed Thai principals firmly at the crossroads between tradition and change. The paper proposes several avenues that Thai principals may explore in order to manage the conflicting…

This article discusses the research concerning the relationship between the organizational and social context of schools and principal instructional leadership. The discussion centers on several contextual variables that include school level, staff composition, technical clarity and complexity, and district context. Particular attention is focused…

Draws on other articles in this journal issue to identify emergent themes concerning the principal's evolving role in several countries. Explains the context for change, including reform pressures and political response, and examines principals' changing work environment, their transformed roles, and preparation and professional development…

Superintendents in 12 instructionally effective California school districts were interviewed and documents were analyzed for coordination of instructional activities management. Results suggest that these superintendents are more active "instructional managers" than expected. A uniform picture of instructional coordination is not…

An analysis of ratings by 104 teachers of the instructional management behaviors of 10 elementary school principals in a district where the superintendent has implemented policies to promote instructional leadership. (MLF)

Analyzes the evolving U.S. principalship between 1960 and the present, focusing on three influential roles: program manager, instructional leader, and transformational leader. Assesses these roles in light of contextual changes, particularly developments in national and state educational policy. Unfortunately, a strong administrative leader image…

Findings of a study that explored the implications of school restructuring on the changing role of the principal are presented in this paper. Methodology involved a 4-year case study of an elementary school's restructuring effort in a moderately sized suburban school district. The school, located in a district that possessed adequate resources,…

This paper addresses the role of the school principal in school improvement through secondary analysis of data collected from 98 elementary schools in Tennessee that participated in the School Improvement Incentives Project between 1983 and 1986. The paper explores an instructional leadership model as operationalized in measures of selected school…

This paper adapts the framework developed by J. Murphy and P. Hallinger (1987) in a conceptual analysis of current approaches to educational leadership development. Murphy and Hallinger identified differentiating patterns of program operation in the areas of program content, program process, program focus, and what this referred to as "supporting…