Purpose: Instructional leadership is an educational leadership approach in which principals are regularly and actively involved in a wide range of activities aimed at improving teaching and learning. The current study sought to answer how the principal's role in promoting parental involvement is part of their instructional leadership responsibility. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 Israeli principals. Data analysis was a three-step process: sorting, coding, and categorizing. Findings: This study revealed that principals encouraged two types of parental involvement: academic-oriented, designed to support student learning and achievement, and non-academic-oriented, designed to accomplish other goals. From the instructional leadership perspective, principals should mainly prioritize academic-oriented parental involvement. Implications and further research are discussed. Originality/value: The question of how the role of principals in encouraging parental involvement can become a part of principals' instructional leadership has not yet been explored. The present study narrows this gap in the existing research literature.