Investigating principals’ perceptions and experiences with instructional leadership practices of public secondary schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate how principals of public secondary schools in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia perceive and experience their current and actual instructional leadership practices as defined by PIMRS instructional leadership model. The study was founded on PIMRS instructional leadership model. The three dimensions of the model are defining the school mission by means of framing the school goals and communicating the school goals; managing the instructional programme by means of supervising and evaluating instruction, coordinating the curriculum, and monitoring student progress; and developing a positive school learning climate by means of protecting instructional time, maintaining high visibility, providing incentives for teachers, promoting professional development, and providing incentives for learning. The ten sub-cities in Addis Ababa City Administration were used as research sites and then ten sampled schools were selected using the stratified sampling technique. The study was employed mixed research approaches that guided by pragmatic research paradigm, and it was based on an explanatory sequential mixed methods design in which both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered to investigate the topic under consideration. Accordingly, 350 teachers were selected using the simple random sampling technique and 40 principals and 30 supervisors were selected using the availability sampling technique to select informants for the quantitative data gathering using PIMRS questionnaires. For interviews, 10 head principals and 10 resident supervisors were chosen using purposive sampling technique to obtain rich qualitative information for the study and to triangulate the results obtained from the survey instruments. Moreover, documents were reviewed to strengthen the outcomes of the study. Based on the return rates of the survey instruments, the units of analysis were 331 teachers, 40 principals and 30 supervisors. Descriptive statistics like means and standard deviations and inferential statistics like t-tests were used to analyse the collected quantitative data using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 27. On the other hand, qualitative data were analysed by using thematic analysis using the ATLAS ti, Version 9 programme. The results obtained from the quantitative phase and the findings gained from the qualitative phase of the study were combined and interpreted using sequential explanatory methods. The outcomes of the study were that out of the 10 job functions of the three dimensions of PIMRS instructional leadership model, principals perceived they engaged in framing the school goals to a great extent, but in the other nine job functions, they engaged moderately as part of their instructional leadership practices, and they rated highest for defining the school mission and rated lowest for managing the instructional programme. The outcomes also showed that teachers and supervisors perceived principals in their schools engaged in all 10 job functions moderately as part of their instructional leadership practices, defining the school mission rated highest and managing the instructional programme rated lowest by teachers, and developing a positive school learning climate rated highest and managing the instructional programme rated lowest by supervisors. Managing the instructional programme rated lowest by the three group of respondents. In addition, the results of hypothesis testing indicated that significant differences between principals’ and other role players’ (teachers and supervisors) perceptions on instructional leadership practices with regard to the three dimensions of PIMRS instructional leadership model. Furthermore, numerous challenges which directly or indirectly impede the high engagements of principals in instructional leadership practices in their schools were indicated by interview participants. The major ones were: unclear and inconsistent meanings of instructional leadership; lack of adequate time, manuals, and guidelines to implement instructional leadership; workload of principals in administrative activities; wrong recruitment and selection criteria for principalship positions; inadequate training and training budget for principals on instructional leadership; and lack of principals’ accountability requirements and autonomy and academic freedom of public schools. Accordingly, parallel possible solutions to the challenges were forwarded by the participants. Hence, it was concluded that the three group of respondents (principals themselves, teachers and supervisors) perceived principals were engaged in the three dimensions of PIMRS instructional leadership model moderately as part of their instructional leadership practices, and numerous challenges were directly or indirectly hindered their engagements. Lastly, recommendations were made for public secondary schools, Addis Ababa Ciy Administration Education Bureau and policy-makers with respect to high engagement of principals in their instructional leadership practices, merit-based recruitments and selection criteria and training for principals, preparation of manuals and guidelines for principals’ instructional leadership practices, and principals’ accountability requirements, and autonomy and academic freedom of public secondary schools were advised.