The role of the principal as an instructional leader in improving school performance

Abstract

The dawn of democracy in South Africa saw the introduction of far-reaching changes in the South African Education system. Education provision became more regulated, participative and democratized. The South African Constitution promised quality education to its citizens. In order to realise this mandate, vast resources in the form of infrastructure and teaching and learning support materials were invested in the education sector to correct the imbalances of the past. Despite policy development and the massive investment in education, schools continue to struggle to provide quality teaching and teaching to students. This has been highlighted by the poor performance of South African learners in cross national and regional benchmark tests. The poor performance was placed at the failure of school leadership to manage the core business of the school. South African Schools Act has charged principals with accountability for the performance of learners in their schools. Principals are required to provide professional leadership and management of the school towards the achievement of its goals. Instructional leadership has been cited as a form of leadership lacking among principals. Principals who want to turn around the performance of their schools need to function as instructional leaders. This study was aimed at investigating the role of the principal as an instructional leader in improving school performance in the Lehukwe Circuit of Bohlabela District in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga Province. Seven principals of both primary and secondary schools were purposefully sampled for the study. A qualitative approach was adopted using an interpretive perspective. Semi-structured interview was used as a data gathering tool. The collected data was analysed, coded and categorised using the open coding system. The study revealed that principals differ in their understanding of the application of instructional leadership. The awareness of the key role of managing teaching and learning seems to have received very little attention in the recruitment and appointment of principals. The difference in the understanding and application of instructional leadership is a reason for some schools performing poorly while others perform according to expectations.