Manager-Administrator to Instructional Leader: Shift in the Role of the School Principal

Manager-Administrator to Instructional Leader: Shift in the Role of the School Principal - "It has often been said that the school principal wears many hats being manager, administrator, instructional leader and curriculum leader at different points in a day. It is a balancing act of having to juggle between these various roles. Often times, more attention is accorded to managerial and administrative tasks and that of the instructional leader is relegated to others in the administrative hierarchy even though the core business of a school is teaching and learning. The role of 'instructional leader' by school leaders is a relatively new concept that emerged in the early 1980's which called for a shift of emphasis from principals being managers or administrators to instructional or academic leaders. This shift was influenced largely by research which found that effective schools usually had principals who stressed the importance of instructional leadership (Brookover and Lezotte, 1982). Later, in the first half of the 90s, “attention to instructional leadership seemed to waver, displaced by discussions of school-based management and facilitative leadership” (Lashway, 2002, p.1). Recently, instructional leadership has made a comeback with increasing importance placed on academic standards and the need for schools to be accountable.

While most would agree that instructional leadership is critical in the realisation of effective schools, it is seldom practiced. For example, among the many tasks performed by principals, only one-tenth of time is devoted towards providing instructional leadership (Stronge, 1988). Even today, school leaders continue to seek a balance in their role as manager-administrator and instructional leader. Interestingly, among the reasons cited for less emphasis given to instructional leadership is the lack of in depth training for their role as an instructional leader, lack of time to execute instructional activities, increased paper work and the community’s expectation that the principal’s role is that of a manager (Flath, 1989; Fullan, 1991)."