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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning in Hong Kong secondary schools, whose broader institutional contexts are critically characterized by high accountability policy environments.

This study utilizes standardized test scores collected from (n=2,037) students in 42 secondary schools and data collected from key staff's perceptions of leadership practices, to investigate two dimensions of instructional leadership, which are conceptually interdependent but distinctive – i.e. instructional management and direct supervision of instruction. A cross‐level interaction analysis of hierarchical linear modeling was employed to investigate the effects of the two dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning.

Leadership practices focused on instructional management were found to enhance student learning by boosting the positive effect of students’ attachment to their school on academic achievement. In contrast, leadership practices related to direct supervision of instruction were found to undermine student learning by weakening the positive effect of student perceptions of school attachment on academic performance when other school‐ and student‐level characteristics are held constant.

The paper reveals the contrasting effects of instructional leadership as a multi‐dimensional construct which is central in the current education reform agenda, rooted in accountability‐oriented policy of Hong Kong. It draws a number of implications for principal instructional leadership in Hong Kong Schools as they deal with demands for external accountability.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which principals’ instructional leadership predicts teacher self-efficacy, in order to identify whether a relationship exists between principals’ perceived instructional leadership practices and teachers perceived self-efficacy in classroom management, instruction, and student engagement, while controlling for several principal, teacher, and school characteristics.

The data employed in this study were both teacher- and school-level data sets obtained from the Teaching and Learning International Survey, which was administered by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2013. A two-level mixed model was employed in the analysis of the data by adding adjusted weights at both levels for the complex survey data.

The results indicated a significant and positive relationship between principals’ perceived instructional leadership practice and teachers’ self-efficacy in all three aspects. Also, gender, experience, tenure status, and formal in-service training of teachers were found to be the key factors that have significant effects on teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions.

Findings suggested that international effort for mandating instructional leadership in schools is a worthwhile strategy, which can help teachers develop a greater sense of ability in classroom management, instruction, and student engagement.

This study is the first of its kind to examine the relationship between instructional leadership and teachers’ perceived self-efficacy in multiple areas related to teaching.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how principals’ leadership approaches to teacher professional development arise from school banding and may impact upon teacher professional capital and student achievement.

The case study is situated within the context of school-based management, comprising reflective accounts of nine school principals selected by stratified sampling from a sample of 56 Hong Kong schools to represent Bands One, Two, and Three schools. The reflective accounts were triangulated with observations of teachers and analysis of school websites.

First, under school-based management, principals remain obliged to recognize the power of state-defined examinations in determining the schools’ future priorities. Second, the exercise of school autonomy in response to this obligation varies, depending upon the competitive advantage schools have in the school banding system. Ideally, effective school-based management is dependent upon the principal’s capacity to facilitate good instructional practices. However, principals need to adjust their leadership practices to school contextual demands. Third, adaptations to contexts result in the varied developments of teacher capacities in schools, corresponding with the types of principal leadership adopted.

While statistical studies have identified attributes of exemplary principal leadership, few studies have examined the qualitative reasons for the exemplification of these attributes, and the influence of the school context in shaping these attributes. Departing from assumptions that leadership attributes are intrinsic to individuals, this paper considers how principals contextualize leadership in teacher professional development to the schools’ student academic achievement.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate whether the instructional and administrative leadership practices of principals and professional collaboration of teachers predict teachers’ self‐efficacy and job satisfaction in Turkish middle schools.

By applying a causal comparative design and a multilevel methodology, the current study used OECD's Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) data set to examine the relationships among study variables. The multilevel data included 178 schools/principals and 2,967 teachers. Two‐level Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) method was used to investigate whether principals’ leadership and teachers’ collaboration predict teacher self‐efficacy and teacher job satisfaction, net of several important teacher‐level and school‐level control variables.

The findings showed that some select aspects of principal leadership and teacher collaborative practices significantly predict teachers’ self‐efficacy and job satisfaction at within and across schools. Among all independent and control variables, teachers’ collaboration appeared to be the strongest predictor of both teacher self‐efficacy and job satisfaction.

The areas of significance identified by this study may guide policy makers and practitioners for informed decisions and interventions targeting to enhance teacher self‐efficacy and job satisfaction. The multilevel methodology utilized by this study may also stimulate future research endeavors for capturing the nested relationships of educational data, otherwise would be unaccounted for at different levels of schooling.

Decades of research on different leadership styles shows that effective school leadership is the degree of influence or synergy between teachers and principals around the core business of schools, instruction. While various styles, such as transformational, instructional, shared instructional, point to the similar measures of high organizational quality, the inconsistency in how these styles are defined and relate make it unclear how principals systematically improve schools. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This study used the 1999-2000 schools and staffing survey, n=8,524 of US principals, since it includes a nationally representative sample of administrators who responded to a comprehensive set of leadership measures around a time of school restructuring reforms. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify different styles, and to measure the extent of their relationship. These factors were used to test a theory about why principals practice each of these styles to a different degree based on levels of shared instructional leadership.

Based on the theoretical framework, principals should have a similar high influence over resources, safety and facilities regardless of degree of shared instructional leadership since these tasks address foundational school needs. However, principal and teacher influence over these resources differed across levels of shared instructional leadership more than principal-directed tasks of facilitating a mission, supervising instruction and building community.

Differences in the practice of styles by shared instructional leadership did not fit changing, higher ordered needs as theorized instead seemed to vary by a hierarchy of control, the way in which principals shared influence with teachers.

The following study examines how, and to what extent, the introduction of school‐based management (SBM) in schools and the authority thereby delegated to principals to hire and dismiss supervision instructors have changed instructors’ role expectations and job conflict and affected their professional considerations. Based on data gathered from in‐depth interviews, it was evident that before SBM, supervision instructors typically faced multiple and contradicting expectations and, therefore, used various strategies to avoid role conflicts. However, after SBM was introduced, the discrepancy among these expectations has increased, and so did the uncertainty and insecurity that instructors perceived on the job. These circumstances have encouraged instructors to prefer personal concerns over professional obligations and to direct their efforts so that their future employment will be ensured. The study concludes that school principals need to increase their professional knowledge regarding supervision instruction and devote their efforts towards establishing an organizational learning culture in their schools.

The purpose of this paper is to examine if and how supervisors’ use of two kinds of potential scaffolding means – asking questions and giving instructions – could contribute to fulfilling the scaffolding intention of student independence, in the context of supervision of degree projects within higher education.

The paper is based on qualitative content analysis of two series of supervision meetings between a supervisor and a student in Swedish higher education, comprising a total of eight recorded sessions. The theoretical framework of the paper is centered on scaffolding and independent learning, and central concepts are contingency, fading, transfer of responsibility and student independence.

The analysis shows how the supervisors’ use of questions, and in some respect instructions, could contribute to fulfilling the scaffolding intention of student independence through enabling active participation of both student and supervisor and that the supervision was based on contingency. The analysis further shows that the supervisors tended to become more directive as the work came along, especially when students appeared to be running out of time. The supervision processes did thus not appear to be characterized by fading and transfer of responsibility.

This paper contributes to the research field of higher education through discussing student independence as a potential scaffolding intention within supervision of degree projects, based on recorded supervision meetings. Supervision of degree projects is a highly relevant context for discussing scaffolding, since it combines increased student independence with close interaction between student and supervisor for an extended period.

The paradigm shift to an inclusion model of education demands strategic planning and programming by teachers to ensure individualized instruction for students with disabilities. Paraeducators or teacher assistants are increasingly being used in the delivery of instruction to students with disabilities; therefore, directing or supervising the work of the paraeducator is an integral part of planning and programming for inclusive classrooms. Research-based elements and components of paraeducator supervision are shared to help teachers and other professionals utilize paraeducators effectively in supporting instructional needs of students with disabilities.

Instructional leadership has taken center stage in recent years as the emphasis on school leaders’ role in improving instructional programs and impacting student learning has increased under the pressures of the accountability movement. While there is a growing literature that has highlighted the indirect impacts of effective instructional leadership on student learning, little is known about these effects in the area of special education. Because this direct involvement in instructional and curricular matters has typically fallen outside the traditional roles of principals and other school leaders, the need for purposeful focus on developing these skills is paramount in a climate that is calling for leaders who can facilitate growth and improvement in student learning, particularly in the area of special education. This chapter explores instructional leadership in the context of special education with a focus on small to mid-sized schools. We identify a set of factors that are critical to the effective implementation of instructional leadership in the area of special education which include, communication, teacher evaluation and supervision, staff development, instructional programing, and instructional design. The chapter goes on to discuss how school leaders can cultivate growth and improvement in special education programming through the use of coaching models and distributed leadership. Lastly we explore the implications for practice including discussions of reforming principal preparation programs and shared leadership.

Whereas in pursuance of Part I of Schedule 2 to the Mines and Quarries Act 1954 the Minister of Power has published notice of his intention to make the following regulations and has not received any objection to the draft thereof in respect to which he is required to refer the draft regulations for inquiry and report: