Principals Instructional Leadership Role: The Case of International Schools in Sri Lanka
Abstract
This study examines the instructional leadership (IL) role of international school principals in Sri Lanka. The main aim of this study was to identyfy how do principal’s play instructional leadership roles as instructional leader in international schools. The objevtives of the study were to find out principal’s role as instructional leader in international schools and to identify what activities principals engage in promoting the education of students and upgrading the pedagogy of teachers in international schools. The multiple case study method was used in the current study. Accordingly, Semi-structured interviews and focused group discussions were used as data collecting tools. As the study sample three principals, and nine teachers were selected using purposive sampling for interviews and group discussion. The study found that all principals in the sample success to balance their general administrative responsibilities and instructional leadership roles. All the principals in the sample mentioned that they implement innovative methodologies to promote the education of students and upgrading the pedagogy of teachers. The study further found that principals pay a significsnt attention on teachers professional devlopment, provision of instructional materials and incentives for teaching and learning by international schools principals as instructional leaders. It was further found that principals in international schools face difficulties in terms of retention of qualified trained teachers as a significant number of teachers (nearly 30%) are leaving the country. Therefore it is recommended that the international school principals need to be taken immediate action in order to retain qualified experienced teachers in their schools.
References
2. Bogdan, R.C. and Biklen, S.N. (2007) Qualitative Research for Education an Introduction to Theories and Methods. 5th Edition, Pearson, Boston.
3. Bust, T. (2008) Leadership and Management Development in Education. London: Sage.
4. Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2007) Research Methods in Education (6th Edition).
5. Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2013). Research Methods in Education, Taylor & Francis.
6. Creswell, J.W, (2007) Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research, Prentice-Hall, 3rd Edition, 2007.
7. Day, C., Harris, A., Hadfield, M., Tolley, H., and Beresford, J. (Eds.). (2000). Leading schools in times of change. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press.
8. Farrell, T. S. C. (2011). Keeping SCORE: Reflective practice through classroom observations. RELC Journal, 42(3), 265-272.
9. Hallinger, P. (2009) Leadership for 21st Century Schools: From Instructional Leadership to Leadership for Learning. Public Lecture Series of the Hong Kong Institute of Education on 23 September 2009. [18]
10. Hallinger, P. (2010) Geteways to Leading Learning Leading Educational Change. APCLC Monograph Series, 2010, No. 1. www.ied.edu.hk/apclc
11. Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. (1996). Reassessing the principal’s role in school effectiveness: A review of the empirical research. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32(1), 5-44.
12. Hallinger, P., and Murphy, J. (1986). Assessing the instructional management behaviors of principals. Elementary School Journal, 86(2), 217-247.
13. Harris, A. and Muijs, D. (2008) Improving Schools through Teacher Leadership. London: Oxford University Press.
14. Kumari, H. M. L. (2021a) A study on instructional supervision by principals in Type 2 and Type 3 schools in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka. International Research Symposium 2021Interdisciplinary Research in Education, PROCEEDINGS (1), 176-185 https://edu.cmb.ac.lk/proceedings-irs-2021/
15. Kumari, H. M. L. (2021b) A Study on Distributed Leadership Practices and its Impact on Teaching and Learning. International Journal of Teaching, Education and Learning: PUPIL 5(1), 55-72 https://doi.org/10.20319/pijtel.2021.51.5572
16. Kumari, H. M. L. (2022a). Instructional Supervision by Principals in Type 1C and Type 2 Schools in the Gampaha District Sri Lanka. International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) 5(8), 117-125 https://journals.researchparks.org/index.php/IJIE
17. Kumari, H. M. L. (2022e). Instructional Supervision by Principals in Type 2 and Type 3 Schools in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Journal of Education 1(1), 73-88
18. Kumari, H.M.L. (2019) A Study on Instructional Supervision by Principals in Type 1C and Type 2 Schools in Sri Lanka. International Journal of Social Sciences: PEOPLE 5 (3), http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
19. Kumari, H.M.L. (2022b) Principals Distributed Leadership Practices and its Impact on Teaching and Learning in Type 1AB and Type 1C Schools in the Colombo District Sri Lanka. International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) 5 (9), 17-25 https://journals.researchparks.org/index.php/IJIE
20. Kumari, H.M.L. (2022c) Importance of School Leadership in improving Educational Achievement of Students: Survey of Literature.Adyapana PRATHIBA (12), 135-147. University of Colombo Press.
21. Kumari, H.MM. L. (2022d) A Study on the Implementation of School Based Management of Secondary Schools in Sri Lanka with special reference to 1AB & 1C Schools. International Journal of Latest Technology in Engineering, Management & Applied Science (IJLTEMAS), 11(11), 16-24 https://www.ijltemas.in/digital-library/volume-xi-issue-xi.php
22. Kvale S, Brinkmann, S (1996) Interviews – Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, Second Edition. London Sage Publication, London: Sage Publications.
23. Leithwood K, Harris A, Hopkins D (2008) Seven strong claims about successful school leadership. School Leadership and Management, 28(1): 27-42.
24. Lincoln, Y. S., and Guba, E. G. (1994) Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications
25. Malkanthi, J.P.R. & Kumari, H. M. L. (2021) Enhancing Students’Higher Order Cognitive Skills. International Research Symposium 2021,Interdisciplinary Research in Education, PROCEEDINGS (1), 201-208 https://edu.cmb.ac.lk/proceedings-irs-2021/
26. Mulford, B. (2003). The Role of School Leadership in Attracting and Retaining Teachers and Promoting Innovative Schools and Students. Retrieved on November 23, 2007, from http://www.dest.gov.au/ 7.
27. Neuman, W.L. (2007) Basics of Social Research Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
28. Pillegedara, S.P. & Kumari, H. M. L. (2021). School-based planning and the contribution of stakeholders in developing the re-opened schools. International Research Symposium 2021, Interdisciplinary Research in Education, PROCEEDINGS (1), 387-392 https://edu.cmb.ac.lk/proceedings-irs-2021/
29. Quinn, D. M. (2002). The Impact of Principal Leadership on Behaviours on Instructional Practice and Student Engagement. Journal of Educational Administration, 40 (5), 447-467.
30. Rubin, H.J. and Rubin, I.S. (2011) Qualitative Interviewing: The Art of Hearing Data, Sage Publications.
31. Southworth, G. (2004b) Learning Centred Leadership, Distributed Leadership Booklet 4.1, chapter 7. UK: National College for School Leadership Nottingham.
32. Taole, M. (2013) Exploring Principals Role in Providing Instructional Leadership in Rural High Schools in South Africa. Studies of Tribes and Tribals, 11, 75-82.
33. UNESCO (2005) School Management a Training Manual for Educational Management. UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa.
34. Waters, J.T., Marzano, R.J. and McNulty, B. (2004). Leadership That Sparks Learning. Educational Leadership, 61 (7), 48-51.
35. Wickramanayake. R, Kumari, H. M. L. (2022b). Sri Lankan Teachers’ Online Classroom Management Abilities by School Type and Grade Section. International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) 5(12), 224-334 https://journals.researchparks.org/index.php/IJIE/article/view/3843
36. Wickramanayake. R, Kumari, H. M. L. (2022a). The Potential of Sri Lankan Teacher in Managing Online Classroom. International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) 5(11), 320-330 https://journals.researchparks.org/index.php/IJIE/article/view/3685
37. Wijekoon, K.M.J. & Kumari, H. M. L. (2021) Examining the teachers’ perception of the School Based Professional Teacher Development Programms. International Research Symposium 2021, Interdisciplinary Research in Education, PROCEEDINGS (1), 387-392 https://edu.cmb.ac.lk/proceedings-irs-2021
In submitting the manuscript to the International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE), the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- The publication has been approved by the author(s) and by responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and copyright agreement.
License and Copyright Agreement
Authors who publish with International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the International Journal on Integrated Education (IJIE) published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or edit it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.