Instructional Leadership: The Role of Heads of Schools in Managing the Instructional Programme

Scholars and practitioners agree that instructional leadership (IL) can be one of the most useful tools for creating an effective teaching and learning environment. This paper investigates the instructional leadership practices engaged in by heads of secondary schools to enhance classroom instruction and students learning, particularly the way they manage the school instructional programme. Two objectives guided the study: to explore the informants’ understanding on the concept of instructional leadership; and to examine the role played by heads of schools (HoSs) in managing the instructional programme to enhance teachers’ classroom instruction and students’ learning. It draws on the qualitative data generated from interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. The informants for this study were HoSs, senior academic masters/mistresses, teachers and students. The study findings confirm that HoSs, SAMs, teachers and students were not familiar with the concept of instructional leadership. On the other hand the instructional programme was not effectively managed as heads of departments were not involved in curriculum coordination, syllabi were not covered on time, and HoSs did not undertake classroom observations or engage in review of curriculum materials. The paper, however, concludes that without an effective management of the instructional programme in favour of promoting teachers’ classroom instruction and students’ learning, efforts to that effect are doomed to fail.