Effective instructional leadership

Abstract

Few studies have directly examined teachers’ perspectives on principals’ everyday instructional leadership characteristics and the impacts of those characteristics on teachers. In this study, over 800 American teachers responded to an open‐ended questionnaire by identifying and describing characteristics of principals that enhanced their classroom instruction and what impacts those characteristics had on them. The data revealed two themes (and 11 strategies) of effective instructional leadership: talking with teachers to promote reflection and promoting professional growth.