Critical instructional leadership skills for school principals in Vryburg District of the North-West Province

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to determine critical instructional leadership skills for school principals. Indeed, the concept of Instructional leadership cannot in any way be defined in concrete terms. It is because school principals are more concerned with management skills rather than instructional techniques. In accordance with the model suggested by Duke (1987) for Instructional Leadership, the researcher identified several key points for investigation. Among others are high level expectations, supervisory duties, communication, management of resources, class-room observation and role modelling of their attributes. The Vryburg District Office in the North-West Province provided a list of primary schools from(9) different circuits. Seven (7) circuits were randomly selected by the researcher to give each an equal opportunity to be selected. The principal of each school from the seven (7) circuits responded to the questionnaire personally. The researcher's sample size was two hundred(n=200). Thus, the response rate was 83 .5%. The questionnaire was formulated according to Likert's four-point scale. It was used as a statistical instrument for data collection. For the analysis and interpretation of data, statistical tools such as the mean and standard deviation were used. For further analysis, inferential statistical tools, such as; the chi-square and the coefficient of correlation have been used efficiently. The findings from the study revealed that primary school principals played a major role in coaching both learners and teachers through continuous professional assessment. However the research findings also revealed that gender equality, time spent in administrative work and experience in leadership are major issues of concern. This however warrants further investigation.