Review of Public Administration and Management

Abstract

Instructional Leadership and Its Effect on Students’ Academic Performance

Gillian Heaven and Paul Andrew Bourne

Introduction: Leadership in schools has been a major cause for concern, not only in our Jamaican society, but on a global level. Leaders are metaphorically viewed as anchors, as they are totally responsible for the success of their organization.

Objectives: The aim of the current research is to: evaluate the role of instructional leadership on academic performance of students; Assess how instructional leadership influence on teachers’ instructions; evaluate instructional leadership and typology of school, and explore instructional leadership in secondary educational institutions in St. Andrew, Jamaica.

Methods: This research employed mixed methodology. Survey research and phenomenological research methodologies were employed to investigate the topic. The sample comprised of one hundred teachers and administrators at two secondary educational institutions in Kingston and St. Andrew. For the quantitative data, these were recorded, retrieved, and analysed using the Statistical Packages for the Social Sciences for Windows (Version 21.0). The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic identifications and narrations. A p value of 5% was used to establish statistical associations.

Findings: The majority of the respondents were females (69%), non-senior teachers (68%), and have been teaching for 4-10 years (43%). A positively weak statistical correlation existed between the performance of students and instructional leadership, with only 1.4% of the variance in academic performance students can be accounted for by instructional leaderships.

Conclusion: The discourse of instructional leadership accounting for high academic achievement of students does not exist in this study, and this provides a platform for further examination of the issue from the perspective of instructional leadership and other variables.